Ascend Resident - In-House Immigration Leader

About the Role

The Ascend Residency is a highly competitive paid leadership role within Alma's peer community for in-house immigration professionals. Each month, one Resident is selected to shape the community conversation, surface what matters most to the field, and make Ascend materially more valuable for immigration leaders across companies.

Residents are selected based on the strength of their professional experience, credibility in the immigration field, demonstrated judgment, and ability to contribute original thought leadership to the community.

This is not an ambassador title or a visibility play. It is a substantive working role for an immigration leader with real operating experience, a sharp perspective, and something valuable to contribute to peers.

What You'll Do

• Design and host 1 webinar on a topic the immigration community is actively wrestling with (Alma handles promotion and logistics)
• Design and host 1 sponsored in-person event (Alma funds and supports)
• Publish 3-4 original posts or insights on policy, compliance, AI tools, vendor strategy, or program design
• Create 1 durable resource (framework, template, playbook, or briefing) aligned with Alma
• Spark and sustain peer conversations across the community

What You'll Receive

• $8,000 honorarium, paid at end of the residency month; 5-10 hours/week
• Production, scheduling, logistics, and promotion support from Alma
• Sponsored in-person event designed with you and funded by Alma
• Permanent recognition as an Ascend Resident and entry into the Ascend Alumni network
• Priority consideration for future speaking, editorial, and community partnership opportunities

Who This Is For

• In-house immigration program managers, directors, and leads
• Global mobility professionals with meaningful immigration program ownership.
• Practitioners who manage stakeholders, policy, compliance, vendors, employee experience, and program design.
• Operators with a clear point of view on where immigration practice, compliance, and technology are heading.
• Immigration leaders who are respected by peers and can bring thoughtful, practical, field-tested insights to the community.

Who This Is Not For

• General HR or People Ops professionals without direct immigration program responsibility
• Community managers or marketers seeking visibility opportunities
• Professionals adjacent to immigration who do not actively run or advise on the program
• Applicants who are not prepared to contribute original thinking, practical resources, and meaningful peer engagement.

How to Apply

Applications take approximately 20 minutes. Please respond to the following:

• What are the 2-3 highest-leverage contributions you would make during your Residency month, and how would you judge whether they were useful?
• What topic would you choose for your webinar or live exchange, and why is it timely for in-house immigration leaders right now?
• What is one example of the kind of framework, post, briefing, or resource you would create for the community library?
• Who are the immigration professionals you would want to bring into Ascend, and why would they trust your invitation?

Selection Process

• Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Residents are selected based on professional experience, demonstrated immigration program leadership, quality of thought leadership and strength of proposed contributions.
• Please note: This is an independent contractor (1099) role.