Chief Program Officer, Policy, Research, and Prevention

ABOUT THE INNOCENCE PROJECT The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Our work is guided by science and grounded in anti-racism. Since our inception, the Innocence Project has used DNA and other scientific advancements to prove wrongful conviction. To date, we have helped to free or exonerate more than 250 people who, collectively, spent more than 3,600 years behind bars. Our efforts have led to the passage of more than 200 transformative state laws and federal reforms. Today, the Innocence Project continues to fight for freedom, drive structural change, and advance the innocence movement. To learn more, please visit www.innocenceproject.org . ABOUT THE POSITION The Chief Program Officer, Policy, Research, and Prevention is responsible for oversight, management, and supervision of the following program areas: Policy, which advocates for legislative changes at both the state and federal levels to make our criminal legal system more fair, compassionate and equitable for everyone; Data Science & Research, which collects and manages information about every Innocence Project victory and researches the contributing factors to wrongful conviction and provides expertise to the Innocence Project’s staff; and Strategic Litigation which uses legal advocacy and training to strengthen the standards that govern the use of science in criminal legal systems. The Chief Program Officer, Policy, Research, and Prevention serves as a primary thought partner to the talented, creative, and hardworking team of experienced professionals that they lead. They are responsible for keeping the teams under their supervision aligned, focused, motivated, and high performing to ensure the effectiveness and quality of work in each area. This role is a member of the Senior Leadership Team, serving as an essential organizational leader with responsibilities that extend beyond their department. In this capacity, the Chief Program Officer, Policy, Research, and Prevention is responsible for contributing to the overall direction, strategy, and health of the organization. Specifically, they are responsible for: effectively managing department staff to encourage alignment, motivation and high-performance, contributing to organization wide strategic planning, decision making, and resource allocation, responsible for achieving departmental objectives and regularly reporting on the department’s progress and outcomes to the Board, senior leadership, and the IP staff during office-wide meetings, and modeling the Innocence Project’s values of an inclusive and respectful workplace and encouraging the same from their staff. The Chief Program Officer, Policy, Research, and Prevention reports to the Executive Director, and also works closely with all members of the Senior Leadership Team – including the Chief Program Officer, Exoneration Strategy & Support, Chief People and Culture Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Communications Officer, and the Chief Development Officer – to advance the vision, strategy, goals, integration and cohesion of the Innocence Project. The Chief Program Officer, Policy, Research, and Prevention will model the Innocence Project’s values of an inclusive and respectful workplace and encourage the same from their staff. All Innocence Project employees must model our IP Values of accountability, collaboration, empathy + compassion, equity, person-centeredness, quality focus, and self-awareness. In addition, they must embrace, respect and value the rich diversity of perspectives and lived experience of our staff. We recognize and appreciate that our work is better for having varied participants and thought partners. We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas and we are not an e-verify employer. The duties of this position require approximately 40 hours of work per week to be performed virtually/in-office. We currently have a hybrid in-office model, with all employees in the office three days per week and the remainder of the week remotely. Wednesday is our organization’s “anchor day” where all staff works in the office. The number of required in-office days is subject to change. THE IDEAL CANDIDATE The Innocence Project seeks an accomplished senior leader with deep expertise in criminal legal system reform and a strong understanding of state and federal policy advocacy, research, rigorous data collection strategy, and strategic litigation. They bring a proven track record of supporting and mentoring strong leaders and providing strategic direction, support, and accountability to high-performing teams. They excel at aligning complex functions around shared goals, strengthening organizational effectiveness, and ensuring that policy, research, and litigation efforts work together to achieve systemic impact. They are a collaborative and influential organizational leader, capable of building strong internal and external partnerships while advancing the mission, values, and long-term strategic objectives of the Innocence Project. In addition, the ideal candidate models our IP Values of accountability, collaboration, empathy + compassion, equity, person-centeredness, quality focus, and self-awareness. All Innocence Project employees must embrace, respect and value the rich diversity of perspectives and lived experience of our staff. We recognize and appreciate that our work is better for having varied participants and thought partners. The ideal candidate is someone who thrives in this type of environment. ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP: Report to the Executive Director and work in partnership with the Senior Leadership Team to implement the Innocence Project’s strategic vision and plan for its substantive program departments; Serve as a spokesperson for the Innocence Project, with the Executive Director, Program Directors, and staff, articulating the Innocence Project’s positions on a broad range of issues to the public and diverse stakeholder constituencies; Work in close, intentional collaboration with the Chief Program Officer, Exoneration Strategy & Support to translate lessons learned from individual cases into systemic interventions and preventive strategies. Support collaboration, communication and alignment between strategic litigation, post-conviction litigation and special litigation dockets; Cultivate, build and maintain strategic relationships to advance the Innocence Project’s mission, to engage on shared priorities, and to exchange knowledge and information. PROGRAM LEADERSHIP: Maintain deep expertise in each Preventing Wrongful Convictions Program and work closely with those Program Directors to provide strategic thought-partnership, mentorship and guidance; Collaborate with Directors of Data Science & Research, Strategic Litigation, and Policy as they work to advance policy reforms, collect and analyze data, publish research findings, and guide strategic litigation initiatives. Ensure integration of evidence-based insights across policy, research, data science and research, and strategic litigation to effectively advance the Innocence Project’s mission of preventing wrongful convictions; Plan and manage budgets with Directors of Data Science & Research, Strategic Litigation, and Policy and ensure effective use of organizational resources to ensure accountability and excellent stewardship; PEOPLE AND TEAM MANAGEMENT: Foster cross-Program collaboration, identify opportunities and create strategies for further integration, communication, and cooperation; In partnership with Directors of Data Science & Research, Strategic Litigation, and Policy, set goals, monitor progress, evaluate outcomes, solve problems, and evaluate resource allocation; Effectively manage and coach Directors as they supervise high performing program staff; Develop and manage processes for teams as required to enhance clarity, efficiency, efficacy, and morale.