Who we are

The Vera Institute of Justice, founded in 1961, is a nonprofit criminal justice organization that strives to build just government institutions and safe communities free from the scourge of racism, white supremacy, profit, and inequity that is pervasive in this country’s legal systems. We are an “inside” lane organization that drives change at scale with ambitious public sector leaders who share our commitment to building anti-racist, reparative systems that deliver justice. We leverage our access to government to transform these systems and work collaboratively with stakeholders across many movements—including advocacy, grassroots, and grassroots organizations. Our role is to pilot solutions that are transformative and achievable, harness the power of evidence to drive effective policy and practice, and use advocacy and communications to change narratives and norms.

 Vera has a staff of almost 300 people and offices in New York City, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity in the workplace. We expect our staff to embody respect, independence, collaboration, commitment, anti-racism, and equity—both in our outward-facing work and the internal culture of our workplace. We value a range of experiences in people’s educational backgrounds and encourage people who have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system to apply.

Who you are

Lead the program’s overall work to help prosecutors use their power to end mass incarceration, address racial disparities, and be more accountable to the communities they represent and serve as a national thought leader. Advising offices on how to implement policy, practice, and organizational culture reforms designed to end mass incarceration, address racial disparities, and increase their accountability to local communities. Guiding team members who lead and support site work to complete tasks necessary to our engagements - including data analysis, community outreach, trainings, presentations, reports, and memos. Speaking with a national platform on the importance and necessity of prosecution reforms – particularly those that center racial equity.

In this role, you will:

1. Manage and support the team’s engagements across sites

• Fostering strong relationships with DAs in our partner offices
• Guiding team members on how to approach site work consistent with Vera’s strategic priorities
• Handling media requests to provide strategic support for our site partners
• Strategizing and facilitating discussions to navigate obstacles that arise in the site work
• Managing the day-to-day progress of a particular site partnership and assisting with the implementation of reform efforts
• Working with team researchers to guide and focus the data analysis across all sites
• Guiding the preparation of written guidance to establish a blueprint for the site work

2. Contributing to the national conversation on prosecution reform

• Leading the team’s Black Women Lead initiative to uplift Black women lead prosecutors
• Speaking at conferences regarding prosecution reform and related areas
• Serve as spokesperson for this Initiative
• Writing and contributing to articles that highlight prosecution reforms and promote the team’s work
• Meeting with external parties to promote our work and the need for prosecution reform
• Serving as a thought leader in the prosecution space

3. Managing and supporting team members to foster a productive work environment

• Regularly meeting with team members to support completion of goals while ensuring an appropriate work-life balance, satisfaction with the work, and long-term goals
• Staffing and hiring

4. Managing and supporting the team’s local, state, and federal advocacy strategy

• Supervising the deputy director tasked with building and leading the team’s local, state and federal advocacy strategy.
• Meeting with the internal advocacy team to provide thought partnership and guidance on priority advocacy areas at the local, state and federal levels
• Testifying in front of various governing bodies at the local, state, and federal levels
• Meeting with stakeholders at the local, state, and federal level to support priority initiatives

5. Fundraising

• Meeting with Verans to strategize on fundraising opportunities
• Meeting with potential funders to promote the team’s work

What qualifications do you need?

Required:

• At least 5 years’ experience working in or closely adjacent to the criminal legal system
• Deep understanding of the prosecutorial role
• Demonstrated ability to discuss race equity issues within the criminal legal system
• Demonstrated ability to establish credibility with prosecutors
• Demonstrated ability to manage a project from start to finish
• Demonstrated ability to communicate effectively with team members
• Experience managing or supervising a team
• Demonstrated ability to speak with media
• Empathetic approach to the work that values all team members
• Captivating public speaker
• Strong writer
• Comfortable interpreting criminal justice data sets
• Ability to identify and develop criminal justice reforms

Preferred:

• Demonstrated ability to work with advocates, government officials, criminal legal system personnel, practitioners, and people who are directly impacted by the criminal system
• Juris doctorate
• 10+ years of prosecutorial experience
• Criminal justice reform experience
• Fundraising experience

Applications may also be faxed to:

ATTN: Human Resources / Director, Reshaping Prosecution
Vera Institute of Justice
34 35th St, Suite 4-2A, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Fax: (212) 941-9407
Please use only one method (online, mail or fax) of submission.
No phone calls, please. Only applicants selected for interviews will be contacted.

As a federal contractor, and in order to ensure a healthy and safe work environment, Vera Institute of Justice is requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccine before their start date. Employees who cannot receive the vaccine because of a disability/medical contraindication or sincerely-held religious belief may request an accommodation (e.g., an exemption) to this requirement.

Vera is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.  All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, or caregiver status. 

Vera works to advance justice, particularly racial justice, in an increasingly multicultural country and globally connected world. We value diverse experiences, including with regard to educational background and justice system contact, and depend on a diverse staff to carry out our mission. 

For more information about Vera, please visit www.vera.org