Current Job Openings at the Justice Center

The Justice Center provides practical, nonpartisan advice and consensus-driven strategies, informed by available evidence, to increase public safety and strengthen communities. The Justice Center is a nonprofit organization that works closely with legislative leaders, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, victim advocates, and others to develop consensus on various, often highly politicized, criminal justice issues and to translate this consensus into comprehensive reports, policy briefs, state and federal legislation, model policies, and innovative programs. The Justice Center not only develops written and web-based materials, but also provides on-the-ground technical assistance to policymakers and practitioners from multiple systems (corrections, mental health, housing, etc.), in state and local jurisdictions.

Project Assistant

Contact: Blake Norton
Location: Bethesda, MD
Application Deadline: Open until filled

The Council of State Governments Justice Center (www.justicecenter.csg.org) is hiring a project assistant to work on its Law Enforcement Initiatives team (http://consensusproject.org/issue_areas/law-enforcement and http://www.reentrypolicy.org/issue_areas/law_enforcement). Law Enforcement projects span across the three Justice Center practice areas, and focus of this team is to provide policy recommendations, technical assistance and project management for all law enforcement-related efforts in the Center.

The Justice Center is a national nonprofit organization that provides practical, nonpartisan advice and consensus-driven strategies, informed by available evidence, to increase public safety and strengthen communities. In general, the Justice Center works closely with legislative leaders, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement executives, victim advocates, and others to develop consensus on various, often highly politicized, criminal justice issues and to translate this consensus into comprehensive reports, policy briefs, state and federal legislation, model policies, and innovative programs. The Justice Center not only develops written and web-based materials, but also provides on-the-ground technical assistance to cross-systems policymakers and practitioners from multiple systems (law enforcement, corrections, mental health, housing, etc.) in state and local jurisdictions.

The project assistant would work under the direction of the Law Enforcement Project Director and in close coordination with other staff on the Law Enforcement team, but could be tasked to work across a range of policy-related projects. Such projects have included activities like providing technical assistance to state and local governments that have received federal grants from the Department of Justice, coordinating the development of a policymaker’s guide to research on criminal justice and mental health issues, and enhancing an online database of law enforcement reentry programs.

DUTIES:

Specific responsibilities of the project assistant include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Assisting senior staff to develop a range of written products, including policy guides, assessment instruments, trainings, and web-based materials;
  • Participating in technical assistance delivery, initially by supporting senior staff and/or consultants in coordinating, attending, and documenting site visits in jurisdictions across the country and eventually by leading technical assistance site visits;
  • Supporting the project team in monitoring timelines, budgets, and deliverables to ensure that responsibilities to funders are met in assigned project areas;
  • Actively supporting the planning and participating in policy-focused meetings of high-ranking government officials, advocates, and national experts, initially by developing agendas, providing support for senior policy staff, and describing agreements reached and eventually by leading such meetings;
  • Ensuring that senior staff and, where applicable, Justice Center colleagues, consultants, or funders are aware of relevant project developments and that other work in the field is leveraged for the advancement of project goals;
  • Participating actively in staff discussions and strategic planning meetings;
  • Developing a knowledge base in the project assistant’s area(s) of policy work.
REQUIREMENTS:

The ideal candidate should have some or all of the following qualifications:

  • excellent research, writing, and editing skills and an analytical mind;
  • strong oral communication skills, including the ability to effectively distill and present complex information in a concise way;
  • ability to juggle multiple projects in an efficient manner;
  • attention for detail, both with written products as well as project management
  • excellent interpersonal skills, including maturity, an ability to work independently and in a team setting, and a sense of humor;
  • efficient, organized work style and an ability to prioritize quickly and confidently;
  • willingness to travel, occasionally several times per month.
EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE:

BA/BS degree required. The ideal candidate will have at least 1-2 years of experience in a non-profit setting, ideally, in the field of law enforcement, criminal justice, or policy analysis.

SALARY RANGE:
Salary is commensurate with experience, and includes a generous benefits package.

DEADLINE:
Open until filled

HOW TO APPLY:
Interested individuals must submit the following materials to https://secured.csg.org/csg/jobs:

  1. Cover letter addressed to Blake Norton
  2. Résumé
  3. References (at least two)

Applicants who do not submit all of these materials will not be considered.


Project Assistant

Contact: Marc Pelka
Location: New York, NY
Application Deadline: April 15th

The Council of State Governments Justice Center (www.justicecenter.csg.org) is hiring a project assistant to work on the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (http://justicereinvestment.org/).

The Justice Reinvestment Initiative, one of the three Justice Center practice areas, focuses on providing technical assistance to a limited number of states that demonstrate a bipartisan interest in a data-driven approach to reduce corrections spending and reinvest savings in strategies that can decrease crime and strengthen neighborhoods.

The Justice Center is a national nonprofit organization that provides practical, nonpartisan advice and consensus-driven strategies, informed by available evidence, to increase public safety and strengthen communities. In general, the Justice Center works closely with legislative leaders, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement executives, victim advocates, and others to develop consensus on various, often highly politicized, criminal justice issues and to translate this consensus into comprehensive reports, policy briefs, state and federal legislation, model policies, and innovative programs. The Justice Center not only develops written and web-based materials, but also provides on-the-ground technical assistance to cross-systems policymakers and practitioners from multiple systems (law enforcement, corrections, mental health, housing, etc.), in state and local jurisdictions.

This position offers a significant level of responsibility and opportunity for growth to an individual with interest and experience in criminal justice policy.

DUTIES:

Specific responsibilities of the project assistant include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Performing significant research on complex issues, including relevant legislation, policy, and programs, and synthesizing the analysis in clear, concise writing;
  • Preparing reports, briefs, memos, talking points, and op-eds on various criminal justice issues that will be submitted to the policymakers, practitioners, the media, the criminal justice field, and Justice Center colleagues;
  • Ensuring that senior staff and, where applicable, Justice Center colleagues, consultants, or funders are aware of relevant project developments and that other work in the field is leveraged for the advancement of project goals;
  • Actively supporting the planning and participating in policy-focused meetings of high-ranking government officials, advocates, and national experts, initially by developing agendas, providing support for senior policy staff, and describing agreements reached, and eventually by leading such meetings; and
  • Developing a knowledge base in the project assistant’s area(s) of policy work with room for exploring additional issue areas within criminal justice.

The project assistant would work under the direction of a Justice Reinvestment Policy Analyst in close coordination with other staff on the Justice Reinvestment team, but could be tasked to work across a range of policy-related projects. Such projects have included activities like providing technical assistance to state and local governments that have received federal grants from the Department of Justice, coordinating the development of a policymaker’s guide to research on criminal justice and mental health issues, and creating and updating web content (e.g. weekly features, updating resources pages).

REQUIREMENTS:

The ideal candidate should have some or all of the following qualifications:

  • excellent research, writing, and editing skills and an analytical mind;
  • strong oral communication skills, including the ability to effectively distill and present complex information in a concise way, in front of policymakers and practitioners;
  • ability to juggle multiple projects in an efficient manner;
  • attention for detail, both with written products as well as project management
  • excellent interpersonal skills, including maturity, an ability to work independently and in a team setting, and a sense of humor;
  • efficient, organized work style and an ability to prioritize quickly and confidently;
  • ability and willingness to travel;
  • at least one year of work experience, ideally, in the field of criminal justice, involving policy analysis;
  • experience in state government, including exposure to the legislative process and opportunities interact with elected officials and policymakers, is desirable; and
  • a college degree (required) in a related field, such as criminal justice, political science, sociology, or public policy (preferred).

SALARY RANGE:
Salary is commensurate with experience, and includes a generous benefits package.

DEADLINE:
April 15th

HOW TO APPLY:
Interested individuals must submit the following materials to https://secured.csg.org/csg/jobs:

  1. Cover letter addressed to Marc Pelka
  2. Résumé
  3. Writing sample (preferably no more than three pages)
  4. Names and contact information for references (three).

Applicants who do not submit all of these materials will not be considered.


The Justice Center provides practical, nonpartisan advice and consensus-driven strategies, informed by available evidence, to increase public safety and strengthen communities. The Justice Center is a nonprofit organization that works closely with legislative leaders, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, victim advocates, and others to develop consensus on various, often highly politicized, criminal justice issues and to translate this consensus into comprehensive reports, policy briefs, state and federal legislation, model policies, and innovative programs. The Justice Center not only develops written and web-based materials, but also provides on-the-ground technical assistance to policymakers and practitioners from multiple systems (corrections, mental health, housing, etc.), in state and local jurisdictions.