Who We Are

Impact Justice advances safety, justice, and opportunity through boundary-breaking work that honors and empowers people and is changing expectations about what we can accomplish together. We imagine, build, and scale innovations, leverage research and other knowledge to connect the desire for change with informed action, and work to shift the narrative so that decision-makers and the public understand what’s at stake and what’s possible. 

Specifically, we work to reduce the number of people caught up in harmful legal systems by creating alternatives that are responsive, restorative, fair, and effective; to improve living conditions and life outcomes and safeguard fundamental human rights for the millions of people still subject to mass incarceration; and to expand opportunities for formerly incarcerated and other system-involved people to heal, fully participate in community life, and reach their potential. We operate from the understanding that the struggle for justice takes place in a context of historic, systemic, and pervasive racism.

We are a diverse and allied staff of reformers, transformers, abolitionists, and dreamers who bring a wide range of knowledge, skill, and life experience to the challenging work we undertake together. We’re committed to living our values and to creating the kinds of equitable and inclusive team environments internally that we fight to help create in our broader communities. This includes providing opportunities to all job applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, age, criminal history, disability, or genetics. The organization strongly encourages people of color, individuals who identify as part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer communities, and individuals impacted by the legal system to join the team. A majority of individuals on our current executive team identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQ. We are committed to workplace diversity and providing equal employment opportunities. 

About the Homecoming Project

Impact Justice developed the Homecoming Project (THP) to address the critical issue of reentry and avert the pitfalls of existing interventions. The Homecoming Project is a reentry housing service. This project is focused on Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and soon, Los Angeles County and utilizes untapped living spaces available in the community while freeing up desperately needed space in shelters and traditional transitional housing programs. The Homecoming Project leverages the private market and existing living spaces by funding rent for up to six months for participants returning home after a period of incarceration. The Homecoming Project screens potential participants to identify/recruit hosts, matches community hosts with participants, assesses participants’ needs, and provides them with wrap-around services to facilitate their health, well-being, and stability.

About the Re-entry Resource Center

Impact Justice is expanding the Homecoming Project’s existing systems navigation services with the creation of the Re-entry Resource Center (RRC).  The RRC will provide training for all Homecoming participants and other formerly incarcerated clients. The RRC will prioritize topics that are especially relevant for adults leaving prison after serving longer sentences. The RRC will be a cohesive reentry curriculum that will streamline and improve services offered to Homecoming participants and other formerly incarcerated clients.  All training will be made available in a virtual format. The RRC is fully funded over a 3-year grant period contingent upon successful deliverables.

Who You Are

You are an innovative thinker who wants to build something. You excel and enjoy training and public speaking. You have an ethos of social justice, racial justice, community, and mutuality. You have an orientation and belief that criminal justice involvement should not be an impediment to employment, career, and personal growth opportunities. You are a self-starter and can work independently. You have excellent attention to detail with verbal communication, writing and public speaking skills. A track record of effective, cross-functional collaboration across disciplines. Excellent computer skills, ability to use Microsoft Office Suite, and Google G-Suite, and learn other information database systems quickly. You have highly-developed interpersonal skills with good relationship-building techniques. You are a leader. You are adept at time management and highly organized with a proven ability to meet deadlines, plan, organize, and execute. The Senior Program Associate for the Homecoming Project will lead the development and implementation of the Re-entry Resource Center.

What You Will Do

The anticipated start date for this position is December 12, 2022. You will report to the interim Program Manager. You will lead the development and implementation of the Re-entry Resource Center (RRC). The RRC will create trainings that prioritize topics that are especially relevant for adults leaving prison after serving sentences of 10 or more years. A cohesive reentry curriculum will streamline and improve services offered to Homecoming participants, and expand THP’s offerings for formerly incarcerated clients beyond Participants who are placed in housing.

Re-entry Resource Center

• Develop a Re-entry Resource Center project plan.
• Build and manage partnerships with local service providers.
• Implement robust care coordination for all participants, including THP participants.
• Develop and implement new re-entry training curriculum for Homecoming participants and other formerly incarcerated clients.
• Facilitate the launch and manage the implementation of the Re-entry Resource Center.
• Develop, edit, and refine the re-entry curriculum.
  • Topics may include financial literacy (credit reports, checking, saving accounts, etc.) and job readiness, digital literacy, basic smartphone and computer training, internet usage, setting up an email account, and learning basic computer software skills. Life skills topics, such as healthy lifestyle tips, reentry, and emotional well-being, accountability and responsibility, self-care, meal planning and nutrition, and communication skills
  • Train participants in developed curriculum
• Work with community navigators, the Sr. Program Associate, and THP participants to understand their needs and design and build trainings to meet those needs
• Establish and maintain partnerships with community-based service providers and other local partners that provide resources such as food aid, in-kind donations, or other goods and services for Homecoming clients.
• Engage with system partners, parole officers, and CBOs.
• Manage the RRC budget in collaboration with the program manager.
• Work with the research team on evaluation aspects of training.
• Other relevant tasks as needed.

THP Participant Responsibilities

• Act as a representative for THP with key external stakeholders and community partnerships.
• Participants Responsibilities
  • Support the develop a participant orientation plan for all participants
  • Orient participants to THP  using the orientation curriculum created
    • Work with the Program Coordinator to schedule orientation
• Engage with system partners, parole officers, and CBOs.
• Work with the Coordinator to develop a participant recruitment plan
• In collaboration with the THP team recruit participants into the program.
• Other relevant tasks as needed.

Supervision

• Hire and manage an RRC curriculum consultant.

Skills & Qualifications

• Able to work independently and collaboratively
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Curriculum development experience
• Presentation and facilitation experience
• Project management experience
• Positive, proactive, solutions-oriented demeanor and mindset
• Basic budget management skills
• Strong personal time management skills – ability to manage and prioritize many tasks across multiple Homecoming roles.
• Detail-oriented
• Fast learner – capable of learning how to do new things quickly with limited guidance
• Effective people skills – you will need to work with people to help them find solutions to problems
• High proficiency with modern computers, standard office software, and cloud-based applications (PC and/or Mac, Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, Google Suite, etc.)
• Experience working with system-impacted or other vulnerable populations

Applying

Please see more information about applying at https://impactjustice.org/job/sr-prgm-associate-thp/. 

If this all sounds like a good fit for you, please send your resume and a cover letter explaining why you are particularly interested in the role and why we should be particularly interested in you! You can send this to homecomingprojectjobs@impactjustice.org. Please have the subject line of the email read “[Your Last Name], [Your First Name] Application for Senior Program Associate. We plan on making decisions on a rolling basis, so the earlier you apply the better.