Director, The Homecoming Project

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. 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.

About the Homecoming Project

The Homecoming Project sits within the Innovations team at Impact Justice. 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. 

Who You Are

You have an ethos of social justice, racial justice, community, and mutuality.  You have a strong commitment to ending the criminalization of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other people of color, financially disenfranchised people, and other marginalized groups. You have an orientation and belief that criminal justice involvement should not be an impediment to employment, career, and personal growth opportunities. You have a vision of what affordable housing can and should be for our most vulnerable communities. You are an experienced project and people manager with interpersonal skills that allow for meaningful interactions with the impacted community and those new to our work. 

This position is the lead manager for this project. This position is external facing, and you will be skilled in public speaking and facilitation with a high degree of comfort in translating complex information to meet the needs of a myriad of audiences including; impacted populations, policymakers, criminal justice system staff, funders, and community members. 

You are a go-getter! You want to join a fast-paced Innovations team that provides the flexibility for ingenuity in the implementation of a program model. You are an innovative thinker who wants to be part of building and expanding programming. You want to jump in and dig into the sustainability of our current THP in Northern California and build out our Los Angeles site and franchise expansion efforts outside of California. You can balance competing priorities and you are simultaneously committed to the details while able to envision, develop and implement program work that is currently in its development stages.

You enjoy working both collaboratively and independently. You have a track record of effective, cross-functional collaboration across disciplines. 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 ensure you and a team can meet deadlines, plan, organize, and execute.  

You are also, 

• An experienced professional within the social sector (criminal/juvenile justice system, affordable housing/homelessness space, education, child protective services, etc.)
• An adaptive problem solver with a willingness to learn and grow
• A flexible self-starter who thrives in changing, dynamic environments
• Able to juggle and implement simultaneous multiple project elements 
• Comfortable interacting with a wide variety of people, including individuals impacted by the criminal legal system, criminal legal system staff, and officials, and individuals from diverse backgrounds and life experiences
• Experienced project manager with previous experience collecting programmatic data 
• An experienced and effective public speaker 
• Comfortable working with remote staff
• Have grant /fundraising experience
• Tech-savvy: comfortable with Google Suite, Microsoft Office Suite, Asana, and databases/case management systems
• A critical thinker with a high level of analytical/interpretive thinking and problem-solving skills. With an ability to delegate tasks with a positive, solutions-oriented approach to problem-solving 
• Methodical, efficient, and able to synthesize and organize disparate information clearly 

Big pluses (but not requirements)

• Personal experience within the social service system; including being system-impacted, formerly incarcerated, a former foster youth, or having loved ones who are systems-impacted
• Experienced using a database and/or case management system
• Housing or homelessness policy experiences
• Prior case management experience
• Prior experience in local, state, and or federal housing policy

What You Will Do 

The anticipated start date for this position is January 9, 2022. You will report to the Vice President of Innovation Programs.

You will manage and lead the daily operations of THP in Northern California (currently in Alameda and Contra Costa County) and lead the expansion into LA. You will supervise the current team of 4 individuals (we anticipate the team to grow to 6 persons by the start date of this position). This position will work collaboratively with the development team on fundraising efforts. This position will work on planning and implementing the expansion efforts of THP, in California and in other states.

Responsibilities include

• Maintain and expand partnerships with providers, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and policymakers
• Public speaking opportunities, including media interviews, podcasts, and other events as they arise
• Participant in organizational and project-based fundraising efforts 
• Manage, build-out, and implement the Homecoming Project expansion efforts. 
• Collaboratively work with senior and executive staff across Impact Justice and all community partners. 
• Project management: Manage various project deliverables, guide best practices and encourage iterative program refinement, manage program budget, effectively navigate challenges in program implementation, assess needs, identify helpful collaborators, and support and make high-stakes decisions. 
• Strengthen and build out a dynamic, growing team. Including a commitment to plan and implement enrichment, engagement, and comradery-building opportunities with the team in an effort to create an environment where each team member can thrive. 

Travel

Some travel is required to attend training, conferences, or visit the Impact Justice offices in LA, Oakland, and Washington DC, estimated to be less than 10%.  

Applying

The compensation for the Director position is $110-150K. The benefits that come with working at Impact Justice include medical, dental, and FSA plans, significant vacation, and wellness leave, and immediate vesting in our 401K with a generous match. This is a full-time, salaried position. This is a hybrid position, requiring 2-days per week in the office. Applicants must be located in Oakland or Los Angeles. COVID-19 vaccination and booster are required for this position.

If this all sounds like a good fit for you, please submit your resume, and instead of writing a traditional cover letter, respond to the following three prompts.

• Why do you want to work for Impact Justice’s Homecoming Project and why are you a good fit for this role? (200-word limit)
• Provide an example of when you utilized innovative thinking and strategic leadership to move a process (200-word limit)
• Using the qualifications listed above (The Who You Are section), please list the top 5 qualification(s) that you feel you currently excel in and 2 qualifications you feel you will need to work toward proficiency. Provide a very brief explanation for each (a few sentences).

Send this information to homecomingprojectjobs@impactjustice.org. Please have the subject line of the email read “[Your Last Name], [Your First Name] Application for Director, The Homecoming Project. 

We plan on making decisions on a rolling basis, so the earlier you apply the better.  

At Impact Justice, we are committed to workplace diversity and providing equal employment opportunities. Please also note that we are going to be especially excited candidates who understand the unique nature of a mission-driven organization, have direct experience with the criminal legal or juvenile justice legal systems, and understand the complexities of collaborating with team members in remote locations.