Senior Writer, Communications and External Affairs

Who we are:

The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. For more information, visit vera.org.

Vera has a staff of 230 people, is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York and has offices in Washington, D.C., 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 role:

Working closely with the Editorial team, the Senior Writer will conceive, research, and write a wide variety of communications products to advance Vera’s work for both traditional and digital media, including blog posts, articles, op-eds, multimedia scripts, fact sheets, policy briefs, reports, webpages, and other publications for a variety of audiences. The Senior Writer works with Vera’s editorial and program teams through the production process, including research, revisions, multiple rounds of editing, design, and dissemination strategy. The Senior Writer also serves as a liaison between Communications and Vera’s program teams and provides regular reports about strategies, goals, processes, and project updates. 

What you'll do:

• Research and write a wide variety of communications products focused on topics relevant to Vera’s work. Work with Vera’s editorial team and other stakeholders across the organization through the production process, including editing, revising, design, and dissemination. Serve as a liaison between Communications team and contributing program staff or sources through the publication development process. Keep up with the news cycle and current events in order to pitch relevant content ideas and quickly field rapid response work as needed. 
• Work with people impacted by Vera's work to help tell their stories, either through conducting interviews or supporting on authored content. 
• Serve as a liaison between Vera’s Communications department and program teams to help define and develop messaging strategies around Vera’s issue areas.  
• Other duties as assigned.

What qualifications are we looking for?

Required: 

• Bachelor’s degree 4+years of relevant experience. In lieu of bachelor’s degree, applicable work or life experience may be considered.  
• A background in journalism, publishing, communications, or a closely related field, with experience in rapid response and narrative storytelling. 
• Exceptional writing, editing, and communication skills. The ability to write quickly, clearly, persuasively, and accessibly across a variety of products. Open and willing to in