Senior Research Associate, Economic Impacts of Incarceration

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.

About the Project:

Involvement in the criminal legal system has a profound and persistent impact on the economic wellbeing of people and their loved ones. People of color, and particularly Black Americans, are incarcerated at much higher rates than their white counterparts and as a result bear the brunt of the economic impact of incarceration, further exacerbating longstanding racial disparities in income and economic opportunity.  However, despite these disparate population-level and intergenerational effects, there is a lack of general awareness of the impact that incarceration has on economic mobility over the life course.

The Vera Institute of Justice is leading an initiative to address this gap, by highlighting the nexus of incarceration and poverty as a national research and policy priority. Over a three-year period, Vera’s research, data science and communications teams will: construct datasets that describe the connections between incarceration and economic outcomes; develop an online visualization tool that can be used by wide-ranging audiences to elucidate these connections; conduct research, to inform policy and practice; and implement a strategic communications campaign, with the goal of increasing awareness of incarceration as a driver of poverty and income / wealth disparities.

Who you are:

Vera is seeking a Senior Research Associate (SRA) to join a multidisciplinary project on the economic impacts of incarceration. The SRA will work as part of a team focused on compiling and deploying national datasets to describe the relationship between incarceration in the United States over the last five decades and the economic wellbeing of communities. This role would suit an experienced researcher with an interest in using primarily quantitative methods to address applied, policy-related research questions. 

The SRA will play an integral part in producing research on the economic impacts of mass incarceration in the United States. They will work in partnership with members of Vera’s data science and communication teams to identify and manage datasets, identify research questions, and conduct analysis with a focus on real-world impact. The SRA will be involved with all stages of the research, from collecting data to developing research designs, conducting analysis, writing, and presentation of findings; with a primary focus on research design, analysis, and reporting. This position would suit researchers with a background in economics, sociology, public policy, or a related social science. Applicants with applied research experience / non-academic backgrounds are encouraged to apply, as are candidates with direct experience of criminal legal system involvement. 

The position reports to a Senior Research Fellow in Vera’s research department.  

What you'll do:

Research design and analysis 

• Work with other member of the team to develop and implement research designs and analysis plans 
• Conduct exploratory analysis to identify trends and inform in-depth research
• Co-lead descriptive and causal analysis of administrative datasets to identify spatial and temporal trends
• Conduct literature reviews  
• Liaise with policy and academic researchers, data partners, and project consultants 
• Train and supervise research interns and fellows

Data collection and management