Senior Program Associate, Redefining Public Safety

About the team

Vera's Redefining Public Safety initiative aims to transform how safety is delivered to communities by strengthening civilian-led, community-centered approaches that prioritize compassion, accountability to system-impacted communities, and a focus on public health. We partner with cities and states to blueprint and sustain institutions that can assume core public safety functions and reduce over reliance on traditional law enforcement approaches.

Under the supervision of the Associate Director, the Senior Program Associate will contribute to the development of municipal-level public safety anchor institutions (PSAIs) by synthesizing practical lessons and evidence from a range of jurisdictions and methodologies (e.g., research, technical assistance, policy change). They will help create and implement tools and processes for enhancing data use, coordination, accountability to impacted communities, and sustainability with site partners.

They will facilitate peer learning and strategy refinement, working with staff, practitioners, and others in the public safety reform field to identify and deliver Vera's contributions to national change efforts. They will support public safety policy efforts in collaboration with the Policy Manager. Throughout their work, the Senior Program Associate will center equity and antiracism and take an intersectional approach in doing so.

• Project Design and Management
• Engage in outreach and project management activities that support relationship building, information sharing, and change management aligned with initiative goals
• Serve as subject matter expert when needed and propose new projects
• Manage project targets and milestones, and work to ensure that key targets and milestones are met
• Assist in the development of initiative strategic plans and frameworks
• Dedicate time and effort to advancing the integration of intersectional approaches to antiracism and equity in public safety systems change

• Technical Assistance and Policy
• Build and maintain relationships with community and government partners to implement and develop strategies
• Engage with internal and external partners on idea generation, learning from site work, and gathering information from the criminal legal system sector and other sectors on systems change management and results-driven practices in local government
• Translate lessons from the team's research and practical experience into PSAI framework development
• Build skills and knowledge of practitioners, advocates, elected officials, and other stakeholders interested in equitable public safety interventions and restructuring public safety systems
• Support practitioners and policymakers with whom RPS works
• Participate in learning communities to distill and disseminate knowledge

• Write-up/Presentation of Projects
• Develop and deliver informational presentations with practical guidance
• Facilitate meetings and peer learning with stakeholders
• Contribute to PSAI-related event planning
• Collaborate with research staff to translate and tailor research learnings for various audiences
• Develop tools and products to advance RPS goals
• Manage the preparation of information and/or lead background research and literature reviews for reports, and write up results for public-facing products including reports, fact sheets, advocacy documents, or other publications
• Manage the planning, drafting, and editing of reports and presentations, as needed
• Present at internal Vera events (department meetings, brown bag discussions, etc.)

• Team Support and Internal Collaboration
• Collaborate with colleagues to strengthen initiative strategy and implementation
• Collaborate with Policy Manager and others to advance scaling of the PSAI framework at local and state levels
• Collaborate with Vera colleagues on the RPS initiative and other teams, ensuring role clarity whether Senior Program Associate is owning, helping, or consulting
• Support hiring and recruitment of associates, analysts, assistants, and/or interns, and assist in onboarding to the initiative

• Fundraising/Proposal Development
• Develop proposals in support of fundraising led by senior leadership in the initiative
• Participate in funder meetings, as needed

• Other duties as assigned

• Bachelor's degree and 4+ years of relevant experience. In lieu of degree, applicable work or life experience may be considered
• 2+ years in violence intervention and/or community-based approaches to public safety

• Knowledge and experience navigating government administrative procedures

• Strong oral and written communication skills
• Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously, effectively, and efficiently, both independently and collaboratively with colleagues
• Understanding of the impact of structural racism and oppression and ability to translate this to external audiences
• Knowledge of community building, equal justice, and racial equity
• Ability to travel up to 30%

• Proficient in Microsoft Office…