As Pennsylvania’s independent prison monitor, we work to stop abuse and trauma. The Prison Monitoring Director is responsible for all of the Society’s work monitoring county and state correctional facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Supported by field organizers and a corps of 260 highly motivated volunteers, the Prison Monitoring Director makes sure we promptly and effectively respond to the several hundred complaints we receive monthly from incarcerated people and their families. The Director is responsible for recruiting, growing, and supporting our volunteer corps. With the support of experts and consultants, the Director develops new trainings, reporting mechanisms, and monitoring tools to strengthen our work and our impact. They serve as the Society’s primary liaison with state and local prison administrations, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, allied organizations, and other issue campaigns across the state.
Your Legacy You are at the vanguard of the progressive correction reform movement and will lead a significant body of work for one of the most impactful nonprofit organizations with access to jails and prisons in the United States. Building off of existing momentum, you will implement an updated approach to how prisons are monitored in Pennsylvania. In addition, you will continue to research other innovative ways the Prison Society can monitor prisons and better demonstrate to the public about what life is like for someone who is incarcerated.
Your Charge (What You’ll Be Doing):
Design and lead the strategic expansion of the Prison Society’s prison monitor volunteer network. With the support of 1-2 field organizers, you will recruit and provide training (currently being developed) for volunteers in all 62 county and 25 state prisons. These volunteers respond to the concerns of incarcerated individuals and their families and report their findings back to you on a monthly basis.
Be the authority on prison conditions and monitoring in Pennsylvania and the face of the Prison Society to our volunteers and supporters. Represent the Society to prison officials, policy makers, national and local coalitions, and stakeholder groups.
Partner with researchers and international experts in data collection, analysis, and design of new tools in this burgeoning field. You assist in producing regular reports on prison conditions and in designing new tools and approaches for our prison monitoring work.
Ensure the integrity of the data we collect, and what we report. You will build out data collection processes, provide quality assurance to our data, work with consultants to analyze it, and act as the spokesperson for reporting out our findings.
How You’ll Go About It (while not all of these are requirements, the strongest applicants will see themselves in more of these competencies than not):
You are an expert organizer of field staff and volunteers. You know how to motivate and galvanize volunteers around a mission that compels them to act and move the needle on prison reform. You are thoughtful and comfortable training volunteers and holding them accountable to standards and expectations. You have specific examples of how you’ve been sensitive to the needs and wants of a large dedicated volunteer base without being paralyzed by the need to include or please everyone.
You are a consummate team player. You’re known for getting along with everyone in a small office regardless of their personality or stature and leverage their expertise to advance your work.
You are innovative. You are creative but tethered to reality. You approach your work expansively but practically. You pay attention to lessons learned and constantly fine tune as you go.
You bring integrity and leadership. You prioritize getting the facts. You are careful when you speak. You are committed to the reputation of the Prison Society. You are comfortable as a leader. You have examples of when you were regarded as the voice of authority. You can point to examples where your leadership resulted in team accomplishment.
Your warm and professional demeanor works for everyone. You adjust your communication style to appeal to disparate stakeholders including those who are incarcerated, top public officials, and everyone in between.
What You Need to Know
APPLY HERE by Wednesday, April 1 by midnight EST - If the above speaks to you, we’re excited to learn more about you!
We have answered many of your candidate questions in our Frequently Asked Questions HERE Please be sure to read this before you apply.
Start Date - May 2020
Salary - $72K. Medical and dental insurance coverage provided.
Flexible Time Off - You’ll work from 9am-5pm with flexible time off.
Manager - You will report to Claire Shubik-Richards, Executive Director of the Society.
You can find out more about this opportunity HERE.
Frequently asked questions about this position and about the Society are HERE.
You can apply to this position HERE.