Associate Director, Talent Acquisition & Onboarding, People Resources (Brooklyn, NY)

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 grasstop 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 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:

The Associate Director, Talent Acquisition & Onboarding will be a visible, proactive problem-solver who is excellent at organizing, effective at building strong relationships and influencing at all levels across the Institute.  The Associate Director will also be able to be both strategic and execute with great thoughtfulness and attention to detail, possess a dedication to delivering work of the highest caliber and able to cultivate an open, warm, caring environment where Verans can be their best selves, as managers, leaders, and within teams.  The Associate Director must be able to drive many key initiatives for our people programs, processes and partnerships that are robust, automated, scalable, and repeatable, all within a supportive, reliably transparent environment. Measures of success include a high level of diverse and successful recruits, positive employee relations, strong talent retention and solid administration of the function.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Talent Acquisition

• Partners with hiring managers in developing recruitment strategy to identify and source highly qualified and diverse talent for current open roles within the Institute.
• Manages the recruitment process and life cycle, including the applicant tracking system, initial assessments, interviews, and offers. Provides recruitment support and guidance to hiring managers with hiring and employment data. May develop specialized or competitive intelligence and research regarding talent development or retention.
• Develops a pipeline of talent with high interest in justice reform and a growing affinity for Vera’s vision, mission and values
• Initiates and strengthens relationships with college and university recruiting programs, participates in employment events, such as career fairs to develop pipeline of diverse talent.
• Uses social media, job boards, Internet sourcing, and other technical means to source and track applicants through the selection phase through to onboarding candidates.
• Counsels the candidate on benefits, salary, and corporate environment.

Onboarding & Acculturation

• Own the end-to-end orientation and onboarding process that is engaging, mission-centric, includes tactics for remote engagement, and effective--a process that resonates with all new Verans 
• Provide guidance to hiring teams to ensure all communication/touch points are reflective of the Vera’s mission, vision and values, the new hire’s role, and best incorporates activities and materials

Employee Relations

• Builds partnerships with all levels of staff from individuals to teams, from individual contributor to executive leadership.
• Advises managers and supervisors in best employee relations practices and strategies for addressing issues as they arise.  Collaborates with Learning & Development to create further training as needed.
• Coaches and advises staff on solving problems and implements resolutions for performance management challenges; provides guidance on corrective actions, policy interpretation, and other workplace people resources challenges.
• Maintains good communication and positive relationships with employees to promote employee satisfaction.
• Conducts exit interviews, analyzes trends or opportunities for feedback or improvement, particularly in areas related to employee engagement.

Engagement

• Manages the Vera Summer Internship Program, inclusive of the Justice Scholars Program, year-round interns and fellows. 
• Develops and manages Vera alumni network
• Leads or contributes to Vera initiatives and projects such as the employee milestone recognition program, the employee assistance and resiliency program, the corporate donation program, the bi-annual employee feedback survey, regular review and maintenance of People Resources Intranet.

People Resources Administration

• Prepares and analyzes talent acquisition metrics and provides reports that support decision making on talent acquisition strategy, onboarding strategy and engagement, staff retention. Reviews and prepares position descriptions for each job posting and ensures descriptions accurately reflect the work being performed by incumbents.
• Develop clearly written communications to support timely distribution of various talent resources and correspondence, managing systems and processes to ensure quality control, accuracy and efficiency in all processes 
• Manage and lead all day-to-day maintenance of the Applicant Tracking System
• Ensure the maintenance of accurate and well-ordered documentation and record keeping on all candidates, searches, hiring manager interactions, interviews and other recruiting activities.
• Manage reporting and maintenance of talent acquisition and onboarding/offboarding metrics for process improvement; communicate the results of this data to the Chief People Officer
• Ensure compliance with company policy and local, state or federal law, and support any Affirmative Action Plan goals and compliance-related reporting
• Supports the quarterly review of promotions, salary adjustments,
• Support and participates in the annual performance review process

Other duties as assigned

What qualifications do you need?

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree and 9-12 years of human resources, talent acquisition, employee relations and engagement. In lieu of degree requirement, applicable work or life experience may be considered.
• Experience in recruiting and hiring diverse talent
• People Resources analytical and programming experience

Preferred:

• Master’s degree
• SHRM certification

List of Required Software Applications:

• Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher
• ADP
• JazzHR
• Navex
• SharePoint
• Culture Amp
• Smartsheets
• Microix

Compensation and Benefits

The compensation range for this position is $125,000 - $127,000. Actual salaries will vary depending on factors including but not limited to experience and performance. The salary range listed is just one component of Vera Institute’s total compensation package for employees. As an employer of choice in our field, supporting Vera staff—both personally and professionally—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 and remote work schedules. To learn more about Vera’s benefits offerings, click here.

Applications may also be faxed to:

ATTN: People Resources / Associate Director, Talent Acquisition & Onboarding, People Resources
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