Chief Program Officer, Policy, Research, and Prevention

Innocence Project•New York, NY

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Chief Program Officer, Policy, Research, and Prevention is responsible for oversight, management, and supervision of the following program areas: Policy, which advocates for legislative changes at both the state and federal levels to make our criminal legal system more fair, compassionate and equitable for everyone; Data Science & Research, which collects and manages information about every Innocence Project victory and researches the contributing factors to wrongful conviction and provides expertise to the Innocence Project’s staff; and Strategic Litigation which uses legal advocacy and training to strengthen the standards that govern the use of science in criminal legal systems. The Chief Program Officer, Policy, Research, and Prevention serves as a primary thought partner to the talented, creative, and hardworking team of experienced professionals that they lead. They are responsible for keeping the teams under their supervision aligned, focused, motivated, and high performing to ensure the effectiveness and quality of work in each area. This role is a member of the Senior Leadership Team, serving as an essential organizational leader with responsibilities that extend beyond their department. In this capacity, the Chief Program Officer, Policy, Research, and Prevention is responsible for contributing to the overall direction, strategy, and health of the organization. Specifically, they are responsible for: effectively managing department staff to encourage alignment, motivation and high-performance, contributing to organization wide strategic planning, decision making, and resource allocation, responsible for achieving departmental objectives and regularly reporting on the department’s progress and outcomes to the Board, senior leadership, and the IP staff during office-wide meetings, and modeling the Innocence Project’s values of an inclusive and respectful workplace and encouraging the same from their staff. The Chief Program Officer, Policy, Research, and Prevention reports to the Executive Director, and also works closely with all members of the Senior Leadership Team – including the Chief Program Officer, Exoneration Strategy & Support, Chief People and Culture Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Communications Officer, and the Chief Development Officer – to advance the vision, strategy, goals, integration and cohesion of the Innocence Project. The Chief Program Officer, Policy, Research, and Prevention will model the Innocence Project’s values of an inclusive and respectful workplace and encourage the same from their staff. All Innocence Project employees must model our IP Values of accountability, collaboration, empathy + compassion, equity, person-centeredness, quality focus, and self-awareness. In addition, they must embrace, respect and value the rich diversity of perspectives and lived experience of our staff. We recognize and appreciate that our work is better for having varied participants and thought partners. We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas and we are not an e-verify employer. The duties of this position require approximately 40 hours of work per week to be performed virtually/in-office. We currently have a hybrid in-office model, with all employees in the office three days per week and the remainder of the week remotely. Wednesday is our organization’s “anchor day” where all staff works in the office. The number of required in-office days is subject to change.

Requirements

Master's degree plus 15 years experience or Bachelor's degree plus 17 years of professional experience, including at least 5 years managing teams involving complex tradeoffs and coordination.
Juris Doctor (JD) degree preferred.
For candidates with a JD, must be a current member, in good standing, of the New York bar or eligibility for admission to the New York bar via motion within 6 months of start date.
Broad background in criminal justice, including familiarity with the Innocence Project’s program areas.
A demonstrated commitment to criminal, racial and social justice and to the Innocence Project’s goals, mission, and values.
Demonstrated success working effectively with external partners including donors, pro-bono law firms, and government officials.
Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S.
A management style that is open and consultative with a focus on team building and creating a culture of belonging and inclusion.
Capacity to deeply engage in equity work internally with staff and externally.
Ability to listen, communicate effectively, coach, shepherd, and support people to achieve shared goals.
Ability to manage multiple competing demands and resources and make decisions in a fast-paced environment.
Effective internal and external communications skills and the ability to engage and appropriately mobilize and utilize the skills and experiences across departments.
Excellent research and writing skills.
Superior attention to detail.
Outstanding judgment and problem-solving abilities.
Flexibility, grace and a sense of humor.
Enthusiasm for the work of the Innocence Project and for social justice, including a demonstrated commitment to public interest.
Shared commitment to the IP’s values of accountability, collaboration, empathy + compassion, equity, person-centeredness, quality focus, and self-awareness.

Nice To Haves

Juris Doctor (JD) degree

Responsibilities

Oversight, management, and supervision of the Policy, Data Science & Research, and Strategic Litigation program areas.
Serving as a primary thought partner to the teams they lead, ensuring alignment, focus, motivation, and high performance.
Contributing to the overall direction, strategy, and health of the organization as a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
Effectively managing department staff to encourage alignment, motivation, and high performance.
Contributing to organization-wide strategic planning, decision making, and resource allocation.
Achieving departmental objectives and regularly reporting on progress and outcomes to the Board, senior leadership, and staff.
Modeling the Innocence Project’s values of an inclusive and respectful workplace and encouraging the same from their staff.
Reporting to the Executive Director and working in partnership with the Senior Leadership Team to implement the Innocence Project’s strategic vision.
Serving as a spokesperson for the Innocence Project, articulating positions on a broad range of issues to the public and diverse stakeholder constituencies.
Working in close collaboration with the Chief Program Officer, Exoneration Strategy & Support to translate lessons learned into systemic interventions and preventive strategies.
Supporting collaboration, communication, and alignment between strategic litigation, post-conviction litigation, and special litigation dockets.
Cultivating, building, and maintaining strategic relationships to advance the Innocence Project’s mission.
Maintaining deep expertise in each Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program and providing strategic thought-partnership, mentorship, and guidance.
Collaborating with Directors of Data Science & Research, Strategic Litigation, and Policy to advance policy reforms, collect and analyze data, publish research findings, and guide strategic litigation initiatives.
Ensuring integration of evidence-based insights across policy, research, data science, and strategic litigation.
Planning and managing budgets with Directors of Data Science & Research, Strategic Litigation, and Policy.
Fostering cross-Program collaboration, identifying opportunities, and creating strategies for further integration, communication, and cooperation.
Setting goals, monitoring progress, evaluating outcomes, solving problems, and evaluating resource allocation in partnership with Directors.
Effectively managing and coaching Directors as they supervise high-performing program staff.
Developing and managing processes for teams to enhance clarity, efficiency, efficacy, and morale.