Associate Director, Design and Construction

Center for Justice Innovation•New York, NY

2d•$70,500 - $92,200•Onsite

About The Position

The Center for Justice Innovation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community safety and racial justice. Since 1996, we’ve worked alongside communities, courts, and those most directly affected by the justice system to build stronger, healthier, and more equitable neighborhoods. With a team of over 900 staff and an annual budget of $130 million, the Center carries out its mission through three core strategies: Operating Programs that pilot new ideas and address local challenges; Conducting original research to evaluate what works—and what doesn’t; and Providing expert assistance and policy guidance to reformers across the country and beyond. Backed by decades of on-the-ground experience and nationally recognized expertise, we bring innovative, practical, and lasting solutions to justice systems nationwide. Neighborhood Safety Initiatives, a project of the Center, co-designs models for community-driven solutions that make safety and well-being accessible and sustainable. Neighborhood Safety Initiatives (NSI) provides technical assistance and is a key implementation partner of the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety (MAP) NeighborhoodStat, an initiative under the Office of Neighborhood Safety. Underway since 2015, MAP is a comprehensive strategy to enhance public safety and strengthen community well-being in 30 public housing developments across New York City. NeighborhoodStat, the operational centerpiece of MAP, is a community-based, problem-solving process grounded in the belief that public safety cannot exist without the public. It is an acknowledgment that safe and thriving neighborhoods require resident leadership, community and government support, and resources to produce sustainable change. To that end, NeighborhoodStat employs a series of local meetings that engage residents and MAP partners in sharing, analyzing, and using data to identify public safety priorities and the implementation of solutions. These meetings, the information they generate, and the actions that follow are an important part of MAP’s strategy to enhance accountability by providing local residents and stakeholders with considerable resources and access to key decision-makers. Reporting to the Project Director, Neighborhood Safety Initiatives, is seeking a Senior Design and Construction Project Manager. This role is responsible for project management, directing the planning and implementation of design and construction projects, and all project-related administrative requirements, and serves as project manager for successive design and construction projects of various diversity and complexity.

Requirements

Master’s degree with 5 years of architecture, urban planning, or design and communications experience;
Design skills and expertise using Adobe Creative Cloud including programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign;
Excellent communication skills required;
Ability to learn new tools and do self-guided work within a fast-paced environment;
Proficient in Microsoft programs ;
Some levels of experience in community engagement and creativity in developing new ways to reach the public;
Dedication and commitment to social justice issues with an equity lens;
Knowledge of, or a willingness to learn about accessibility in marketing materials and design;
A strong work ethic and passion for collaborating with others;
Ability to work well with diverse groups of people;
Candidate must be highly organized and detail-oriented;
Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
Ability to interface effectively with all levels of management and must work and communicate effectively with both internal and external stakeholders;
Demonstrated capacity to identify and achieve project goals quickly, effectively, and successfully in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment;
Ability to travel locally across all five boroughs as needed;

Nice To Haves

Experience in AutoCAD, SketchUp and/or GIS is a plus
Bi-lingual (English/Spanish) preferred but not required
Driver’s License preferred but not required

Responsibilities

Direct the planning and implementation of design and construction projects, and all related administrative requirements, serving as project manager across successive projects of varying diversity and complexity; working closely with the diverse team members, funders and stakeholders to execute this work;
Co-develop project management tools with leadership, managing staff, and funders to ensure timely execution of NeighborhoodStat deliverables, including action plans, maintenance plans, communication strategies, and more;
Plan and execute participatory design modules that help Program Managers guide conversations across resident teams, and co-develop corresponding frameworks, agendas, presentations, and facilitation guides for community engagement;
Create facilitation tools for resident and stakeholder planning meetings that support human-centered design, project development and management for NSI projects,
Provide training to staff on project management facilitation tools to ensure comprehension and consistent use across all sites;
Collaborate with leadership, managers, and funders to design built-environment (placemaking) projects reflecting stakeholder priorities, including project site plans, renderings, and drawings to support community decision-making and action plan scope submission/approval;
Support action plan scope development, submission, review, and approval;
Identify designers, vendors, and related industry professionals to advance action plans, direct action, or capacity-building objectives;
Support Program Managers in securing vendors, coordinating planning and logistics, reviewing work, and ensuring delivery of milestones;
Oversee the duties and responsibilities of outside design consultants and fabrication vendors to deliver high-quality placekeeping projects;
Work with leadership, funders, and Program Managers to ground community priorities within available action plan budgets;
Participate in stakeholder meetings, site visits, and events as needed;
Liaise with funders and government partners to communicate project progress and build partnerships advancing project goals;
Represent the Center and NSI at community meetings, events, and public forums as needed.
Directly supervise a Designer, overseeing their duties and responsibilities across branding campaigns, social media marketing, communications materials, and design production, and providing performance management, feedback, and professional development support;
Work with leadership and key design and communications staff to identify NSI's communications goals and design a comprehensive communications strategy — including branding campaigns, external campaigns, and press strategies — that advances those goals; design evaluation metrics to track the strategy's outcomes;
Guide the Designer in producing multi-platform communications and branding materials (digital content for social media, printed collateral, interactive dashboards, etc.) in support of outreach around participatory design, action plan engagement, direct action campaigns, and events;
Oversee the external and internal editorial calendar for design, production, and campaign execution across NSTAT processes, including action plan projects, trainings, branding campaigns, local initiatives, and participatory design;
Direct the Designer in developing internal communications guides, templates, outreach materials, and presentation materials;
Set clear branding and design guidelines for the Initiative and lead branding campaign development in collaboration with leadership, funders, and the Designer.
Collaborate with other NSI staff and team members to implement systems that support effective project planning and data collection;
Co-create key performance indicators with key Center staff and Communications and Design Coordinator for each communications channel which will indicate a campaign's level of success
Oversee the workflow of press releases and media strategy;
Work with the Project Director, Deputy Director, to hire a new Communications and Design Coordinator and onboard the new staff member;
Work with the Project Director, Deputy Director, and key staff to design a geospatial analysis (GIS) to track the initiatives impact and create meaningful and compelling visuals;
Attend meetings with research and evaluation partners to support data collection, inform research frameworks and provide regular and timely project updates;
Work and communicate closely with the Project Director, key Center staff, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice to support and advance all project tasks and timelines;
Work with the Project Director, Deputy Director, Operations Manager, and Planners to ensure projects are executed within budget;
Maintain project management and design files on a shared drive;
Work with Communications and Design Coordinator and key Center staff to create a CMR (Contact Management System) to organize NSI’s partners and potential collaborators;
Other duties, as necessary.