Associate Director

Summary

Join Vera Institute of Justice as an Associate Director in New Orleans, Louisiana, or remotely within the state. You will manage policy development and advocacy to end mass incarceration and secure investments in thriving communities. Collaborate with the program director, manage team members, build partnerships, and write policy reports. The ideal candidate possesses deep understanding of Louisiana's criminal legal system and strong advocacy experience. This full-time position requires regular travel to Baton Rouge and across the state. Vera offers a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and opportunities for professional development.

Requirements

• Advanced degree in public policy, social work, political science, criminal justice, or related field + 9 – 12 years of relevant experience; or relevant work or educational background and lived experience as a person directly impacted by the criminal legal system
• Deep understanding of the Louisiana criminal legal system
• Ability to discuss race equity issues within the criminal legal system
• Demonstrated ability to manage a project, including assigned staff, from start to finish
• Experience designing and running advocacy projects
• Experience working with interdisciplinary teams and managing diverse social backgrounds and identities
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively, both externally and internally with team members
• Experience producing independently written communication to diverse media and audiences including community members, government officials, members of the public and other stakeholders

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with Director on overall policy and advocacy strategy of Vera Louisiana team
• Manage and develop partnerships, communications and work plans
• Assist in the development of annual plans and other internal facing strategic documents
• Drafting, editing, and supervising team members’ drafting of diverse written deliverables, including longer reports, briefing memos, strategic communications for external audiences
• Conducting research and synthesizing existing research, data, and talking points in order to develop and author effective publications and communications tools as well as speck in programs such as convenings, webinars, and community presentations
• Serve as a subject matter expert to team on topics that may include criminal legal system reform policy analysis, development and advocacy
• Liaise with other teams, projects, and departments across Vera to advance Vera Louisiana goals
• Manage, assign, review, and provide feedback on the work of Program Managers, Senior Program Associates, Program Associates, and Interns
• Collaborate with Vera Louisiana’s research team leadership to efficiently integrate the team’s data and research into Vera Louisiana’s policy and advocacy strategy and deliverables
• Meet regularly with staff to support day-to-day project management and continual professional development
• Lead regular policy/advocacy team meetings, strategy sessions, and debriefs to help the team work together seamlessly and effectively
• Take a leadership role in the recruitment, interviewing, selection, and onboarding of new team members
• Build and maintain strong relationships with community partners and government officials
• Provide collaboration, thought leadership and robust participation in partner coalitions
• Communicate regularly and collaborate with advocacy partners to build momentum for reforms
• In collaboration with Director, represent Vera Louisiana in public at meetings, public hearings, and conferences
• Other Job Duties as Assigned

Preferred Qualifications

• Juris doctor or graduate degree in public policy, social work, political science, criminal justice, or related field; or equivalent work experience; or relevant work or educational background and lived experience as a person directly impacted by the criminal legal system
• Lived experience as a person directly impacted by the criminal legal system
• Experience managing, supervising, or leading a team
• Experience designing and implementing successful advocacy campaigns
• Demonstrated ability to work with advocates, government officials, criminal legal system personnel, practitioners, and people who are directly impacted by the criminal legal system
• Experience and comfort speaking publicly, including giving public comment and testimony and speaking on panels at conferences and meetings
• Microsoft Office proficiency
• Comfort interpreting criminal justice data and social science or legal research
• Ability to travel periodically across the state

Benefits

• Generous paid time off
• A comprehensive health insurance plan
• Student loan repayment benefits
• Professional development training opportunities and up to $2,000 annual for education costs and fees relevant to Vera work
• Employer-funded retirement plan
• Flexible time