American Civil Liberties Union

CAREER OPPORTUNITY
DIRECTOR [NPP-15]
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
NATIONAL PRISON AND OVER-INCARCERATION PROJECT

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is seeking a Director for its National Prison and Over-Incarceration Project (previously known as the National Prison Project).

Through strategic litigation and public advocacy, the ACLU has long been a national leader in protecting the rights of those imprisoned and in challenging the policies of over-incarceration that have led the United States to imprison more people than any other country in the world. 

This is an opportune moment to reform those policies.  There is a growing consensus among criminal justice experts and policymakers that America’s criminal justice system has relied too heavily on incarceration as the first and often only response for non-violent behavior that could better be addressed through other means.  The population in American prisons and jails has tripled in the past 15 years and now exceeds two million.  Facilities are overcrowded; medical systems are overwhelmed; work, education, and treatment programs are inadequate; and prison violence has increased.  This failed experiment does not make us safer, it is not affordable, and it exacerbates the racial disparities that have long plagued the criminal justice system. 

The ACLU is therefore launching a major organizational initiative to address the issue of over-incarceration to be spearheaded by the National Prison and Over-Incarceration Project.  With 53 affiliates, the ACLU is uniquely positioned to develop and implement a national strategy on over-incarceration.  The Director of the National Prison and Over-Incarceration Project will play a leading role in that initiative, as well as overseeing the ACLU’s ongoing litigation on behalf of prisoners’ rights.

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

The Director has overall responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the Project, and reports to the National Legal Director, or his designee.  Those responsibilities include:

• Developing and implementing a national strategy for the ACLU to address the issue of over-incarceration through an integrated program of advocacy, research, public education, and litigation.
• Maintaining the Project’s historic commitment to ensuring that the nation’s prisons and jails are operated in a manner that is consistent with constitutional and statutory standards.  Since its founding in 1972, The Project has brought successful litigation on behalf of prisoners in more than 25 states; since 1991, the Project has represented prisoners in 5 cases before the United States Supreme Court.
• Working with other ACLU Projects and Programs addressing related issues, including the Racial Justice Program, the Drug Law Reform Project, the Women’s Rights Project, and the Capital Punishment Project.
• Providing expertise and assistance to the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office.
• Supporting and promoting the work of ACLU affiliates throughout the nation.
• Serving as a national spokesperson for the ACLU on criminal justice issues.
• Hiring and supervising Project staff.
• Fundraising and fiscal management.

EXPERIENCE & QUALIFICATIONS:

Applicants must have a J.D. degree and:

• Commitment to the mission and goals of the Project and the ACLU.
• Significant litigation and/or policy experience on criminal justice issues.
• Superb interpersonal and communication skills.
• Excellent analytic skills
• Willingness to travel.

Applicants must also have the proven ability to:

• Exercise leadership internally and externally.
• Create solutions to complex legal and policy questions.
• Manage a multi-functional advocacy program.
• Write and speak persuasively.

COMPENSATION:

Salary is commensurate with experience, within the parameters of the ACLU compensation scale.  Excellent benefits package provided.

HOW TO APPLY:

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.  Interested persons should send a letter, resume, and two writing samples by email to hrjobs@aclu.org - reference [NPP-15/ACLU-W] in the subject line – or by mail to:

American Civil Liberties Union
Re: [NPP-15/ACLU-W]
125 Broad Street, 18th Floor
New York, New York 10004-2400

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, which will not be before September 19, 2009.  Please indicate where you learned of this job posting.

The ACLU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and encourages applications from women, people of color, persons with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

The ACLU comprises two separate corporate entities, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation.  Both the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation are national organizations with the same overall mission, and share office space and employees.  The ACLU has two separate corporate entities in order to do a broad range of work to protect civil liberties.  This job posting refers collectively to the two organizations under the name “ACLU.”