Summer 2024 - Intern, Beyond Jails Initiative
Who we are:
The Vera Institute of Justice, founded in 1961, is a nonprofit criminal justice organization that strives to build just government institutions and safe communities free from the scourge of racism, white supremacy, profit, and inequity that is pervasive in this country’s legal systems. We are an “inside” lane organization that drives change at scale with ambitious public sector leaders who share our commitment to building anti-racist, reparative systems that deliver justice. We leverage our access to government to transform these systems and work collaboratively with stakeholders across many movements—including advocacy, grassroots, and grasstop organizations. Our role is to pilot solutions that are transformative and achievable, harness the power of evidence to drive effective policy and practice, and use advocacy and communications to change narratives and norms.
Vera has a staff of 300 people and offices in New York City, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity in the workplace. We expect our staff to embody respect, independence, collaboration, commitment, anti-racism, and equity—both in our outward-facing work and the internal culture of our workplace. We value a range of experiences in people’s educational backgrounds and encourage people who have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system to apply.
Who you are:
To reduce the nation’s dependence on jails, Vera’s Beyond Jails team is working in jurisdictions across the country to shift resources to community-driven solutions to help people thrive. Vera’s Beyond Jails work has three core strategies: statewide advocacy campaigns and coalition building to create lasting policy change; pilot and build evidence around decarceration strategies; and building will for change in jurisdictions. The team works with local government and community partners to develop plans for jail decarceration, prevent the construction of new jails, and design reinvestment strategies.
The Beyond Jails team works on the local and state level to end mass incarceration and supervision by decreasing jail populations and supporting investment in community-based solutions beyond law enforcement.
The BJI program intern will support a wide array of project needs. Primarily, you will be responsible for supporting the local policy and advocacy work by creating issue-specific materials (fact sheets, slides templates, memos) for external partners, supporting the completion of various reports, and tracking news/key updates in the team’s focus states for broader team awareness.
What you'll do:
Contribute to various reports related to local level work
- Support in writing, fact-checking, and citations
Prepare and review materials for external partners
- Prepare memos, briefings, decks, and other materials to support state and county-level work
- Review existing research products and literature, including data visualizations
Assist in various communications needs
- Work with supervisor to support various ad-hoc comms requests
Weekly clip roundup/landscape update for focus states
- Stay up to date on current events and news in priority states
- Create brief round-ups for team with relevant updates
What qualifications are we looking for?
Preferred:
- Directly-impacted by the criminal legal system
- Experience working with community-based organizations
- Previous involvement with a local/statewide issue/electoral campaign
- Understanding of pre-trial and jail systems.
Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities you'll bring:
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills
- Strong writing skills; ability to write for multiple audiences
- Keen sense of how to use search engines to your advantage
- Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail
- Self-starter
Location:
Please note this role will report to our Brooklyn, NY, office. Vera interns and employees adhere to a hybrid schedule and are in-office on an alternating schedule. Full-time positions generally amount to 10 days per month. Part-time positions generally amount to 5 days per month.
Schedule:
The intern should be available to work up to 25 hours per week during the summer. The dates will be between June 3rd and August 9th, with some flexibility to accommodate personal and academic schedules.
Compensation:
The compensation range for internships is $16.00 - $25.00 per hour. Actual compensation will vary depending on factors including but not limited to experience and performance. Applicants may choose to receive academic credit. For those who need to earn academic credit, Vera will gladly assist in working with the school or program to make arrangements and meet requirements.
How to apply:
Please submit cover letter and resume. In your cover letter, please explain why you are passionate about criminal justice reform and what you hope to gain from this internship.
Applications may also be faxed to:
ATTN: People Resources / Summer 2024 – Intern, Beyond Jails Initiative
Vera Institute of Justice
34 35th St, Suite 4-2A, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Fax: (212) 941-9407
Please use only one method (online, mail or fax) of submission.
No phone calls, please. Only applicants selected for interviews will be contacted.
In order to ensure a healthy and safe work environment, Vera Institute of Justice is requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccine before their start date. Employees who cannot receive the vaccine because of a disability/medical contraindication or sincerely-held religious belief may request an accommodation (e.g., an exemption) to this requirement.
Vera is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, or caregiver status.
Vera works to advance justice, particularly racial justice, in an increasingly multicultural country and globally connected world. We value diverse experiences, including with regard to educational background and justice system contact, and depend on a diverse staff to carry out our mission.
For more information about Vera, please visit www.vera.org.