Program Associate, Vera Louisiana

The posting, as Vera Institute of Justice wrote it

About the role

The Program Associate will support local and state advocacy campaigns to build thriving communities and reduce incarceration, manage and execute a suite of programmatic tasks, and liaise between internal communications, local media, and our coalition-focused work. The Program Associate is expected to attend community meetings and maintain strong partnerships with local leaders. They will draft program materials, contribute to effective communications strategies, manage coalitions and collaborations with community partners, and advocate to elected and government officials in public meetings. Ideally, the Program Associate has experience with and a basic understanding of the criminal legal and/or immigration systems in Louisiana.

The Program Associate will work on Vera Louisiana priorities like the Big Easy Budget Coalition and Liberty and Dignity Coalition. They will also work closely with the Communications team on relevant workstreams.

• Program & Coalition Support
• Strengthen existing partnerships with local organizations, including those led by system-impacted people to assist coalition leadership in executing local and state campaigns for policy change
• Foster relationships with external partners, including being the primary contact, developing agendas for coalition meetings, facilitating meetings, providing or designating notetaking, etc.
• Draft memos, fact sheets, presentations, public comment/testimony and reports that focus on issues related to criminal legal system reform, decarceration, prosecution reform and investments in violence/crime prevention initiatives
• Facilitate and manage working groups within our coalition-based work
• Connect external partners to our resources and internal experts to support key campaigns
• Speak at conferences regarding Institute and initiative work and related areas
• Project Management
• Drive several projects at once and be able to shift priorities, while maintaining timelines and meeting deadlines
• Coordinate with Vera’s Communications, People, Place and Culture, Research, and VeraTech departments, and/or any other internal Vera teams to push projects forward
• Assist in the review, editing, and development of other program materials, as necessary
• Develop and update internal task management trackers and calendars
• Take notes and track action items in internal and external meetings, helping to manage workflow and priorities
• Communications and Outreach
• Co-develop and co-execute communications and outreach strategy that connects our work with the public
• Help draft talking points, op-eds or other communications materials from Vera Louisiana’s work and share them internally and with external partners as needed
• Co-develop and draft quarterly newsletters to our email list highlighting our work
• Support social media outreach strategies and uplift our traditional media presence
• Submit any inquiries or future projects to the Communications team int

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rofessionally - is a priority. To do this, we invest in the well-being of our staff through other rewards including merit pay, 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, and flexible time. To learn more about Vera’s benefits offerings, click here .

Application Process

To receive further consideration for this career opportunity, applicants are asked preliminary questions about logistics, their interest and qualifications. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional details about their experience via a phone screen/form in advance of an invitation for a virtual or in-person interview with the team. Some searches may explore scenarios during the interview process and/or an assessment prior to reference checks and a hiring decision.

Applications may also be faxed to

ATTN: People, Place, and Culture / [ JOBTITLE]
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.

Vera is an equal opportunity 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 .