Who We Are:
At the Vera Institute of Justice, our vision is a society that respects the dignity of every person and safeguards justice for all. At a propitious moment, we are standing up and driving change on a variety of fronts — ending cash bail, ending mass incarceration, vastly improving life behind bars, ensuring that immigrants get due process, and centering all our work in race equity. Convincing people to change the way they think and act in order to serve justice is in our DNA. One of the ways we change hearts and minds is through strategic communications campaigns. We have a growing communications team that advocates for our vision with colleagues as well as stakeholder and public audiences. Are you interested in helping lead a super-smart and productive team using best-in-class communications strategies and tactics to drive change?
What you'll do:
Long known for our research and technical assistance, communications is now one of the core pillars of Vera’s work. We are expanding our communications team and continuing to devote unrestricted dollars to our work over the next five years. Importantly, we embed communications in our program and project work from the start. Our efforts have paid off with an award-winning rebranding and website, significant media attention, dramatic growth in social media followers, and new partnerships — elements needed to drive change in the criminal legal system.
But more can be done, and the need is urgent. We need to leverage increasing calls for systemic change, using communications to connect our advocacy, program, research, and development work to external audiences. We are seeking a Director of Operations, Communications & External Affairs to join our growing team.
The communications team works closely with all units at Vera. The Director of Operations, Communications & External Affairs works closely with the Vice President of Communications, partners with the Communications Leads to implement strategic campaigns, and oversees team goal setting, coordination, and production. The Director of Operations, Communications & External Affairs is responsible for:
The Director of Operations, Communications & External Affairs reports to Vice President of Communications & External Affairs and serves as the operational manager of our team, supervising the communications coordinator, internal communications manager, and strategic communications campaign director. They manage team workloads in order to meet goals and deadlines. They are responsible for leading — or delegating when appropriate — central functions, including coordinating with program teams, triaging and managing incoming requests, and coordinating team planning and performance against goals.
Candidates must be excellent communicators and negotiators, expert at strategic communications campaign architecture and project management, caring mentors, adept in racial equity, and have a high EQ.
What We Need in You
Additional Qualifications
ATTN: Human Resources / Associate Director
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/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