Senior Program Manager

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, $130 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

The Family Court team works directly with children and families to reduce and prevent system involvement, strengthen family relationships and interrupt intergenerational cycles of trauma through its problem-solving court-based operating programs. In addition to its operations, the Family Court team also supports systemic change, through its support of the Family Justice Initiative. In partnership with the Unified Court System (UCS), and the Office of the Governor of the State of New York, the Initiative seeks to forge a fair, equitable, and sustainable path forward for Family Court and its system partners to better serve all New Yorkers. The Center’s role is to develop a broad vision for what makes an effective family-serving system and lead the process to create a comprehensive plan to support that vision.

The Family Law Resource Center (FLRC) is a public-private partnership among the New York State Unified Court System and the Center for Justice Innovation. The FLRC will promote high quality legal representation in the New York State Family Court through training and support of attorneys who represent children, parents, presentment agencies, and the related professions that comprise multidisciplinary holistic representation teams. The Family Justice Initiative is a statewide Family Court project, also in partnership with New York State Unified Court System that supports a strategic planning process to increase access to justice in Family Court across New York State. The project is solutions focused–building on the reports and analyses that have been completed to date—to prioritize areas for improvement, identify promising initiatives ripe for expansion, and explore and test bold new ideas. 

The Family Court Programs team is seeking a Senior Program Manager. Reporting to the Director of Policy and Youth Initiatives of Family Court Programs, the Senior Program Manager will primarily work on the FLRC but will also support the programmatic and operational needs of the Family Justice Initiative (FJI). The Senior Program Manager will support the Family Court Programs team primarily through the management of the development of the Family Law Resource Center (FLRC). The Senior Program Manager will work closely with Family Court Leadership to convene an advisory group in partnership with the Permanent Commission on Justice for Families to inform the direction of the FLRC. They will also incorporate ideas and recommendations currently being generated from Family Justice Initiative workgroup discussions regarding training into the design of the FLRC, and lead the website development efforts to build a statewide clearinghouse of resources for New York Family Court practitioners. 

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Work with the website developer to create a statewide clearinghouse of resources, promising practices, guidelines, materials, and subject matter trainers/experts for the FLRC;
• Work closely with OCA/AB in the development and implementation of the FLRC; 
• Manage administration and coordination of the FLRC advisory board, consultants, subject matter experts, and day-to-day facilitation of the resource center including developing written and multimedia products; 
• Facilitate training and technical assistance through the FLRC website portal; 
• Facilitate peer-to-peer communication and collaboration; 
• Respond to inquiries, coordinate site visits, assist in product development; 
• Conduct and host site visits for a wide array of justice system stakeholders; 
• Develop strong, collaborative relationships with important partners in the field; 
• Assist with development of practitioner monographs, fact sheets, toolkits, guidance documents, website features, and other written products, as well as online content for FLRC website; 
• Assist in writing reports, publications, and other written products; 
• Assist with grant writing/reporting to support expansion of Family Court Programs;
• Coordinate the development of the FLRC with the training needs articulated in the Family Justice Initiative Working Groups;
• Present at conferences and training events, as needed; 
• Supervise staff as needed, including hiring, promoting, and terminating direct reports;
• Manage performance of staff through regular reviews, coaching, and disciplinary action; 
• Approve timesheets and time-off requests for direct reports; and
• Additional relevant tasks, as needed.  

Qualifications: Master’s degree and 4-5 years of experience working on child protection and family law issues with preference given to someone with expertise in training and technical assistance, working with underserved communities, and a track record of successfully implementing community-based initiatives. Excellent written and verbal communication skills and project management skills are a must. Candidates will have the ability to work with a diverse array of partners, including community members, business owners, police, probation officers, judges, attorneys, court administrators, elected officials, social service providers, school officials, and community-based organizations. The Senior Program Manager will be collaborating with a dynamic team and will add to the team’s internal culture by being an energetic, flexible, well-organized, self-motivated, quick learner. 

Position Type: Full-time

Position Location: Midtown Manhattan.

Compensation: The compensation range for this position is $77,500 - $110,000 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 committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We do not discriminate based on 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 LGBTQ+ community, and individuals with prior contact with the criminal justice system. Our goal is to create a supportive and respectful environment where everyone, regardless of background or identity, feels valued and included.

At this time, the Center does not sponsor or support any immigration status, which includes supporting or completing any foreign student training plan. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application and throughout the duration of employment.

Candidates are expected to provide accurate and truthful information throughout the hiring process. Any misrepresentation, falsification, or omission of material facts may result in disqualification from consideration, withdrawal of an offer, or termination of employment, regardless of when discovered.

As of February 10, 2023, New York City Executive Order 25 rescinded the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for City workers, new hires, and contracted employees. While the Center does not require vaccination, we strongly recommend that all staff, interns, and volunteers stay up to date.

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