Associate Director of Research, Vera California

About this role

About the team:

Vera California aims to advance policies and funding to reduce incarceration and support the community-based systems of care that promote safety and wellness in California. We use data and policy analysis to drive concrete change and center racial equity (e.g., sharing data analysis with state legislators on the potential impacts of criminal justice bills). We bring expertise on best practices from around the country to local conversations in California. We collaborate with government leaders and community partners on policy development and implementation, working together toward a new vision of safety, wellness, and racial justice for all Californians.

Our work covers diverse criminal justice reform issues in California. It includes developing policy recommendations around county-level jail incarceration processes; pretrial and bail reform issues; state and local budgetary processes; and general public safety debates in Los Angeles and statewide.

About the role:

The Associate Director of Research is a manager-level role that reports to the Initiative Director with a “dotted line” to the Institute’s Managing Director of Research. In this role, the Associate Director of Research leads all aspects of the team’s research portfolio, including designing research plans, directing the team’s research activities, collaborating with other Vera California leadership (the director and associate director) on overall strategy, and overseeing staff working across a range of methods and projects. As the leader of a small research team, they are expected to engage directly in the research and represent California’s research portfolio externally.

Associate Directors of Research at the Vera Institute of Justice bring experience managing research projects and teams, advanced methodological skills, and strength in leveraging research and evidence in support of policy and advocacy solutions. We are seeking someone for the California team who brings understanding of relevant administrative datasets and has fluency in advocacy and communications strategies in support of big goals.

1. Research Leadership

• Develop, manage, and oversee all aspects of Vera California research, coordinating with the initiative director to ensure alignment with Vera California priorities and timelines, the managing director of research on methodological approaches, and other Vera teams on overlapping content areas

• Supervise, support, and mentor Vera California research staff, and lead research hiring or recruitment as needed

• Support the whole Vera California team in ensuring appropriate deployment of data and evidence in support of its solutions

• Work with Vera California director and associate director as a management team on annual planning, program development, staffing plans, and fundraising

• Serve as a member of the Vera Research Leadership Team, along with other associate directors of research, collaborating on cross-cutting research priorities and policy and ensuring that researchers across the organization receive appropriate support

• Cultivate relationships with CA-based researchers and organizations in the field , including acting as a primary point of contact for Vera California’s research partnerships

• Support internal collaboration by partnering Vera’s Advocacy Department, Communications Department, Central Research and Data Science teams, and other Vera initiative staff to develop coordinated strategies that leverage research (including in advocacy campaigns)

2. Research Design and Implementation

• S erve as Principal Investigator on research projects, developing and presenting IRB applications w hen relevant and ensuring that research is conducted to the highest ethical standards

• Lead/train/supervise on data collection and analysis, overseeing all aspects of mixed methods research and data management and analysis for Vera California and ensuring alignment between project implementation and policy timelines

• Participate in hands-on data collection and analysis

• Conduct team and cross-team peer review in areas of methodological and subject matter expertise and coordinate peer review for Vera California products as needed

• Coordinate with central data science team to ensure appropriate data infrastructure and standardized approaches

3. Research Presentation and Products

• Serve as a research subject matter expert and organizational representative in key areas of Vera California’s work, including in testimony, to media, in coalitions, and other public facing forums

• Shape evidence-based messaging and research for Vera California ’s work , oversee ing development, writing, and editing of research publications and evidence-based products in support of Vera California’s goals, including short data-informed fact sheets that respond to rapid response advocacy inquiries

What qualifications are we looking for?

Required :

• Advanced degree and 9+ years of relevant experience, preferably in a relevant social science field, like public policy, criminal justice, or sociology . In lieu of degree requirement, relevant work or life experience may be considered.

• Several years of experience supervising interdisciplinary research teams and working with mixed methods research and/or researchers;

• Experience conducting applied policy research

• Subject matter expertise, including an understanding of current criminal legal systems and policy, particularly in the state of California as well as relevant data sets and sources

Preferred :

• Direct experience with and /or impact by the criminal justice or immigration system

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities you'll bring:

• Associate Directors of Research are subject matter experts, experienced researchers, managers, mentors, and project leaders with advanced research design and analytic skills

• Experience leveraging social science approaches in applied research settings

• Track record of having worked on collaborative analyses and

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