"Philadelphia Violence Reduction Director"

Job Description Summary

The Philadelphia Violence Reduction Director is responsible for developing and overseeing the Crime and Justice Policy Lab's support to strengthen the City of Philadelphia's capacity to design, implement, and sustain an effective, unified community violence reduction strategy. The role involves high-level engagement with government officials, community organizations, and academic and funding partners.

Job Description

This position is working in the Crime and Justice Policy Lab (CJP), a research group within the University of Pennsylvania Department of Criminology. The mission of the CJP Lab is to apply rigorous methods of scientific research to improve public safety in disadvantaged communities, centering those communities in the design and execution of policy ideas, and ensuring that research and government policy is being done with communities rather than to communities. The end goal for our work is that citizens in Philadelphia and other major cities are able to enjoy safety and equitable treatment and outcomes in their day-to-day lives. CJP works primarily in Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Oakland, and San Francisco, and with several federal government partners and international partners in Latin America and the Caribbean.

CJP projects often pursue a 'triple bottom line'-our successful projects are ones that reduce violence that is affecting communities, reduce incarceration, and lessen the burden of policing on communities by generating fewer and more just interactions between police and community members. As many of our projects directly work with the criminal justice system to achieve these goals, we need to be comfortable both holding the priorities of the communities we serve at the center of our work, while also being able to work productively with police and other groups.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Advising

• In close coordination with technical assistance and research partners, serve as the primary strategic counsel between CJP and city partners in Philadelphia, including the Mayor's Office, Philadelphia Police Department, District Attorney's Office, and local foundations, universities and non-profits.
• Facilitate and support the executive working group process, working directly with senior members of the above agencies and partners. Ensure the work process effectively engages and support key principals; meets Mayor Parker's stated objectives and timelines and moves to action through implementation of a unified violence reduction strategy.
• Coordinate and mobilize the deployment of technical assistance based on identified and anticipated needs.

Implementation Oversight

• Work with relevant stakeholders to coordinate and leverage resources across committed partners to think through issues of design and implementation of a unified community violence reduction strategy.
• Monitor fidelity to information sharing and coordination protocols and procedures within and between city agencies, support and outreach and community partners.
• Work with relevant partners to coordinate and manage inter-agency working group(s) of law enforcement agencies, community leaders and service providers, set manageable, goal-oriented agendas for meetings and co-facilitate meetings, as appropriate.
• Oversee data collection to monitor and evaluate implementation and performance management.

Communications

• Work with relevant stakeholders to ensure effective public communication and understanding of project goals, strategy, operations and outcomes.
• Communicate project goals and local specifics to broader community and enforcement audiences, as appropriate.
• Work with city officials to ensure effective project representation in local media.

Evaluation

• Serve as liaison on all internal and external efforts to assess and evaluate the City of Philadelphia's capacity to design, implement, and sustain an effective, unified community violence reduction strategy.
• Work with relevant partners to collect pre- and post-data.
• Oversee efforts to maintain detailed records of key decisions and implementation milestones.

Qualifications:

A Master's degree in Public Policy, Public Affairs, Public Health, Criminology, Criminal Justice or a similar field with significant knowledge and background related to public policy around crime, violence and criminal justice issues and 5 to 7 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is required. A minimum of ten (10) years of experience working with government and non-profit organizations on projects related to violence prevention and crime-policy is strongly preferred. Experience working directly with city leadership, including mayoral office directors and with police department command-level staff, as well as private sector, community-based agencies, social service professionals and academicians. Experience working on projects related to evaluation. A deep understanding of how local law enforcement agencies and government services function. Strong professional written and verbal proficiency in English and an understanding of how to communicate policy lessons from technical academic research in ways that policymakers and practitioners understand. The ability to work occasional weekend and/or evening hours based on business needs. The ability to think strategically, handle multiple projects at once, meet deadlines, and effectively manage time. Track record of delivering results in a high-pressure environment with multiple workstreams. Proven ability to effectively manage crisis situations.

This position is contingent upon grant funding.

Job Location - City, State: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Department / School: School of Arts and Sciences

Pay Range: $79,500.00 - $130,000.00 Annual Rate