About the Organization:
The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to end mass incarceration, protect immigrants’ rights, restore dignity to people behind bars, and build safe and thriving communities. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is a leading and nonpartisan national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders to advance evidence-driven solutions that deliver safety, accountability and justice at scale. Vera Action, the Institute’s 501(c)(4) sister organization founded in 2021, harnesses the power of advocacy, lobbying, and political strategy to achieve the same aims.
The new leader will be charged with guiding Vera and Vera Action at a pivotal moment in its history. Criminal justice and immigration reform are facing significant opposition and escalating threats from government. From mass deportations, to punitive policy approaches, and unprecedented attacks on the legal community and civil society, the agenda to advance safety, accountability and justice is facing its gravest environment in decades. Vera and Vera Action not only advance transformative policy and practice in cities and states across the country, but serve as hubs for information sharing, coordination, organizing and strategy to combat these threats and advance justice.
With a staff of about 200 people, the organizations are headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, with offices in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. Vera and Vera Action are equal opportunity employers with a commitment to diversity in the workplace. We expect our staff to embody our values of racial equity, collaboration, respect, commitment, and independence—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 and immigration systems to join our efforts.
For more information, visit vera.org and veraaction.org.
About the Position:
The next leader will guide Vera and Vera Action through the next phase of evolution, overseeing all aspects of both organizations, continuing to drive innovation and sustain impact. Leveraging Vera’s unmatched track record of identifying, testing, and spreading evidence-based solutions, they will continue to advance nationwide and place-based efforts to end the overcriminalization and mass incarceration of people of color, people experiencing poverty, and immigrants. Deploying Vera Action’s advocacy acumen, political strategy and networks, they will amplify and scale solutions and work to mitigate the politics of crime and fear that stand in the way of good policy and practice. They will also serve as the primary external spokesperson, fundraiser, and advocate for both organizations and the millions of people impacted by the criminal justice and immigration systems. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
Strategic Leadership
- Serve as the senior-most executive tasked with achieving Vera and Vera Action’s missions;
- Oversee the implementation and refinement of programmatic work, which includes:
- Pursuing a portfolio of initiatives that maximize the reach, depth, scalability, and durability of Vera’s impact, focusing on work that represents the highest and best use of Vera’s unique capabilities;
- Continuing to evolve Vera’s innovation, planning and strategy development processes;
- Building initiative strategies that deploy the right mix of research, technical assistance, communications and advocacy capacities to deliver maximum impact;
- Ensuring high-performance and outcome-focused execution and adaptation of strategies through robust deployment of monitoring, evaluation and learning.
- With Vera Action’s 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 criminal legal and immigration systems;
- Work closely with both organizations’ boards to ensure strong governance, fostering a collaborative relationship to achieve each organization's current and future strategic objectives; provide all information necessary for the boards to function properly and to make informed decisions;
- Oversee and strengthen fundraising strategies and culture of philanthropy to support organizational sustainability and growth;
- Maintain thriving, equitable, and high-performance organizations, ensuring commitment to core values, including racial equity, and strengthening accountability and a results orientation.
- Ensure that Vera and Vera Action take a thoughtful and strategic approach to risk mitigation, ensuring that necessary systems and processes are developed, refined, and followed.
Executive Leadership
- Serve as a leader of leaders: managing and mentoring a high-performing, diverse team with a commitment to mission, results, and belonging;
- Act as an exemplar for values of racial equity, collaboration, respect, commitment, and independence; foster and promote a culture rooted in those values;
- Ensure staff has the resources, skills, and infrastructure necessary to meet and exceed goals;
- Build and maintain a constructive, collaborative relationship with a newly established union, and support the development and negotiation of its first collective bargaining agreement.
External Representation
- Serve as the primary external face of the organization, representing the organizations with the full range of audiences engaged in their work, with an eye toward increasing Vera and Vera Action’s profile in advocacy and addressing the politics of crime;
- Expand the organizations’ visibility and impact in the media;
- Build relationships and establish Vera and Vera Action as leaders among the broad network of policy makers, political candidates and elected leaders, policy and political organizations/actors and funders to effectively advocate for transformative approaches to deliver safety, accountability and justice;
- Cultivate the donor base, building upon existing relationships while forging new ones in service of short and long-term fundraising goals; lead the diversification of revenue streams, with an emphasis on expanding the network of major donors funding Vera’s work;
- Support and strengthen Vera and Vera Action’s role as an anchor for the field, connecting, convening and organizing partners.
Who You'll Work With:
- You will report to the Vera Institute and Vera Action Boards of Trustees
- You will directly manage the Vera Leadership Team as well oversee the full staff of both the Vera Institute for Justice and Vera Action
Candidate Requirements:
Candidate Requirements:
- A minimum of 7-10 years of significant leadership experience (i.e. Executive Director or divisional leadership), with a track record of leading high-impact initiatives to end mass incarceration;
- Broad familiarity, sophistication and relevant experience with tools for policy change: research, advocacy, political strategy, communications and technical assistance;
- Experience shaping political and advocacy strategies, with a strong understanding of policy, electoral and political environment and processes, as well as players and networks necessary to achieve desired outcomes;
- Understanding of and comfort with the strategic purposes and regulatory frameworks surrounding 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4) and the range of entities that operate in the policy and political environment;
- Track record of creating and sustaining an organizational culture that fosters accountability, results orientation, inclusion and belonging;
- Strong critical thinking and decision-making skills, with a track record of developing solutions to complex issues in the face of uncertainty and ambiguity;
- Exceptional interpersonal skills, with the ability to develop strong relationships across a diverse spectrum of stakeholders, and to influence leaders in the private, public, and non-profit sectors;
- Excellent public speaking, communication and media skills with the ability to serve as a strong external voice for both organizations and their work;
- A demonstrable track record of success working with both individual and institutional funders, and the ability and appetite to lead a high performing fundraising function;
- Experience overseeing budgets, with the capacity to support the strategic allocation of resources and manage spending effectively;
Location:
Please note this role will report to our New York, 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. Senior leaders within the organization, such as this role, are encouraged to be present to support their teams on a more frequent basis.
Compensation and Benefits:
The compensation range for this position is $450,000 - $500,000. 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 / President and Director
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.
