Chief Advocacy Officer

About the team:

In a moment when the federal government istrying toadvancean authoritarian agenda under the guise of crime control and the criminal justice and immigrant rights fields need to build political influence and power tomakeprogress and protect wins Vera and Vera Action plays a central roleas one of the nations oldest and largest justice reform work across the political aisle andwith the belief that a majority of the American public believes in both safetyandjusticeand there is no false choice between one or the other. Our success whether on legislative campaigns or to change hearts and minds depends on collaboration and coordination with other partners including national and local alliesprogressivesand conservativesgrasstopsand grassroots organizations and within the justice reform field and the movement ecology of social change where different groups play distinct roles (i.e. mass protest organizing inside lane etc.) Vera and Vera Actions role is to harness thedata evidence and solutionsabout what works in criminal justice and immigration reformin the policy and political debateparticularly with government andgrasstopsstakeholders.

The Chief Advocacy Officer(CAO) a position that reports to Insha Rahman the incoming President and Director of Vera and Vera Actionis on Veras Leadership Advocacy & Partnerships team and Vera Actionare responsible forleadingthe vision strategy and staff developmentofboth policy advocacy and political advocacyacross the organizations. These teamsalso serve as an anchor for manyof Vera and Vera Actionscoordination and coalition effortsincluding onrapid response messaging andissue advocacycampaigns.

On the c3sideAdvocacy & Partnerships serves as a hub forVera staff todevelop campaign strategy and workplans including power mapping stakeholder analyses and real-time campaign planning and execution. Externally Advocacy & Partnershipsserves as a resource for the larger justice reform field andregularly coordinates the field to provide information make meaning of current events and their impact on criminal justice and immigration and totake action.

On the c4 side Vera Actionoperatesto neutralize the politics of crime and create a political climate hospitable to justice reform. Weuse public opinion research and messaging to equip politicians across the political spectrum tolead witha new approachto safety accountability and justice and countercrime attackson the campaign trail and while in Action alsohelps to build relationships with othermovements including labor faith reproductive justice climate change gun safetyetc. to ensure that issues of safety and justice are core to a multiracial inclusive democracy.

About the role:

The CAOhas a strong foundation of knowledge about criminal justice and immigrationisan experienced manager of both substantive programs and staff has a track record of supervision in complex and dynamic environments possesses both c3 and c4 experience and has relationships with both movement partners and the broader fields as well as with funders.The CAO will guide an experienced team of policy experts campaigners and political strategists andultimately beresponsible for effective and impactfulpolicyadvocacy by Vera and political advocacy by Vera Action. The CAO ispassionate about social and racial justice motivated to drive change and unafraid to challenge the status quo.The CAO isenthusiastic collaborative curious and kind andvaluesworking with and helping othersbuild experienceexpertise and skills.The person mustbelieve in the value of doing inside lane workwith government as well asoutside lane approachesofworkingin partnership with advocates organizers andgrassroots andgrasstopsallies.

1. Advocacy Leadership

• Identifypriority issues and campaigns for Vera and Vera Actionwhereengaging in policy advocacy and political advocacy will lead to advancing progress or defending against backlash on our mission
• With the President and Director set and build out the strategy for Vera Action driving decision-making related to lobbying advocacy and political initiatives in service of changing both narratives and policies around the criminaljusticeand immigration systems
• Supervise staff inAdvocacy&Partnerships andVera Action as well as collaborate with Veras Initiatives to develop and execute on those issues and campaigns
• Coordinate with the Vera Leadership Team to ensure that the issues and campaigns are supportive of the overall organizational goals
• Providethought leadership andguidancetoensure rigor in initiatives and campaigns

2. Field Leadership

• Lead or help to build coalitions and tables for the justice reform field
• Serve as a representative for Vera and Vera Action across multiple sectors including building relationships with partners in democracy labor faith and other fields
• Serve as a media spokesperson and one of the public faces of Vera and Vera Action
• Manage relationships with campaign consultants and contract lobbyists
• Represent Vera and Vera Action in rapid responsecontexts

3. Fundraising and Finance

• In collaboration withthe development team andVera and Vera Actions President and Director fundraiseforVera and Vera Actions core advocacy efforts and campaigns and the organizations generally
• Overseebudget reporting deadlines track spending and ensure spending aligns with strategic needs

4. Organizational Leadership

• Serve as a core member of the Vera Leadership Team and engage inenterprise-level planning administration strategy- and goal-settingand decision-making
• Attend weekly VLT meetings and other responsibilities related to VLT membership

4. Talent Development Supervision and Mentorship

• Supervise senior leads in Advocacy & Partnerships and Vera Action
• Ensure staff has the resources skills and infrastructure necessary to meet and exceed goals
• Provide mentorship and guidance to non-supervisee staff who are building advocacy skills

What qualifications are we looking for

:

• 15 years of experiencein advocacy campaigns and policyand politicalchangeincluding oncriminal justice and/or immigration.
• Atrack recordofmanaging complexworkincluding campaigns and peopleacross both501(c)(3) and (c)(4)contexts.
• Demonstratedability to fundraise and serve as a representative for the organizations with key stakeholders including donors.
• Experience planning and leadingpolicyadvocacycampaigns at thefederalstateorlocal level.
• Experienceworkingin coalitionandpartnership with othergrasstopsand grassroots organizations including across the aisle.
• Adeep commitment to Veras mission to endmass incarceration fight for immigrants rights restore dignity to people behind bars and build safe thriving communities.

Preferred:

• Experience with political campaigns and electionsa plus.
• Experience as aspokesperson on social justice issues and campaigns in traditional and/or new media outlets.
• Adegree in public policy or law orthe equivalentwork experience.

Knowledge Skills & Abilities youll bring:

• You hold crediblerelationships with government partners leaders advocates and organizers as well as other leaders in the field.
• Youarecomfortablewiththe authority and decision-making responsibilities thataccompanyan executive position in the means you musttruly enjoyandnot just tolerateworking with others both external to Veraand Vera Actionand inside the organizations.
• You are flexiblehighly-organizedand able to multi-task prioritize and manage multiple activities in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to travel 20% of the time.

Location:

Please note this role will report to our Brooklyn NY or Washington DC 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 $00.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 Institutes 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 $2000 annual for education costs and fees relevant to Vera work employer-funded retirement plan and flexible time.To learn more about Veras benefits offeringsclick here.

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:
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 includingwith regard toeducational background and justice system contact and depend on a diverse staff to carry out our mission.

For more information about Vera please visit.