Coordinator, New York Legal Policy

THE ORGANIZATION
The Center for Court Innovation is committed to reducing crime and incarceration, addressing violence, supporting survivors, and building communities while strengthening public trust in justice. The Center seeks justice for marginalized groups, bringing an equity lens – particularly a racial and gender equity lens – to its work. For 25 years, the Center has worked to foster justice and equity to create safe, healthy, and thriving communities and, ultimately, to transform the justice system.

The Center is an 800-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 Court, 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
Researchers at the Center conduct independent evaluations, documenting how government systems work, how neighborhoods function, and how reform efforts change things. We believe in the “action research” model; accordingly, our researchers provide regular feedback on the results of the Center’s own operating programs. The Center has published studies on topics including youth in the sex trade, reentry, gun violence, and drug treatment as an alternative to incarceration. Our researchers have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals.

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.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Led by the New York Legal Policy Team—court practitioners, clinical staff, and research and policy experts focused on developing and implementing critical operational and policy reforms and improving coordination between justice system stakeholders—the Center for Court Innovation is launching two transformative initiatives to improve case processing efficiency in criminal cases and to reduce the jail population, all while improving the public safety impact of the criminal legal system.

The department is seeking a Coordinator to support these initiatives and provide a broad range of general administrative and project-specific support. Reporting directly to the Director of New York Legal Policy, the Coordinator will coordinate and track all project timelines and deliverables and assist with project-specific work, including scheduling, coordination, site visit planning, writing and/or editing publications and presentations, and other tasks as needed.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Provide planning and administrative support for the New York Legal Policy team, including organizing and documenting departmental meetings and stakeholder meetings, circulating next steps, managing virtual workspaces, organizing conference calls and meetings, and editing documents and presentations;
• Track timelines and deliverables on all New York Legal Policy projects, including monitoring and reporting to the Governor’s office, the Mayor’s office, the Office of Court Administration, and other court stakeholders;
• Collaboration with senior staff on the New York Legal Policy team in the planning and implementation of new and ongoing initiatives;
• Coordinating and engaging with a variety of stakeholders (e.g., police, defense attorneys, prosecutors, judges) in partner jurisdictions in New York City and New York State; and
• Other relevant duties as appropriate. 

Position Type: Full-time. The standard work week is 35 hours, Monday through Friday.

Location: Manhattan, NY

Qualifications: The ideal candidate will have a bachelor’s degree with 1 - 2 years of relevant experience or an advanced degree in criminal justice or a related field. Excellent organizational, time management, writing, and oral communication skills are required. Proficiency with Microsoft Office software, Google Workspace, and remote work technology (e.g., Zoom, Slack, Google Drive, Outlook) is required. The successful candidate will have a demonstrated commitment to criminal justice reform, systems change work, and social justice. This person must be collaborative and supportive with team members. Experience working directly with justice system agencies (e.g., courts, prosecution, defense, or alternative-to-incarceration programs) is strongly preferred. A sense of humor, critical thinking skills, and the ability to manage a fast-paced work environment are a huge plus. Paralegal experience is advantageous, but not required.

Compensation: The compensation range for this position is $55,410 - $69,230 and is commensurate with experience. The Center for Court 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%.