Policy & Campaigns Manager

Oakland, CA or Sacramento, CA

About LSPC

Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC) is a nonprofit legal organization that fights for the human rights and liberation of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. We build community power through legal advocacy, policy advocacy, community organizing, and leadership development. Our work is grounded in an abolitionist framework and a commitment to racial and gender justice. Learn more at prisonerswithchildren.org.

About the Role

The Policy & Campaigns Manager, reporting to our Advocacy Director, will work with a team of community organizers, movement lawyers, community-based partners and directly impacted people and their families to develop and manage campaigns—including strategy, partnerships, research, written materials, education, lobbying, communications work and public speaking—primarily focused on policy reform in furtherance of LSPC’s mission to:

• Release people from jails and prisons
• Restore civil and human rights
• Reunify families and communities impacted by mass incarceration

Our current campaigns (subject to change) focus on fair chance employment and occupational licensing, sentencing reform (adults and youth), ending predatory collection practices of court-ordered debt, family unity and upending the family policing system, ending involuntary servitude, fair chance housing, disability justice, and climate justice for incarcerated people.

Additionally, the Policy & Campaigns Manager will supervise Policy Analyst(s) and oversee LSPC’s flagship Elder Freeman Policy Fellowship, including the recruitment, selection, curriculum, cohort development and supervision of 2-4 directly and systems-impacted Policy Fellows annually. Our Policy Fellowship is an intensive year-long program to learn grassroots organizing, legislative and administrative advocacy, and other strategies to run local and state campaigns with the goal of elevating the leadership of formerly incarcerated people and their families in criminal justice reform.

What you’ll do:

As LSPC’s Policy & Campaigns Manager, you will be a strategist, connector, and movement-builder. In collaborating with the Advocacy and Managing Directors, you’ll help lead bold campaigns that advance racial justice, dismantle carceral systems, and center the leadership of people directly impacted by incarceration. Your key responsibilities will include:

• Drive Campaigns for Change: Partner with community organizers, movement lawyers, directly impacted people, and allied organizations to design and lead statewide campaigns—from setting strategy to shaping policy proposals, drafting materials, educating, lobbying, public speaking; organizing campaign-related events, and turning ideas into legislative wins. Travel regularly between Bay Area and Sacramento, as well as potential travel across California and nationally, as needed.
• Influence Law & Policy: Research and analyze legislation, track emerging bills, craft policy briefs and recommendations, and educate and lobby elected officials, agencies, and community leaders to advance LSPC’s agenda; and monitor state and national legislation impacting the rights of currently and formerly incarcerated individuals and their families.
• Lead and Mentor: Supervise Policy Analyst(s) and oversee our premier Ronald “Elder” Freeman Policy Fellowship, recruiting, selecting and training 2–4 directly or system-impacted Fellows each year as they gain the skills to become the next generation of movement leaders.
• Build Powerful Partnerships & Coalitions: Cultivate partnerships with legal aid providers, grassroots groups, and advocacy networks across California to strengthen our collective impact; as a State Bar-funded Support Center, ensure that at least 75% of our policy work supports the legal aid community.
• Lead and Manage Quest for Democracy, the first and largest annual lobbying day for formerly incarcerated people and their families to share their stories and turn pain into purpose and power at the California State Capitol.
• Amplify Our Voice: Represent LSPC in public forums and the media (digital and traditional media, including independent and ethnic media outlets), speak at hearings and community events, and collaborate on strategic communications that elevate the experiences of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people and their families.
• Advance Implementation & Accountability: Work with allies and government agencies to translate policy victories into real-world changes, ensuring laws are implemented fairly and effectively.
• Educate & Mobilize: Develop trainings, resources, and presentations to empower community members, community-based organizations, and legal partners to engage in policy and administrative advocacy in furtherance of our mission.

Every day, you’ll help transform research into action, strategy into legislation, and legislation into lasting liberation.

What you bring:

Required Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of experience with organizing people or organizations for change
• At least 2 years of experience with policy advocacy (working to make legislative or regulatory changes) and/or administrative advocacy (working to advocate for improved practices by state agencies)
• At least 2 years experience in program or project management
• A track record of advancing opportunities for low-income and Black, Indigenous, and People of the Global Majority (BIPGM) communities, and individuals and families impacted by mass incarceration
• Willingness to travel, access to a personal vehicle, and a valid driver’s license (this role will travel between the Bay Area and Sacramento frequently, as well as travel to other places in California and nationally)
• Strong research and writing abilities
• Demonstrated experience and cultural humility uplifting BIPGM people
• Ability to interact effectively and respectfully with a range of diverse stakeholders
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work well both independently and in a team
• Persuasive public-speaking skills with strong communications and project management skills
• High degree of initiative, diplomacy, tact, candor, and follow-through
• Flexibility and adaptability needed to maneuver in changing policy landscape and a solutions-oriented approach to challenges

Preferred / Nice-to-Have:

• Financial / budget analysis experience
• Experience providing trainings and presentations
• Public speaking and engagement with press and media
• Comfort with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google applications (Docs, Sheets, Slides) as well as virtual meeting technology (e.g., Zoom), and quick learner with new tools and technologies

Compensation & Benefits:

• Salary: $95,000-$105,000 annually (full-time exempt)
• Health & Wellness: 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance (including dependents), plus acupuncture and chiropractic coverage
• Time Off: Generous vacation, sick leave, and paid holidays, including an office closure at the end of the year
• Professional Growth: Opportunities for professional development and leadership training within a supportive, justice-driven team

Our Commitment to Equity

LSPC is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace and welcomes applicants of all backgrounds and identities. We are an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, association with a member of a protected class, color, disability (physical, intellectual/developmental, or mental health/psychiatric), gender identity or expression, genetic information or characteristic, marital status, medical condition (cancer or genetic characteristic), military and veteran status, national origin, pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, or related medical conditions, race (includes hairstyle and hair texture), religious creed (includes dress and grooming practices), reproductive health decision making, sex/gender, sexual orientation, and use of protected leave. We strongly encourage those with the unique contribution of candidates with lived experience as a formerly incarcerated and/or system impacted person to apply.

Salary: $95,000-$105,000 annually (full-time exempt)

Health & Wellness: 100% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance (including dependents), plus acupuncture and chiropractic coverage

Time Off: Generous vacation, sick leave, and paid holidays, including an office closure at the end of the year

Professional Growth: Opportunities for professional development and leadership training within a supportive, justice-driven team