Policy Analyst or Policy Counsel – Criminal & Youth Justice

The Council for Court Excellence (CCE) seeks a dynamic Policy Analyst or Policy Counsel to develop, manage, and implement CCE’s Criminal Justice and Youth Justice initiatives. CCE’s mission is to enhance the justice system in the District of Columbia to serve the public equitably, and works in four programmatic areas – Civil Justice, Criminal Justice, Youth Justice, and Justice Education.

The Policy Analyst or Policy Counsel will provide strategic leadership through coalition and committee support, project design and management, legal and policy research, data analysis, publication drafting, policy platform building, and/or advocacy. They will work closely with CCE staff, Board directors, committee members, directly-affected members of the community, and other justice system stakeholders to develop policy solutions that will improve the fairness and performance of D.C.’s legal systems.

The ideal candidate is a skillful leader who has bold and ambitious ideas for reforming and transforming the justice system, and the patience to build consensus around and develop plans to implement those ideas. The ideal candidate will be a quick learner, highly-organized, a clear communicator, a great facilitator (including virtually), and experienced with coordinating groups or committees towards a common goal. The ideal candidate has knowledge of or experience in D.C.’s local courts or justice system. The ideal candidate is an excellent writer (of both long-form policy reports and rapid-response communications) and has a good sense of humor.

Duties and Responsibilities:

As the staff leader – both substantively and administratively – for all of CCE’s Criminal Justice and Youth Justice-focused work, they will be expected to:

• Identify new research, policy, advocacy, and education initiatives based on community needs, research, data analysis, coalition participation, and communication with relevant stakeholders.
• Develop plans to turn initiative ideas into Criminal or Youth Justice committee projects with specific activities and/or deliverables.
• Provide staff support for the Criminal and Youth Justice committees by working with committee leaders to set priorities and agendas, schedule and manage all committee communications and meetings, and recruit volunteers to join the committee or work on special projects.
• Conduct legal or policy research and support qualitative data collection, like interviews, court-watching or FOIA requests (Counsel); and/or designing and conducting research, including surveys and case studies, analyzing quantitative data, and creating summaries or visualizations of those analyses (Analyst).
• Lead the development, drafting, and editing of all written content related to committee or project responsibilities (e.g. published reports and guides, educational materials for a variety of audiences, annual reports, sections of grant proposals or reports, committee listserv communications, annual reports, talking points, newsletters, etc.).
• Engage directly with policymakers and their staff to share CCE’s research findings or policy positions. This may include participating in meetings, leading briefings, drafting and/or presenting testimony and public comment on relevant issues to the D.C. Council and various agencies.
• Educate D.C. residents on aspects of the justice system that impact their lives and build support for systems change.

Qualifications:

• Policy Analyst candidates should have either an advanced degree with at least two years of professional experience in research and/or data analysis – or – a bachelor’s degree with at least four years of professional experience conducting justice-related research or data analysis;
• Policy Counsel candidates should have a J.D. or LLM with at least two years of professional experience in research, policy analysis, or advocacy, and/or civil litigation experience;
• Exceptional writing skills and the ability to explain law, data, and policy clearly for different audiences;
• Project design, development, and/or project management experience;
• Ability to analyze and synthesize dense, often complex data;
• Excellent organizational skills and strong attention to detail;
• Strong interpersonal, problem-solving, and communication skills;
• Self-starter who is comfortable juggling multiple projects in a fast-paced environment; and
• Knowledge of and interest in local justice reform.