Senior Research Associate, Reshaping Prosecution

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:

The Reshaping Prosecution (RP) initiative is dedicated to transforming what it means to be a prosecutor by focusing on the dignity of all people impacted by the criminal justice system. Prosecutors play a critical, but often hidden, role in mass incarceration as one of the most powerful actors in the criminal justice system. They decide who to charge (or not charge) with a crime, what crime to charge, whether to ask that a person sit in jail pending trial, and what sentence to ask for upon conviction (or what alternative remedies to pursue in lieu of prosecution or conviction). Yet, despite this immense power, prosecutors have largely not been the focus of criminal justice reform efforts until recently. Our team helps prosecutors across the country and the communities they serve work to shrink the front end of the system, pursue racial equity, and increase transparency.   

The Senior Research Associate will lead applied quantitative research efforts with selected prosecutors’ offices around the country. Core to that work is the analysis of data from prosecutors’ administrative case management systems and from community-based organizations that are conducting diversion programs in partnership with those offices. To successfully carry out that core responsibility, the Senior Research Associate should be experienced and comfortable with: making administrative data requests of government agencies and non-governmental organizations or non-profits; managing data construction and data delivery with partners who may not have the relevant expertise to assess data needs or data quality; compiling, cleaning, and documenting what are often disparate, disconnected, or sometimes only semi-structured data files into master datasets for analysis, as well as managing updates to those master datasets as new data become available or necessary; and developing thoughtful analyses of that data through the production of discipline-relevant metrics, univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistics, and conveying that information effectively to non-researchers. The Senior Research Associate will work on a team of researchers and former prosecutors and public defenders to build a comprehensive understanding of prosecution within a community, using data from district attorneys’ offices and diversion program providers to spur policy changes that help shrink the front end of the criminal legal system. 
 
The Senior Research Associate will also provide technical assistance to prosecutors’ offices and community-based organizations leading diversion programming to improve their fluency with, and ability to use, data in their criminal justice reform efforts. The Senior Research Associate will contribute to efforts to expand the visibility of prosecutor and community research, including the development and delivery of new products, trainings, convenings, and presentations. They will assume a leadership role within the Reshaping Prosecution research team—hiring, training, and developing junior researchers—and will report directly to the Associate Director of Research.  

About the role:

Research Design and Management

• Develop and present IRB applications and ensure that research is conducted to the highest ethical standards, may serve as “Principal Investigator” on research projects requiring this designation
• Develop expertise in distinct areas and run projects in that space; act as subject matter expert for that area of expertise when needed and propose new projects
• Ensure project management of the implementation of components of the initiative’s strategy while balancing relationships, process, and results.
• Manage the project management of the initiative’s research sites and/or sub-projects
• Manage project targets and milestones, and work to ensure that key targets and milestones are met.
• Build and maintain relationships with community and government partners to implement and develop strategies
• Support more senior staff with the development of an initiative or program theory of change and MEL metrics and, when necessary, manage elements of the process
• Assist in the development of initiative strategic plans
• Conduct peer-review of research designs and analysis plans

Data collection, management, and analysis

• Manage, train, and supervise others on data collection and analyses (qualitative or quantitative)
• Manage and develop discrete components of large research projects and conduct, train, and supervise others on accompanying analyses (quant or qual)
• Work with Initiative Leadership and team to research, develop & draft fact sheets and educational materials
• Foster relationships with external partners/sites to facilitate research projects
• Serve as primary contact for external partners/sites related to research elements of projects
• Provide support to related technical assistance and advocacy projects

Write up/presentation of projects

• Manage the planning, drafting, and editing of research reports and presentations, as needed
• Manage the development, writing and/or editing of research publications and evidence-based messaging and products in support of project or initiative goals
• Present at internal Vera events (department meetings, “brown bag” discussions, etc.)
• Present at external events (academic and policy-focused conferences, professional meetings, etc.)
• As part of a team, provide research support to partners and stakeholders, including preparation of public presentations, facilitation of meetings, and shared expertise

Team Support and Internal Collaboration

• Support hiring and recruitment for research associates, analysts, assistants, and/or interns
• Supervise and mentor research associates, analysts, assistants, and/or interns as needed
• Invest in the professional development of team members
• Collaborate with internal departments (advocacy, communications, legal, finance, people, place, and culture, IT, etc.), when necessary

Fundraising/Proposal Development

• Develop research proposals in support of fundraising led by senior leadership in the program or initiative
• Participate in funder meetings, as needed

Other duties as assigned

What qualifications are we looking for?

• Bachelor's degree and 4 plus years of relevant experience. In lieu of degree requirement, applicable work or life experience may be considered
• Relevant work experience in criminal justice, criminal legal reform, or social justice fields
• Quantitative research experience, ideally with administrative data not originally collected for quantitative analysis (i.e., incomplete, or even unstructured data, requiring extensive cleaning and reformatting)
• Bachelor’s degree in statistics, data science , or social science or related fields with training in statistics and social science research methods; or relevant work or academic history

Preferred: 

• Master’s degree in statistics, data science, or social science or related field with training in statistics and social science research methods
• Experience with the justice system—either you were yourself in the system, have a family member who is/was in the system, you worked in the system, or you worked to change the system
• Familiarity with the criminal justice system, the role of prosecutors, and experience working with criminal justice data 

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities you'll bring: 

• Proficiency with at least one statistical software package (R preferred), data visualization and presentation
• Deep knowledge of the relationship between prosecutorial processes and the data that track them
• Solid presentation skills – developing and delivering – conveying sophisticated quantitative findings through data visualizations to a non-technical audience
• Solid writing skills, particularly for technical and training documents
• Staff development and training 

Location:

Please note this role will report to our Brooklyn, NY, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, CA, or New Orleans, LA 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 $100,000 - $105,000 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. 

Applications may also be faxed to:

ATTN: People, Place, and Culture / Senior Research Associate, Reshaping Prosecution
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.