Who we are:
The Vera Institute of Justice, founded in 1961, is a nonprofit criminal justice organization that strives to build just government institutions and safe communities free from the scourge of racism, white supremacy, profit, and inequity that is pervasive in this country’s legal systems. We are an “inside” lane organization that drives change at scale with ambitious public sector leaders who share our commitment to building anti-racist, reparative systems that deliver justice. We leverage our access to government to transform these systems and work collaboratively with stakeholders across many movements—including advocacy, grassroots, and grasstop organizations. Our role is to pilot solutions that are transformative and achievable, harness the power of evidence to drive effective policy and practice, and use advocacy and communications to change narratives and norms.
Vera has a staff of 300 people and offices in New York City, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and New Orleans. We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to diversity in the workplace. We expect our staff to embody respect, independence, collaboration, commitment, anti-racism, and equity—both in our outward-facing work and the internal culture of our workplace. We value a range of experiences in people’s educational backgrounds and encourage people who have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system to apply.
Who you are:
The External Affairs team is responsible for overseeing marketing and communications strategies, identifying, attracting, planning, promoting, and managing projects, events, and other opportunities to showcase Vera’s mission and work. This includes: driving social impact for Vera through cause marketing efforts, philanthropy, and volunteerism; executing integrated marketing strategies; producing written content and briefings for Vera’s President, and managing relationships with cultural influencers to engage them in publicly supporting Vera’s mission.
As the Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, you will report to the External Affairs Director and will be responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive CSR strategy that builds long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with corporations, potential funders, and other partners as needed to advance Vera’s efforts. You will join a team of communications professionals including digital, editorial, and visual content creators, and media and messaging, social media, and government and public affairs experts. The team works closely across all units at Vera.
What you'll do:
Develop and execute comprehensive corporate social responsibility strategy
- Identify prospective partners and vet and scope corporate partnership opportunities
- Strategize and research innovative ways to partner and grow corporate financial support and engagement through programmatic investments, in-kind contributions, program-specific giving, and other collaborative partnerships
- Evaluate prospective corporate partnerships, in coordination with Vera’s Development team, to ensure organizations meet Vera’s giving guidelines, align with our CSR focus areas and brand impact priorities
- Build out a framework and strategy for corporate volunteerism and coordinate all corporate volunteer programming and contributions across projects
- Establish and constantly reevaluate KPIs for our CSR framework
Lead day to day management of key corporate funder relationships
- Collaborate with Vera communications, development, and program and initiative teams to expand existing partnerships and develop comprehensive, multi-dimensional partnerships that support Vera’s communications, brand, fundraising, and programmatic objectives
- Coordinate and collaborate with communications leaders to plan corporate partnerships and activations around key advocacy and programmatic moments
Manage corporate speaking engagement and opportunities
- Identify corporate speaking engagements and opportunities to build Vera’s profile, as well as the profiles of Vera’s key leaders and spokespeople
What qualifications are we looking for?
- Familiarity and comfort with data, a plus
- Demonstrated experience and track record of building, implementing and evolving corporate social responsibility programs from inception to execution
- Relevant experience with CSR-related metrics, and a track record of meeting or exceeding goals
- A strong business acumen, and record of success in corporate communications, brand marketing, and public relations and an eye for trends that impact these areas
- Project management skills that align day-to-day tactics with broader organizational goals
- Excellent writer and communicator who can adeptly distill research into public facing messages
- Demonstrated skills recruiting, mentoring, and managing staff using a supportive and collaborative approach
- 5 - 7+ years of relevant experience in nonprofit development, foundation giving, corporate philanthropy, and/or corporate social responsibility
- Familiarity within the Microsoft Office suite
Location:
Please note this role will report to our Brooklyn office. Vera employees adhere to a hybrid schedule and are in-office on an alternating schedule that generally amounts to 10 days per month.
Compensation and Benefits:
The compensation range for this position is $84,000 – $87,000. Actual salaries will vary depending on factors including but not limited to experience and performance. The salary range listed is just one component of Vera Institute’s total compensation package for employees. As an employer of choice in our field, supporting Vera staff—both personally and professionally—is a priority. To do this, we invest in the well-being of our staff through other rewards including merit pay, generous paid time off, a comprehensive health insurance plan, student loan repayment benefits, professional development training opportunities and up to $2,000 annual for education costs and fees relevant to Vera work, employer-funded retirement plan, and flexible time and remote work schedules. To learn more about Vera’s benefits offerings, click here.
Applications may also be faxed to:
ATTN: People Resources / Corporate Social Responsibility Manager
Vera Institute of Justice
34 35th St, Suite 4-2A, Brooklyn, NY 11232
Fax: (212) 941-9407
Please use only one method (online, mail or fax) of submission.
No phone calls, please. Only applicants selected for interviews will be contacted.
As a federal contractor, and in order to ensure a healthy and safe work environment, Vera Institute of Justice is requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccine before their start date. Employees who cannot receive the vaccine because of a disability/medical contraindication or sincerely-held religious belief may request an accommodation (e.g., an exemption) to this requirement.
Vera is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, or caregiver status.
Vera works to advance justice, particularly racial justice, in an increasingly multicultural country and globally connected world. We value diverse experiences, including with regard to educational background and justice system contact, and depend on a diverse staff to carry out our mission.
For more information about Vera, please visit www.vera.org
