About Center for Community Alternatives:
Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) was founded in 1981 with the belief that solutions to poverty, addiction, and violence rest in communities, not incarceration. Recognizing the devastating impact of incarceration on low-income communities and communities of color, CCA became one of the first community-based alternative-to-incarceration programs in New York State. Today, CCA continues to be a leader in decarceration efforts through organizing, advocacy, and direct services. Our work is informed and guided by the adults, youth, and communities we serve and organize alongside.
For more information about CCA, visit our website at: www.communityalternatives.org.
About CCA’s Judicial Accountability Project:
Founded at the beginning of 2022, CCA’s Judicial Accountability Project seeks to make state courts in New York and other states more accountable to democratic ideas of justice by drawing greater public attention to these courts, pushing creatively for less carceral judges, experimenting with a range of advocacy strategies, and working with partners across the country to develop best practices and replicable models for similar advocacy across the country. We have founded and/or lead:
- The Court New York Deserves, an ongoing series of campaigns around judicial appointments that seek to get more judges who are committed to the rights of marginalized people appointed to New York’s state trial and appellate courts;
- Our Judicial Pipeline Program, a training and mentorship program supporting public interest lawyers who are interested in becoming state court judges;
- Public education about rulings by New York State courts, the state’s methods and systems of judicial selection, and the political dynamics that determine who reaches the bench; and
- The State Courts Organizing Network, a national effort that supports advocates working to make state courts around the country more just and accountable.
Position Description and Responsibilities:
CCA is hiring a Judicial Accountability Strategist, who will report to and work closely with our Director of Judicial Accountability, as well as with CCA’s team of community organizers and members, our fellows and interns, and our partners at other organizations, to co-execute all the campaigns and other efforts of the project.
This is a full-time mostly remote position that will require periodic travel to New York City, Albany, and elsewhere in New York State. Candidates must be available to work some evenings and weekends.
Requirements & Qualifications:
- At least two years of experience in political or community organizing and/or legal practice in New York state courts.
- J.D. strongly preferred but not required.
- Familiarity with the New York court system, including direct or indirect personal contact with the system, preferred.
- Excellent political and community organizing skills, including competence and confidence in: coalition building and leadership; meeting planning and facilitation; outreach, follow-up, and other communication by email, phone, and messaging apps; relationship and contact tracking; turnout and mobilization planning; leadership development among people the project organizes with; motivating others to take action; and political strategizing, including power analysis and campaign strategy development.
- Excellent mass communication skills in any of several media (written words and/or visual media), including the ability to develop effective and disciplined narratives and the ability to produce clear, compelling materials about complicated issues for different audiences.
- Ability to analyze and engage with the law, including by analyzing court decisions and legislation, and to confidently discuss those with lawyers.
- Familiarity with and confidence in directly engaging and advocating toward decision-makers in the judicial appointment processes, including the governor, state senators, the mayor of New York City, and leaders of the state court system.
- Ability to think strategically and plan long-term without losing sight of unexpected opportunities. Ability to prioritize and focus on the most important and/or time-sensitive tasks and projects.
- A strong commitment to dismantling systems of mass criminalization and to elevating the voices and leadership of directly impacted people.
Desired Skills:
- Excellent political and community organizing skills, including competence and confidence in: coalition building and leadership; meeting planning and facilitation; outreach, follow-up, and other communication by email, phone, and messaging apps; relationship and contact tracking; turnout and mobilization planning; leadership development among people the project organizes with; motivating others to take action; and political strategizing, including power analysis and campaign strategy development.
- Excellent mass communication skills in any of several media (written words and/or visual media), including the ability to develop effective and disciplined narratives and the ability to produce clear, compelling materials about complicated issues for different audiences.
- Ability to analyze and engage with the law, including by analyzing court decisions and legislation, and to confidently discuss those with lawyers.
- Familiarity with and confidence in directly engaging and advocating toward decision-makers in the judicial appointment processes, including the governor, state senators, the mayor of New York City, and leaders of the state court system.
- Ability to think strategically and plan long-term without losing sight of unexpected opportunities. Ability to prioritize and focus on the most important and/or time-sensitive tasks and projects.
- A strong commitment to dismantling systems of mass criminalization and to elevating the voices and leadership of directly impacted people.
- Relevant personal experience in terms of recovery and/or justice involvement, a plus.
How to Apply
Please send a resume and a cover letter describing your interest in and qualifications for this role to Peter Martin (pmartin@communityalternatives.org). If you think one or more short samples of your past work in any media (e.g. text, audio/video, website) would help illustrate your strengths, feel free to include those too. Please use the subject line: "Judicial Accountability Strategist — [Your Name]."
ALL APPLICANTS MUST SUBMIT COVER LETTER WITH RESUME.
- 12 paid holidays per year
- 20 days of earned time off (ETO) for full-time staff, with the ability to use it after 90-days of employment.
- Time off is earned starting on your first day.
- 7 days of paid sick time
- 100% paid family leave
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program
CCA Website: HERE
