The Office of Returning Citizens (ORC) is an office within the Mayor’s Office of Human Services that is dedicated to supporting the 3,000 individuals who return to Boston after being released from state, federal and county facilities each year, as well as others who were previously incarcerated. This office aims to empower people reintegrating into their communities after incarceration to reach full potential as individuals, family members and residents of Boston. The mission of the ORC is to help returning citizens recover from the trauma of incarceration, reclaim their dignity and purpose, and rebuild their lives through positive choices, incentives, and opportunities. We believe that with supportive services and resources, returning citizens can successfully return to safe, stable and fulfilling lives. The ORC aims to empower our clients to break the cycle of recidivism, through hands-on case management and an extensive provider referral network.

We are seeking an individual for the position of Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives to assist with providing services to individuals reentering the community. Under the direction of the Director, the Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives will help to break down systemic barriers that limit returning citizens from reaching their full potential.

• Identifies, evaluates and spearheads action on key City, County, and State policies and legislations that impact Boston’s returning citizens.
• Establishes and strengthens relationships across City government, community partners, private sector, philanthropists, and County and State lawmakers and stakeholders.
• Launches and evaluates strategic initiatives and programming in coordination with City, County, and State stakeholders, including but not limited to collaborations with the Registry of Motor Vehicles, the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, the Department of Mental Health, MBTA, and Parole and Probation, etc.
• Recruites supervises, and manages ORC interns and fellows tasked with innovative research or policy projects to better understand or improve reentry in the City of Boston.
• Gathers information on the challenges (e.g. housing, community ties) faced by Boston’s returning residents in order to identify key areas for intervention, through policy, programming, or other Office support.
• Creates, manages, and analyzes the following innovative programs: returning citizen earmarked ARPA funds and a collaborative program with the Mayor’s Office of Housing, a BHA vouchers program for ORC clients, a SRO model of housing for ORC clients that are housing unstable and other ORC innovative housing programs.
• Gathers information from incarceration-impacted residents on reentry challenges for the purposes of setting policy and program priorities and informing program design.
• Conducts programmatic and policy relevant research on Boston’s re-entry conditions to inform ORC programming and policy priorities.
• Creates and manages sustainable relationships and formal partnerships with university partners to promote collaborative opportunities, ORC undergraduate and graduate fellowships and internships, and to stay abreast of cutting-edge research on reentry.
• Performs related duties as required.

• Applicant must possess at least five (5) years of full-time or part-time experience in public policy or legislative advocacy at the Federal, State, County and/or City level. Experience in carceral policy is preferred.
• A Masters degree in a relevant subject area or Juris Doctorate or other related field is preferred. However, this education requirement may be substituted by an additional three (3) years of relevant work experience beyond the 5 year minimum.
• Experience working with formal and informal legal instruments, including but not limited to Memorandums of Agreement and Understanding, RFPs, grant regulations, and municipal contracts.
• Considerable experience in applying for and and administering federal or state grants as well as private funding opportunities is a plus!
• Substantial experience in public policy research relevant to policing, incarceration, and reentry required.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse organizations and individuals.
• Strong interpersonal and team management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement difficult collaborative projects/partnerships with multiple stakeholders and move critical efforts forward in a respectful way that delivers improved support for divested communities/clients.
• Excellent negotiation, writing, presentation, organizational, analytical and supervisory skills.
• Extensive knowledge of City, state, and federal criminal justice system; civil rights and human rights principles; and communities commonly impacted by incarceration and post-carceral discrimination.
• Knowledge of legislative processes, at the state, federal and local levels.
• Excellent management, negotiation, mediation skills, writing and communication skills.
• Excellent organizational, problem-solving and computer skills.
• Ability to exercise good judgment and focus on detail as required by the job.
• Working knowledge of MA legal databases, Microsoft Office, google scholar research, LexisNexus/Westlaw legal databases, Google Suite, and Canva preferred.

BOSTON RESIDENCY REQUIRED 

Terms:

Union/Salary Plan/Grade: Non-Union/MM2-07  

Hours Per Week: 35