Senior Restorative Justice Specialist - Restorative Schools Program

The Restorative Schools Program seeks to address the ineffectiveness and disproportionality that arises in more traditional school discipline systems by bringing a Restorative Justice perspective to the school setting. Accomplishing this goal requires the school community to commit the time and resources necessary to create a school culture focused on the core values of respect, relationship and responsibility. A key aspect of the program is to build, maintain and sustain relationships on campus and support conflict exploration and resolution on a school campus.

PRIMARY DUTIES (95%)

Under the supervision of the Program Director, implementation of the Restorative Schools Program in schools includes, but not limited to:

• Work with a specific school site to shift their school culture through the use of restorative practices
• Plan and implement restorative justice programs and practices
• Develop and facilitate workshops, trainings and curriculum to introduce schools and communities to restorative justice
• Develop and deliver plans for creating buy-in and implementation of restorative justice at school sites – includes helping to write model policies, designing and providing community building and harm circles on campus
• Serve as a mentor and coach to other RJ Specialists on the team,
• Support youth-based programming such as Walk in My Shoes Conference, Youth Speak Contest, Youth Leadership Institute, and Human Relations Ambassadors Program
• Potential to support the greater Youth & Education work including Bridges programming on school campuses

SECONDARY DUTIES (5%)

RJ Specialists also assist in agency-wide initiatives, including, but not limited to:

• Responding and initiating action toward addressing community problems pertaining to intergroup relations between diverse communities and fostering intergroup understanding
• Mediating conflict; practicing and utilizing restorative justice practices
• Facilitate and/or support agency trainings, workshops, projects, programs as needed

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

BA/BS degree and 3 years of experience or equivalent experience which demonstrates knowledge and abilities below.

General Knowledge of:

• Human and civil rights issues that different racial, ethnic, religious, LGBTQ+, immigrant communities, among others, are facing
• Youth leadership development techniques geared toward diverse student populations
• Program development and implementation
• K-12 school system(s)
• Dialogue and workshop facilitation and preparation skills

Some Knowledge of:

• Methods of teaching cross-cultural relations and respect towards all people regardless of race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, gender/gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or marital status
• Dynamics of intergroup relations, problem solving techniques, mediation/conciliation methods
• Restorative justice and restorative practices
• Community organizing theory and strategies
• Program development

Ability to:

• Work with youth and cultivate their power
• Work with K-12 educators, the greater school community, and stakeholders
• Communicate with community organizations in a compassionate and understanding manner
• Work with diverse groups of individuals to promote cooperation and mutual understanding
• Deal tactfully with sensitive problems involving divergent viewpoints
• Understand and be able to teach the decision-making process of institutions to community groups
• Prepare comprehensive written and oral reports
• Provide mentorship and consultation as needed
• Investigate and analyze human relations problems
• Identify and dispel stereotypes about different groups
• Communicate and work with Staff and Administrators on campus
• Provide trainings and workshops to key school and community stake holders
• Ability to work independently in a virtual and in-person setting
• Flexibility to work some evenings and weekends

                                                 EMPLOYMENT PACKAGE                                  

This position is a full-time position, 40 hours a week. The starting annual salary range for this position is

$58,000.00- $65,000.00 based on experience. Full benefits including health, dental, 401(k), life insurance, 9 sick days, 11 paid holidays, 10 paid vacation days, and others.

Organizational Profile: www.wearegroundswell.org

At Groundswell (formerly OC Human Relations) we believe ALL people have a right to live free from discrimination and violence based on any aspect of their being.

Founded in 1991 as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, Groundswell is a nationally recognized leader in creating safe, inclusive schools and communities, developing diverse leaders, mediating conflict and building respect and inclusion among all people.

Groundswell helps shape the future through innovative programs like BRIDGES Safe and Respectful Schools, Restorative Justice, Intergroup Dialogues, Hate Crime documentation, Implicit Bias, Community Building, Diverse Leadership Development, Mediation and Conflict Resolution.

Groundswell is an equal opportunity employer.