Smart Justice Organizer

Position Open until Filled
First Review of Applicants Scheduled for July 22, 2025

The ACLU of Washington (ACLU-WA) advances liberty and justice in the courts, in the legislatures, in the streets, and at the ballot box. Our work is rooted in belief in a future where everyone in Washington, particularly those who have been historically and systematically denied full enjoyment of their promised civil rights and liberties, are finally free to do so without barriers.

Defending and advancing these fundamental rights and core values relies on the contributions of exceptional staff.

ACLU-WA is seeking a passionate and strategic organizer to lead its organizing efforts to champion alternatives to incarceration and promote Smart Justice, advocating for approaches that are fair, more effective, and less costly than traditional punitive measures. The Smart Justice Organizer will work within the Policy Advocacy Department (PAD), collaborating with PAD team members and other organizational leaders to develop and implement strategies that advance ACLU-WA’s short and long‑term goals.

The Smart Justice Organizer will build political power in communities disproportionately impacted by systemic oppression, working alongside activists and community partners to design and implement strategies that address shared goals. The Smart Justice Organizer will report to the Organizing Director.

The Policy Advocacy Department works to effectuate change through state and local legislation, rule making, institutional policy change, community‑driven advocacy, public education, coalition building, and media work. Through our engagement with community stakeholders, we strive to center and amplify the voices, perspectives, and experiences of directly impacted communities and individuals. Within the ACLU‑WA, PAD uses an integrated advocacy approach, working collaboratively with the Legal, Political Strategies, and Communications teams to further its goals.

• Cultivate trusted relationships with activists and community partners, including those representing and led by directly impacted people. Working in collaboration with the Organizing Director, Policy Advocacy, Legislative Affairs, Legal, and Communications staff, develop plans for broadening and deepening the ACLU‑WA’s relationships with activists committed to criminal legal reform, with and among people with particular lived experience or expertise, and support effective execution of those plans.
• Represent the ACLU‑WA externally in coalition meetings and other organizing spaces. Share information about the ACLU‑WA’s positions on issues, goals, and strategies with accuracy. Listen and learn about activists’, community partners’, and justice‑involved communities’ priorities and positions and communicate that information to other staff in the ACLU‑WA.
• Facilitate or participate in, as assigned, coalitions convened to advance criminal legal reforms.
• In collaboration with other advocacy staff, seek the input of organizations led by and/or centering the voices of directly impacted individuals and communities to help shape ACLU‑WA’s priorities, strategies, and tactics.
• Develop and implement organizing workplans to help advance towards intermediate and long‑term policy goals that may include but are not limited to passing priority legislation, ballot measure campaigns, and general public education and engagement on ACLU‑WA issues.
• Recruit, educate, and mobilize coalition partners to broaden and deepen base of support for political and policy goals, facilitate coalition meetings for collective strategy development, support activists and community partners engaging in activities to influence decision makers.
• Serve as a key point of contact for coalition partners, particularly partners who represent individuals directly impacted by the criminal legal system. Work with activists and community partners to build alignment around shared goals, identify areas of disagreement, and with the support of the Organizing Director and other ACLU‑WA staff, engage with coalition partners to redress conflict.
• Shepherd coalition partners’ engagement in developing and…