Work with us
IRIS has a casual work atmosphere where everyone’s opinions and ideas are valued. We’re committed to work-life balance and offer everyone opportunities to learn, experiment, and grow. If you’re looking to add meaningful purpose to your work or want a life-changing fellowship to get your career off on the right foot, then you’ll love working here. Please see our open positions and volunteer opportunities below.
To apply for any of the jobs below, send an email to humanresources@irisct.org with the following:
- A subject line that says Job Title and your name
- A cover letter
- An attached resume including three professional references (at least two direct supervisors)
If you are interested in more than one position, please send a separate email for each position for which you would like to be considered.
In submitting an application for employment, the applicant grants IRIS permission to check references as well as question anyone who might be familiar with the candidate’s job performance.
Alternate Housing & Donations Coordinator
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IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, Inc. www.irisct.org) is a dynamic refugee resettlement agency with offices in New Haven and Hartford, CT. IRIS serves people from all over the world who have fled persecution in their home countries to start new lives and become self-sufficient, contributing members of their new communities. While IRIS has traditionally focused on helping refugees, it is increasingly serving our undocumented neighbors and other immigrants as well. General Description IRIS must ensure that all newly arriving refugees are placed in safe and welcoming homes. Working under the guidance of the Housing & Donations Manager, the Housing & Donations Coordinator will collect furniture donations and furnish apartments for newly arriving families. The H&D Coordinator will coordinate with volunteers and donors to schedule pick up appointments and set up apartments according to IRIS’ high standards. The H&D Coordinator will also help manage the 15 + weekly volunteers that help to sort donations. The ideal candidate has a variety of skills including ability to move heavy furniture, communication, team leadership, donor relations, and problem solving. While some administrative tasks could be accomplished remotely, most of the H&D Coordinator’s work must be done at the office or in person in other locations while taking necessary precautions related to COVID-19. Candidates must be vaccinated against COVID-19 and comfortable coming into contact with other people. In submitting an application for employment, the applicant grants IRIS permission to check references as well as question anyone who might be familiar with the candidate’s job performance. |
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IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (www.irisct.org), a dynamic nonprofit organization in New Haven CT, has an opening for a full-time Paralegal in its Legal Department. IRIS is a refugee resettlement agency providing high quality and culturally sensitive assistance to immigrants and refugees in Connecticut. Our goal is to help immigrants establish new lives, regain hope, and contribute to the vitality of Connecticut’s communities. IRIS currently serves clients from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Cuba, Sudan, Egypt, and Venezuela, among others.
IRIS’s Legal Department: IRIS offers legal services, among its other services. IRIS’s Legal Department provides representation to: 1) refugees and asylees applying for lawful permanent residence, naturalization, and reunification with family members; 2) immigrants filing for asylum; 3) immigrants in removal proceedings; 4) Afghan residents of CT who filed applications for humanitarian parole on behalf of family in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in August 2021; and 5) Afghan parolees who were evacuated from Afghanistan after the takeover and resettled by IRIS in the New Haven and Hartford areas. The Legal Department currently consists of six attorneys, each of whom covers one or more of the practice areas listed above, and one paralegal. With this position, we are adding a second paralegal.
The Paralegal’s Role: The Paralegal assists each of the attorneys, and his/her responsibilities will vary by practice area. Examples of the kinds of tasks each practice area requires are provided below. For our refugee and asylee clients filing for green cards, citizenship, and family petitions, the Paralegal will assist the attorney by calling clients to schedule meetings, preparing applications in advance of meetings, copying and filing clients’ documents, completing other USCIS forms (e.g. applications for travel documents, employment authorization, humanitarian parole, certificates of naturalization), handling visa processing, and general research. For asylum applicants (now mostly Afghans), the Paralegal will assist the attorney by communicating with clients, working with clients to fill out the biographical information needed on the asylum applications, researching country conditions for clients whose cases we take, compiling documents for submission to USCIS, and arranging for interpreters. For clients facing deportation, the Paralegal will assist the attorney by conducting intakes with potential clients and filling out the attendant intake forms, coordinating with peer legal services organizations on a shared removal defense project, providing ongoing case support, and handling filings in Immigration Court.
Job Announcement
Hartford Summer Learning Program Lead Teacher (for various grade levels, K-12)
(These are part-time, short-term positions)
IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, Inc. www.irisct.org) is a dynamic refugee resettlement agency with offices in New Haven and Hartford, CT. IRIS serves people from all over the world who have fled persecution in their home countries to start new lives and become self-sufficient, contributing members of their new communities. While IRIS has traditionally focused on helping refugees, it is increasingly serving our undocumented neighbors and other immigrants as well.
IRIS is seeking experienced teachers for our 2023 Summer Learning Program (SLP) for recently arrived school-aged refugees and immigrants. Most of our newcomers are English Language Learners (ELL); many are also Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE), which means that they may not have grade-level literacy in their home language, that they may lack background/content knowledge, and that they are still learning how to “do school.”
Program dates: TBD, approximately June 21-August 4. The program meets weekdays (excluding the 4th of July) from 8:30am to 1:30pm, with an extended day (until 2:30) on Wednesdays. Lead teachers will also be paid for some orientation and course planning during April and May.
General Description
SLP teachers will lead daily classes of about 10 to 15 refugee and immigrant students and assist with the coordination of daily programming for the IRIS Summer Learning Program as part of a larger team. The program serves 50 to 70 students between the ages of 5 and 18. The students will be divided into separate age and academic level groups which will each be led by an SLP teacher and an assistant teacher, with additional help from volunteers and interns.
The IRIS SLP aims to increase students’ English skills (speaking & listening; reading & writing), background knowledge and overall school readiness; help newcomers become accustomed to and connected with their new homes; promote cross-cultural understanding through positive experiences collaborating with people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds; and foster a sense of belonging and well-being. Teachers will be responsible for creating a positive learning environment and assessing and meeting daily needs of students. Teachers will act as representatives of the Summer Learning Program and of IRIS, and will contribute to organizing visitors and welcoming them to the program.
SLP Teachers must have a commitment to anti-racism. With training and support, teachers will be expected to incorporate classroom activities that help students recognize and appreciate their own and their classmates’ diverse identities and help students gain the cultural competencies
Job Announcement
Hartford Summer Learning Program Assistant Teacher (for various grade levels, K-12)
(These are part-time, short-term positions)
IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, Inc. www.irisct.org) is a dynamic refugee resettlement agency with offices in New Haven and Hartford, CT. IRIS serves people from all over the world who have fled persecution in their home countries to start new lives and become self-sufficient, contributing members of their new communities. While IRIS has traditionally focused on helping refugees, it is increasingly serving our undocumented neighbors and other immigrants as well.
IRIS is seeking assistant teachers for our 2023 Summer Learning Program (SLP) for recently arrived school-aged refugees and immigrants. Most of our newcomers are English Language Learners (ELL); many are also Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE), which means that they may not have grade-level literacy in their home language, that they may lack background/content knowledge, and that they are still learning how to “do school.”
Program dates: TBD, approximately June 21-August 4. The program meets weekdays (excluding the 4th of July) from 8:30am to 1:30pm, with an extended day (until 2:30) on Wednesdays. Assistant teachers will also be paid for some orientation and preparation prior to the opening of the program during late April and May.
General Description
SLP assistant teachers will work with a lead teacher in daily classes of about 10 to 20 refugee and immigrant students and assist with the coordination of daily programming for the IRIS Summer Learning Program as part of a larger team. The program serves 60 to 100 students between the ages of 5 and 18. The students will be divided into separate age and academic level groups which will each be led by an SLP lead teacher and an assistant teacher, with additional help from volunteers and interns.
The IRIS SLP aims to increase students’ English skills (speaking & listening; reading & writing), background knowledge and overall school readiness; help newcomers become accustomed to and connected with their new homes; promote cross-cultural understanding through positive experiences collaborating with people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds; and foster a sense of belonging and well-being. Assistant teachers will help lead teachers create a positive learning environment and assess and meet daily needs of students. Assistant teachers will act as representatives of the Summer Learning Program and of IRIS, and will contribute to organizing visitors and welcoming them to the program.
Job Announcement
New Haven Summer Learning Program Lead Teacher (for various grade levels, K-12)
(These are part-time, short-term positions)
IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, Inc. www.irisct.org) is a dynamic refugee resettlement agency with offices in New Haven and Hartford, CT. IRIS serves people from all over the world who have fled persecution in their home countries to start new lives and become self-sufficient, contributing members of their new communities. While IRIS has traditionally focused on helping refugees, it is increasingly serving our undocumented neighbors and other immigrants as well.
IRIS is seeking experienced teachers for our 2023 Summer Learning Program (SLP) for recently arrived school-aged refugees and immigrants. Most of our newcomers are English Language Learners (ELL); many are also Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE), which means that they may not have grade-level literacy in their home language, that they may lack background/content knowledge, and that they are still learning how to “do school.”
Program dates: June 21-August 4. The program meets weekdays (excluding the 4th of July) from 8:30am to 1:30pm, with an extended day (until 2:30) on Wednesdays. Lead teachers will also be paid for some orientation and course planning during April and May.
General Description
SLP teachers will lead daily classes of about 10 to 20 refugee and immigrant students and assist with the coordination of daily programming for the IRIS Summer Learning Program as part of a larger team. The program serves 60 to 100 students between the ages of 5 and 18. The students will be divided into separate age and academic level groups which will each be led by an SLP teacher and an assistant teacher, with additional help from volunteers and interns.
The IRIS SLP aims to increase students’ English skills (speaking & listening; reading & writing), background knowledge and overall school readiness; help newcomers become accustomed to and connected with their new homes; promote cross-cultural understanding through positive experiences collaborating with people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds; and foster a sense of belonging and well-being. Teachers will be responsible for creating a positive learning environment and assessing and meeting daily needs of students. Teachers will act as representatives of the Summer Learning Program and of IRIS, and will contribute to organizing visitors and welcoming them to the program.
SLP Teachers must have a commitment to anti-racism. With training and support, teachers will be expected to incorporate classroom activities that help students recognize and appreciate their own and their classmates’ diverse identities and help students gain the cultural competencies
Job Announcement
New Haven Summer Learning Program Assistant Teacher (for various grade levels, K-12)
(These are part-time, short-term positions)
IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, Inc. www.irisct.org) is a dynamic refugee resettlement agency with offices in New Haven and Hartford, CT. IRIS serves people from all over the world who have fled persecution in their home countries to start new lives and become self-sufficient, contributing members of their new communities. While IRIS has traditionally focused on helping refugees, it is increasingly serving our undocumented neighbors and other immigrants as well.
IRIS is seeking assistant teachers for our 2023 Summer Learning Program (SLP) for recently arrived school-aged refugees and immigrants. Most of our newcomers are English Language Learners (ELL); many are also Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education (SLIFE), which means that they may not have grade-level literacy in their home language, that they may lack background/content knowledge, and that they are still learning how to “do school.”
Program dates: June 21-August 4. The program meets weekdays (excluding the 4th of July) from 8:30am to 1:30pm, with an extended day (until 2:30) on Wednesdays. Assistant teachers will also be paid for some orientation and preparation prior to the opening of the program during late April and May.
General Description
SLP assistant teachers will work with a lead teacher in daily classes of about 10 to 20 refugee and immigrant students and assist with the coordination of daily programming for the IRIS Summer Learning Program as part of a larger team. The program serves 60 to 100 students between the ages of 5 and 18. The students will be divided into separate age and academic level groups which will each be led by an SLP lead teacher and an assistant teacher, with additional help from volunteers and interns.
The IRIS SLP aims to increase students’ English skills (speaking & listening; reading & writing), background knowledge and overall school readiness; help newcomers become accustomed to and connected with their new homes; promote cross-cultural understanding through positive experiences collaborating with people from different ethnic and racial backgrounds; and foster a sense of belonging and well-being. Assistant teachers will help lead teachers create a positive learning environment and assess and meet daily needs of students. Assistant teachers will act as representatives of the Summer Learning Program and of IRIS, and will contribute to organizing visitors and welcoming them to the program.
Job Announcement
Pashto-Speaking Academic Tutor
(Part-Time)
IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, Inc. www.irisct.org) is a dynamic refugee resettlement agency with offices in New Haven and Hartford, CT. IRIS serves people from all over the world who have fled persecution in their home countries to start new lives and become self-sufficient, contributing members of their new communities. While IRIS has traditionally focused on helping refugees, it is increasingly serving our undocumented neighbors and other immigrants as well.
General Description
IRIS seeks to hire a Pashto-Speaking Academic Tutor with excellent interpersonal and communication skills to provide culturally appropriate academic support for recently arrived girls and boys with limited or interrupted formal education. In coordination with public school educators, the tutor will give individual and/or small group instruction in English and other subjects to help refugees, asylees, and immigrant students succeed in school. The tutor will provide in-school and after-school academic support for students at two New Haven Public Schools to be determined (the current need is at James Hillhouse and Wilbur Cross High Schools). The tutor will document and communicate student needs and progress with school-based educators and with IRIS staff on an ongoing basis. During school holidays, the tutor will contribute to other IRIS Education programs and initiatives.
Candidates must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and comfortable coming into contact with other people. This is an in-person position based in our New Haven office.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include:
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● Provide individual and/or small group tutoring for students |
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● Review and re-evaluate student needs and progress on a daily and ongoing basis to better meet the needs of students ● Whenever necessary, seek out additional academic and extracurricular supports to meet both the academic needs and extracurricular interests of students ● Help maintain a language-rich environment for students who are all, or almost all, English Language Learners ● Create the best possible learning environment for students served by addressing challenges early and working closely and communicating well with both school and IRIS staff ● Promote cross-cultural understanding among students, public school educators and IRIS staff; help new arrivals adjust to and navigate a new multicultural society ● Communicate any and all concerns regarding students to public school educators and/or IRIS staff as necessary and appropriate ● Work with the IRIS Education Programs Coordinator and volunteer in-school tutors to meet the needs of students ● Collaborate with the Youth Leadership Team to assess student needs, adapt programming, and encourage student participation ● Provide academic assistance at the IRIS Summer Learning Program ● Participate in regular IRIS Education Team meetings; support other educational programs and initiatives as needed |
Private Sponsorship Program Manager
(full-time, remote, hybrid or on-site)
IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, Inc., www.irisct.org) is a dynamic refugee resettlement agency with offices in New Haven and Hartford, CT. IRIS serves people from all over the world who have fled persecution in their home countries to start new lives and become self-sufficient, contributing members of their new communities. IRIS serves refugees, asylum seekers, asylees, undocumented neighbors and other immigrants as well.
The Private Sponsorship Program Manager (PSPM) represents IRIS publicly with national, regional, and local partners, as IRIS participates in a consortium piloting a Private Sponsorship Program in the United States. The PSPM will collaborate closely with the Director of Sponsorship and IRIS Executive Director in designing IRIS’s Private Sponsorship Program and national consortium role. This role will leverage IRIS’s learning from operating the most established, largest co-sponsorship program in the nation and participation in the Sponsor Circle Program. The PSPM will be responsible for IRIS’s role in program co-design, as well as overseeing refugee and immigrant families resettled by IRIS through the PS model, through oversight of a team of program staff.
General Description
The Private Sponsorship Program Manager (PSPM) oversees all program development, service provision, and ongoing successful resettlement of newcomer families with community groups in the private sponsorship program. The PSPM reports to the Director of Sponsorship, serves as a key member of the Sponsorship team, and works closely with other IRIS programs, as well as organizations locally, regionally, or nationally connected with private sponsorship programming.
The primary goals of the PSPM are to (1) ensure operation of the Private Sponsorship Program in accordance with consortium and IRIS policies and applicable contractual requirements for welcoming the populations IRIS serves; (2) collaborate with community group leaders, sponsorship team members and CS community of practice to continually improve the IRIS PS program to achieve better client outcomes, community group experience, and program functioning; and (3) work collaboratively with all CS groups, families, staff, and partners to preserve the strength and long-term presence of IRIS in the communities in which the organization resettles newcomers through the CS program.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities include:
Private Sponsorship Program Design and Implementation
- Participate in co-design discussions with consortium partners, including IRIS DS and/or ED as appropriate
- Identify additional resources needed within IRIS’s private sponsorship program as co-design evolves, presenting those needs for development in actionable options for the IRIS team
- Identify any additional sponsorship training needed internally or externally for the IRIS program, discuss with Sponsorship team for training updates and adjustments
- Lead creation and ongoing revisions of necessary PSP resources, SOPs, tools, with input from CS Developers, Director of Sponsorship and group leaders, as appropriate
- Ensure materials on the PS page of the IRIS website are current
Private Sponsorship Community Sponsor Coach, Family, and Group Oversight
- Recruit and manage Community Sponsor Coaches (CSCs) overseeing refugee family placements within the PS Program and any additional program staff required.
- Regularly assess through program tools, one-on-one and team meetings, as well as M&E resources, the status of family resettlements per program guidelines, outcomes, and family needs
- Advise and/or assist CSCs with volunteer group and family dynamics, as needed, to reach family self-sufficiency
- Maintain regular training for CSCs in PS Program requirements, local DSS program needs, CSH and supplemental trainings, and other relevant program or services for successful family resettlements
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Summary |
The Health Assistant (HA) will work closely with the Health Coordinator in the Hartford area to support newly arrived refugees, SIVs, and other immigrants with the education and experience needed to navigate the healthcare system independently. |
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Specific Duties |
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Job Announcement
Staff Attorney
IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (www.irisct.org), a dynamic nonprofit organization in New Haven CT, has an opening for a full time Staff Attorney in its Legal Department. IRIS is a refugee resettlement agency providing high quality and culturally sensitive assistance to immigrants and refugees in Connecticut. Our goal is to help immigrants establish new lives, regain hope, and contribute to the vitality of Connecticut’s communities. IRIS currently serves clients from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Cuba, Sudan, Egypt, and Venezuela, among others.
IRIS’s Legal Department: IRIS offers legal services, among its other services. IRIS’s Legal Department provides representation to: 1) refugees and asylees applying for lawful permanent residence, naturalization, and reunification with family members; 2) immigrants filing for asylum; 3) immigrants in removal proceedings; 4) Afghan residents of CT who filed applications for humanitarian parole on behalf of family in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in August 2021; and 5) Afghan parolees who were evacuated from Afghanistan after the takeover and resettled by IRIS in the New Haven and Hartford areas. The Legal Department currently consists of six attorneys, each of whom covers one or more of the practice areas listed above, and one paralegal. A second paralegal and a seventh attorney are incoming soon. With this position, we are adding an eighth attorney
IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services, Inc. (www.irisct.org), a dynamic nonprofit
organization in New Haven CT, has an opening for a full-time Staff Attorney (40 hours per week) in its
Legal Department. IRIS is a refugee resettlement agency providing high quality and culturally sensitive
assistance to immigrants and refugees in Connecticut. Our goal is to help immigrants establish new lives,
regain hope, and contribute to the vitality of Connecticut’s communities. IRIS currently serves clients from
Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt, Venezuela, Guatemala and
Honduras, among others.
IRIS is looking for a full-time staff attorney to represent immigrants in removal proceedings.
IRIS’s Legal Department: IRIS offers legal services, among its other services. IRIS’s Legal
Department provides representation to: 1) refugees and asylees applying for lawful permanent residence,
naturalization, and reunification with family members; 2) immigrants filing for asylum; and 3) immigrants in
removal proceedings. The Legal Department currently consists of six full-time attorneys and two full-time
paralegals, each of whom covers one or more of the practice areas listed above.
Description of Staff Attorney Position: IRIS is looking for a Staff Attorney who can cover cases in
the third category listed above: the representation of immigrants in removal proceedings. The Staff
Attorney will represent clients as part of the CT Coalition for Immigrant Freedom (CCIF), a New Haven based removal defense project that seeks to provide universal representation to immigrants in removal proceedings. As such, the Staff Attorney will work closely with both IRIS case managers and attorneys at peer legal services organizations who serve these same clients.
The Staff Attorney will handle all aspects of clients’ removal cases, including scheduling and
conducting client meetings, preparing and submitting asylum applications, drafting motions to the EOIR, and
appearing in immigration court. The Staff Attorney will also handle any ancillary legal matters such as
representing clients in probate court and petitioning for SIJ status with USCIS, preparing and filing U-visa
petitions, or any other available forms of immigration relief.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Education Programs Manager – Hartford
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IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (www.irisct.org), a dynamic nonprofit organization in New Haven CT, has an opening for a full-time Paralegal in its Legal Department. IRIS is a refugee resettlement agency providing high quality and culturally sensitive assistance to immigrants and refugees in Connecticut. Our goal is to help immigrants establish new lives, regain hope, and contribute to the vitality of Connecticut’s communities. IRIS currently serves clients from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Cuba, Sudan, Egypt, and Venezuela, among others. |
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Job Summary & General Responsibilities |
The Education Programs Manager (EPM) will work to develop education programs meant to serve families with children in the Greater Hartford Area. These programs will include, but may not be limited to, a Family Literacy Program, a Summer Learning Program, and an In-School Tutoring Program. The EPM will also work to build relationships with existing educational programs in the Greater Hartford Area so that clients can benefit from a full range of opportunities available to them. |
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Specific Duties |
• Develop educational programming for IRIS clients in the Greater Hartford Area to best meet their educational needs and goals – including, the IRIS Summer Learning, Family Literacy and In-School Tutoring Programs • Oversee daily and seasonal operations of all IRIS educational programming in the Greater Hartford Area • In cooperation with community partners, secure programming space and logistical support as needed. • Recruit and retain programming staff, interns, and volunteers as needed. • In conjunction with program planning and needs, purchase necessary learning and program supplies. • Create the best possible learning environment and educational experience by addressing challenges early and working closely and communicating well with team members • In close cooperation with the program staff, meet the daily needs of students, including providing academic and social support for each client as an individual and communicating on a daily basis with clients to share successes and troubleshoot any challenges. • When best and possible, arrange for clients to enroll in community educational programming • Continually review and evaluate IRIS education programs and based on findings, make necessary adjustments • Build and maintain ongoing relationships with community partners offering educational programming • Collaborate closely with Hartford-based Case Management staff • Perform other duties as requested by supervisors |