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Analyst - State and Local Advocacy, Advocacy and Partnerships

Brooklyn, NY

Who we are:

The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. For more information, visit vera.org.

Vera has a staff of 216 people, is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York and has offices in Washington, D.C., 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.

About the team:

Vera aims to reform the criminal legal and immigration systems. Approaches to radically changing these systems require advocating effectively for change, engaging in principled partnerships, and working in strategic alignment with community stakeholders and movement allies to win. 

The State & Local Advocacy Analyst will assist Vera colleagues with strategy, policy, and partnerships to drive Vera’s advocacy priorities and win advocacy campaigns. 

  • Supporting A&P’s priority issues and campaigns. The Analyst will assist senior members of the Advocacy & Partnerships team with legislative and policy research and writing on key advocacy priorities; supporting with campaign strategy development; conducting landscape and power analyses; and assisting with planning and executing basic advocacy and organizing trainings. The Analyst will also play an instrumental role in supporting new and emerging advocacy campaigns within Vera by providing strategic direction on campaign goals, strategy, and tactics.
  • Assisting with relationships and collaboration. The Analyst will also assist in building internal relationships and collaboration with Vera colleagues in the national and place-based initiatives. The Analyst will also help to identify and assist with strategic opportunities for cross-movement engagement with outside partners and advocates.
  • Partnering on trainings and skills building. The Analyst will also support A&P senior staff in growing a stable of thought leaders, advocacy experts, and movement trainers to provide trainings, workshops, and skill building to Vera staff and partners. This person will also assist with planning and delivering Advocacy and Partnerships’ Advocacy Fundamentals training modules for Vera Initiatives and for our monthly advocacy learning and training space: Advocacy, Legislative Change and Campaigns (ALCC). 

About the role:

Provide organizing and advocacy support for State and Local Policy team, and Vera projects across a variety of issues in partnership with the State and Local Advocacy Director. 

  • Support SLP team in working with  Vera initiatives to implement advocacy goals, objectives, strategies, tactics, and workplans.
  • As requested, Facilitate small and large group advocacy strategy sessions with colleagues on power, legislative strategy, and coalition work.
  • Work with Vera initiatives to create and conduct trainings on power analysis, landscape analysis, grassroots advocacy, strategy development using Midwest Academy tools and other campaign planning tools. 

Collaborate across Vera to build the advocacy support system 

  • Collaborate across the Advocacy and Partnerships team and across Vera (place- based, initiatives, special projects) to support the development of a robust and effective system for Vera initiative teams to win
  • Drive a program of advocacy stewardship using webinars, office hours, tools, resource sharing, and other means as needed

Contribute to Advocacy and Partnerships annual goals 

  • Work with team to align state and local advocacy goals to contribute to the overall goals of the Advocacy and Partnerships team, as well as goals that span REI, emerge from Vera’s place-based and national initiatives, as well as any special projects
  • Support information-sharing, reflection, and learning across Advocacy and Partnerships

Attend and facilitate meetings with grassroots and community partners as necessary 

  • Request, schedule and attend meetings with Vera Initiatives staff as requested
  • Prepare meeting materials and facilitate debriefs after meetings 

Administrative Duties 

  • Help to ensure responsiveness to internal and external requests
  • Manage the internal SLP documents including trainings, campaign templates, and memos
  • Assist with calendaring and setting up meetings as needed 

Other duties as assigned

What qualifications are we looking for?

  • Bachelor’s degree and up to 3 years of experience with advocacy campaigns, liaising with advocacy, grass tops, grassroots and community partners, and familiarity with legislative advocacy; in lieu of degree requirement, applicable work or life experience may be considered
  • In lieu of bachelor’s degree, applicable work or life experience may be considered 

Preferred: 

  • Lived experience as a person directly impacted by the criminal-legal and/or immigrations system
  • A demonstrated commitment to racial justice
  • Women and People of Color are encouraged to apply 

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities you'll bring: 

  • Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite
  • Skilled at research
  • Must have project management and time management skills
  • You are flexible and able to multi-task, prioritize, and manage multiple activities in a fast-paced environment
  • Skilled communicator, collaborator, team player who takes initiative
  • Excellent writing and communication skills
  • Ability to work collaboratively, including virtually

Technical knowledge helpful for this role:

  • Expertise with Excel and webinar platforms, such as Zoom
  • Strong knowledge of other components of the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint), and other computer skills

Location:

Please note this role will report to our Brooklyn, NY office. Vera employees adhere to a hybrid schedule and are in-office on an alternating schedule that generally amounts to 10 days per month.

Compensation and Benefits:

The compensation range for this position is $64,000 - $67,000 per year. In addition, this position is part of a bargaining unit represented by the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (ALAA) UAW 2325. 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. 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 / State and Local Advocacy Analyst, Advocacy and Partnerships
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.

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