Senior Strategist, Federal Advocacy, Advocacy & Partnerships

The posting, as Vera Institute of Justice wrote it

About the team

Vera’s Advocacy & Partnerships department is responsible for coordinating the vision, strategy, and staff development across Vera’s initiatives to pass legislation, change policy, and create change at scale. We work to ensure that the goals of our advocacy campaigns align with the people and communities most impacted by criminal justice and immigration policies, and we collaborate with movement and advocacy partners to produce the knowledge and ideas needed to change policies and legislation at the right time.

Vera’s Advocacy & Partnerships department serves the following core functions:

• Providing state and local government and movement strategy guidance to Vera’s national and place-based initiatives, with a focus on lobbying, campaigns, and coalition work;
• Federal policy expertise to lead Vera’s advocacy strategies in Washington, D.C.;
• Vera Insights, a rapid-response data and evidence team responsible for developing and producing data and knowledge to key partners and audiences; and
• Coordination with Vera Action, Vera’s sister 501(c)(4) organization.

About the role

The Senior Strategist, Federal Advocacy is a key member of Vera’s Advocacy & Partnerships department and serves as a strategist and advocate focused on advancing Vera’s federal policy priorities and defending against federal actions that threaten them. The Senior Strategist develops and executes federal advocacy strategies to advance legislation, federal budget and appropriations priorities, administrative policies, and other federal policy changes aligned with Vera’s goals.

The Senior Strategist monitors and analyzes the federal political and policy environment, identifies opportunities to advance Vera’s priorities, develops strategies to influence federal decision-makers, and builds relationships with congressional offices, federal agencies, national advocacy organizations, and other key stakeholders. This role will work closely with movement and coalition partners to build power and advance shared federal policy goals.

At a moment when federal policymakers are pushing a return to failed “tough-on-crime” policies, Vera’s role is to bring the data, evidence, and solutions about what works into federal policy debates, particularly with government and grasstops stakeholders. Vera's February 2026 platform, A New Federal Paradigm for S a fety, Accountability, and Ju s tice , reflects the kind of popular, evidence-based federal solutions Vera champions, organized around six planks: strong, accountable policing; ending the overdose crisis; supporting strong mental health and deescalating crisis; tackling gun violence; safe streets and good quality of life; and a fairer, more accountable justice system. On immigration, Vera works to hold federal immigration enforcement accountable, expand access to deportation defense and universal legal representation for people facing deportation, and push back against the expansion of DHS’s power.

The Senior Strat
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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 .