Community Partnerships Coordinator

THE ORGANIZATION

The Center for Justice Innovation is a community justice organization that centers safety and racial justice. Since our founding in 1996, the Center has partnered with community members, courts, and the people most impacted to create stronger, healthier, more just communities. Our decades of experience in courts and communities, coupled with our field-leading research and practitioner expertise, help us drive justice nationwide in innovative, powerful, and durable ways. For more information on how and where we work, please visit www.innovatingjustice.org.  

The Center is a 900-employee, $100 million nonprofit that accomplishes its vision through three pillars of work: creating and scaling operating programs to test new ideas and solve problems, performing original research to determine what works (and what doesn’t), and providing expert assistance and policy guidance to justice reformers around the world.

Operating Programs

The Center’s operating programs, including the award-winning Red Hook Community Justice Center and Midtown Community Justice Center, test new ideas, solve difficult problems, and attempt to achieve systemic change within the justice system. Our projects include community-based violence prevention programs, alternatives to incarceration, reentry initiatives, and court-based initiatives that reduce the use of unnecessary incarceration and promote positive individual and family change. Through this programming, we have produced tangible results like safer streets, reduced incarceration, and improved neighborhood perceptions of justice.

Research

The Center's research teams are staffed with social scientists, data analysts, and lawyers who are academically-trained or have lived experience and who conduct research in the U.S. and globally on diverse criminal-legal system and justice issues. Their work includes evaluating programs and policies; conducting exploratory, community-based studies; and providing research translation and strategic planning for system actors. The Center has published studies on topics including court and jail reform, intimate partner violence, restorative justice, gun violence, reentry, sixth amendment rights, and progressive prosecution. The research teams strive to make their work meaningful and actionable to the communities they work with, policymakers, and practitioners.

Policy & Expert Assistance

The Center provides hands-on, planning and implementation assistance to a wide range of jurisdictions in areas of reform such as problem-solving courts (e.g., community courts, treatment courts, domestic violence courts), tribal justice, reducing incarceration and the use of fines/fees and reducing crime and violence. Our current expert assistance takes many forms, including help with analyzing data, strategic planning and consultation, policy guidance, and hosting site visits to its operating programs in the New York City area. 

Center Support

A dedicated support team within the Center ensures the smooth functioning of operations across various domains, including finance, legal, technology, human resources, fundraising, real estate, and communications. Comprising 15% of the organization's staff, these teams provide essential infrastructure support and innovative solutions aligned with the Center's mission and values. 

THE OPPORTUNITY

Launched in 1993, the award-winning Midtown Community Justice Center is one of the country’s first problem-solving courts. Seeking to reduce crime and incarceration and increase public trust in justice, the Midtown Community Justice Center works with neighborhood stakeholders to improve Midtown Manhattan. The court responds creatively to low-level offending, seeking alternatives that are restorative to the community. In keeping with that goal, Midtown also operates upstream programming to divert adults and young people from prosecution.

The justice system is stronger, fairer, and more effective with community investment. At the Justice Center, we invite the people who live and work in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood to participate in identifying local problems and crafting solutions. The Justice Center embraces a participatory planning approach, empowering local leaders, community members, participants and stakeholders to become agents of change in their communities and collaboratively identify and solve local issues. Community members include people to live, work, and seek services in Midtown. The Justice Center seeks to deepen relationships with these stakeholders as well as the local police precincts, schools, service providers, and community organizations. 

Reporting to the Deputy Director, the Community Partnerships Coordinator will support the expansion of the Justice Center’s partnership network and liaise with service provider partners, community leaders, Midtown’s business community, local Business Improvement Districts, public housing developments, schools, police precincts, and more. The Community Partnerships Coordinator will manage the Justice Center’s social media accounts, coordinate tours and site visits, cultivate corporate partnerships, manage volunteer engagement, and develop educational offerings.

• Cultivate relationships with organizations including but not limited to City agencies, community-based service providers, criminal legal system stakeholders, elected officials’ offices, schools, and local businesses;
• Plan, develop, and launch community-based initiatives in collaboration with criminal justice stakeholders, community-based organizations, tenant associations, and community leaders in response to public safety and quality of life trends; 
• Facilitate community conversations with diverse groups to gather feedback and share resources;
• Attend and coordinate Justice Center presence at community board meetings, precinct community council meetings, and other relevant meetings;
• Coordinate community-based activities and events, including but not limited to: workshops, trainings, tabling, and resource fairs in collaboration with program staff;
• Elevate the Justice Center’s social media presence and manage its social media accounts;
• Liaise with local NYCHA tenant association and manage the Justice Center’s engagements with the Midtown-area public housing developments;
• Cultivate relationships with local schools and youth-serving organizations and provide education on topics related to justice and the criminal legal system through site visits, presentations, and/or written materials; 
• Work with program coordinators and the senior team to identify volunteer opportunities, and recruit and manage volunteers;
• Cultivate and manage corporate partnerships;
• Work with program coordinators to create and maintain a database of referral partners;
• Establish methods for gathering feedback from local residents, program alumni, and criminal legal system stakeholders to gauge the Justice Center’s responsiveness to public safety, current issues, and community concerns;
• Coordinate site visits to the Justice Center, including working with the senior team, presiding Judge, program staff, clerks, court officers and the Center's Technical Assistance team to set agendas and communicate with visitors, stakeholders, and both domestic and international visitors;
• Work with Justice Center colleagues to identify opportunities to collaborate with external partners and to increase community awareness about the Justice Center’s work; and
• Additional tasks as necessary.

• Superior project and time management skills, highly organized, detail-oriented and meticulous about quality, accuracy, and timeliness; 
• A strong ability to organize partnerships across diverse ethnic and racial groups and/or within under-resourced communities;
• Demonstrated success leading logistics, identifying and achieving project goals, quickly, effectively, and successfully in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment; 
• Ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary environment, create collaborative relationships with colleagues, and work/communicate well with multiple department leaders;
• Excellent facilitation skills to identify community issues, needs, feedback, and preferences in a timely manner; 
• A dynamic personality with a strong desire to lead and public speaking skills; 
• Exceptional analytical, written and oral communication, presentation, and writing skills;
• Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with governmental and community agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, and community groups; 
• Demonstrated success in community organizing, grassroots/neighborhood advocacy, and lobbying campaigns;
• Strong aptitude for interpreting data and data trends including the ability to develop metrics for success and utilize evaluation tools; 
• Sound ability to work with diverse communities in an empathetic, comfortable and non-judgmental manner; 
• Flexible schedule with the ability to work some weekends and evenings; and
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Suite;

Position Type: Full-time, 9:00am - 5:00pm with occasional evenings and weekends.

Position Location: Midtown, Manhattan.

Compensation: The compensation range for this position is $62,400 - $72,000 and is commensurate with experience. The Center for Justice Innovation offers an excellent benefits package including comprehensive healthcare with a national network, free basic dental coverage, vision insurance, short-term and long-term disability, life insurance, and flexible spending accounts including commuter FSA. We prioritize mental health care for our staff and offer services like Talkspace and Ginger through our healthcare plans. We offer a 403(b) retirement plan with a two-to-one employer contribution up to 5%.

The Center for Justice Innovation is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace, and as such, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, national origin, age, military service eligibility, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, or any other category protected by law. We strongly encourage and welcome applications from women, people of color, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, as well as individuals with prior contact with the criminal justice system. Our aim is to create a supportive and respectful environment where every individual, irrespective of their background or identity, feels valued and included.

As of February 10, 2023, New York City Executive Order 25 rescinded the requirement of the COVID-19 vaccination for City workers, new hires, and contracted employees. Accordingly, the Center does not require all new hires be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus; however, the Center recommends all staff, interns, and volunteers stay up-to-date on the vaccination.

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete an employment eligibility verification document form upon hire. Kindly refer to the job posting for the relevant contact information. If the contact details are not provided, we kindly ask that you refrain from making inquiries via phone or email, as only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.