THIS IS A TEMPORARY GRANT FUNDED POSITION

The Office of Research and Development (ORD) is organizationally situated within the Office of the Police Commissioner (OPC), and is responsible for the research and development of innovative strategies and police practices that focus on issues relevant to modern policing. The ORD supports and advances the Boston Police Department’s mission: to work in partnership with the community to fight crime, reduce fear, and improve quality of life in the neighborhoods of Boston. Towards that end, the ORD oversees two community-focused initiatives:  District-based Hub Tables and a Community CompStat initiative.

• The Hub, which began in July of 2018, is based on an internationally practiced, public safety and public health, proven effective model titled The Hub Model: Community Safety and Well Being. Hub tables meet weekly in the communities of East Boston, Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, Dorchester, all of Area E (which includes Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury, Roslindale, and Hyde Park), and the Mass & Cass area with the BPD Street Outreach Unit. Ultimately, the goal of the City of Boston (COB)/Boston Police Department (BPD) is to bring The Hub Model to scale within the remaining Boston neighborhoods.
• Community CompStat is a more recent initiative implemented by Police Commissioner Michael Cox in an effort to strengthen police engagement with the community and increase community trust in the police through collaborative data sharing and problem solving. The BPD has been awarded technical assistance through the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to assist with these efforts.

ORD is seeking a full-time position to oversee the coordination of these two community-focused efforts, and to also assist with other ORD-related functions. More broadly, the ORD gathers and reports crime statistics and other related crime data; provides annual crime summary reports to the public and internally; and conducts police and best practice research, performance measurement and program evaluation. The Office responds to information and data requests from outside agencies, and performs resource development tasks for the COB and the BPD, including the convening of planning meetings specific to grant proposal development, grant writing, project implementation and management. The ORD is a revenue-generating office, handling millions of dollars in grants each year from state and federal agencies, as well as private organizations. The Office currently has a staff of six (6) full-time employees, including a full-time Grants Manager.

The Community Coordinator is a grant-funded position that will report to the Director of the ORD and be responsible for providing citywide coordination of the Hub Program (including coordination, support and staffing of existing Hub Tables and the expansion of the Hub Program to other locations/ Districts within the neighborhoods of Boston) and Community CompStat (including being the main point of contact with the IACP technical assistance, attending Community CompStat meetings and assisting with related surveys and data collection). The Community Coordinator, as a member of ORD, will also assist with grant opportunity research and identification; grant program design, collaboration and writing; and program set up, management and administration, including the monitoring of key projects, program reporting, evaluation, data analysis, best practice research and working as part of problem-solving team. The Community Coordinator will also support ORD with programmatic development and strategic implementation of Department-wide and District-specific initiatives as needed.

• Serve as main point of contact with the IACP for technical assistance pertaining to Community CompStat initiative.
• Attend all Community CompStat meetings, including planning and preparation meetings, and assists with related survey implementation and data collection/analysis.
• Best practice and policy research in community policing, violence prevention, and other public safety related models.
• Researching and identifying potential grant opportunities.
• Grant application planning, collaboration, writing and submission.
• Grant program set up, program implementation, monitoring, evaluation and quarterly/semi-annual and final reporting.
• Preparing written and oral reports using Microsoft Office, with the ability to adjust writing style (technical or non-technical) for different audiences.
• Development, presentation, and distribution of crime data and programmatic representation for the ORD to diverse sectors across our community, including civic partners, philanthropies, non-profit and policy groups through various Department channels, including the Department’s website.
• Provide technical assistance specific to data collection at the weekly Hub Tables, and with that data, reports to City of Boston, Mass Housing and other community leaders.
• Attend and staff all Hub related meetings and/or other Hub related activities.
• Convene monthly Hub Executive Team meetings, so that the Executive Team may serve to help broker new partnerships to support Hub Tables long term.
• Oversee the development of a sustainability plan, to include grant writing and submission, for expansion of the Hub model to additional neighborhoods.
• Perform related work as required.

• At least four (4) years of full-time, or equivalent part-time, paid technical or professional experience in project or program coordination - in which the major duties included convening, facilitating, strategic planning, policy and other writing, design, collection, interpretation and presentation of statistical and evaluation reports.
• A bachelor's degree in a public or business administration, management, or related field is preferred and may be substituted for two (2) years of the required experience. A master's degree may be substituted for three (3) years of the required experience.
• Experience with grant writing and management, including preparation, submission, program implementation and monitoring.
• Experience with program evaluation.
• Knowledge of Microsoft PowerPoint, Access, Excel and Word.
• Strategic planning and facilitation skills.
• Strong writing skills, research and analytic skills and problem solving skills.
• Strong work ethic.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously; to communicate effectively verbally and in writing; and to succeed in a high-pressured environment.
• Ability to exercise good judgment and focus on detail as required by the job.
• Ability to build strong relationships with key stakeholders.
• Experience in the Boston community and sectors strongly preferred.

CRIMINAL RECORD CHECK REQUIRED.

A PRE-EMPLOYMENT DRUG TEST IS REQUIRED.

BOSTON RESIDENCY REQUIRED.

Terms: 

Union/Salary Plan/Grade: Non-Union/MM2-6

Hours per week: 35