LEAP PROGRAM ASSISTANT
Law Enforcement Action Partnership

LEAP is searching for a Program Assistant

We promote Second-Chance hiring!

Job Title: Program Assistant

Status: Full-Time Position – Exempt

Location: Remote Work

(Work authorization: I-9 requirements apply)

Applications Due By: Mon, Aug 16, 2021 at 12:00 Noon ET / 9:00 am PT

Expected Start Date: Sept 7 – 20, 2021 (flexible)

Pay Scale: Annual Salary between $38,000 – $42,000 (Based on Experience & Skill Level)

Hours of Work/Schedule: 40 hours per week / Monday – Friday

Benefits Include: Medical, Dental, 20 days Personal Time Off (waiting periods apply), all federal holidays off, allowances for wireless and phone bills and technology purchase

Position Reports Directly to: Program Director Amos Irwin

About Us: The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) is a group of police, judges, and prosecutors who advocate publicly for ending the War on Drugs, investing in community-based alternatives to incarceration, and ensuring police accountability. Since 2002, LEAP has supported the work of hundreds of ally organizations to pass state and national policy reforms from marijuana legalization and drug decriminalization to ending qualified immunity. LEAP speakers bring change by delivering testimony, advising lawmakers, publishing OpEds, and speaking at in-person and virtual events. LEAP has also been advising cities around the country on how to send civilians to many low-risk 911 calls rather than armed police: our Community Responder model.

LEAP is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to promoting fairness in the hiring process. We support Second-Chance Hiring and Fair Chance Act legislation, and we strongly encourage formerly incarcerated and other justice-impacted individuals to apply.

Job Summary: LEAP is seeking a full-time program assistant to expand the organization’s capacity in both federal and state reform advocacy and our local Community Responder work.

Qualifications: 

  • Dedication to drug policy, police reform, racial justice, and/or criminal justice reform.

  • Ability to organize and complete many simultaneous projects while working independently from a remote location with minimal supervision.

  • Strong writing and editing skills for work such as written testimony for legislators and reports for city leaders.

  • Experience communicating with a wide range of audiences.

  • Direct experience with the criminal justice system is a plus. Personal experience is considered relevant; it can derive from being directly affected by incarceration, having a family member who has been directly affected, being a crime survivor, or other lived experience.

  • Experience analyzing data to support conclusions is a plus.

  • Experience in grassroots campaigning is a plus.

Responsibilities:

  • Self-motivate and remain organized in a fast-paced remote working environment.

  • Draft testimony, sign-on letters, and reports from a public safety perspective for audiences from the general public to lawmakers and city leaders.

  • Organize and conduct online research and phone interviews to tailor the Community Responder model to local communities.

  • Communicate professionally via email and phone with city leaders, local activists, and law enforcement to discuss the Community Responder model and other reform efforts.

  • Arrange logistics for speaker events, conferences, and testimony.

  • Arrange webinars to share innovative local solutions with law enforcement and ally organizations.

  • Navigate computer applications: create and edit Google docs, manage projects in Asana, record and find information in Airtable databases, schedule meetings on Google calendar.

  • Optional: speak about your own experience with the criminal justice system.

  • Note: this responsibilities list is not all-inclusive; it is intended to serve as a guide. The Program Director retains the right to assign other tasks and determine changes to job responsibilities.

Education and Experience Requirements:

No required education or experience

Physical Requirements: 

Prolonged periods of working on a computer

Application Requirements and How to Apply:

  • Please email a cover letter, resume, and OpEd writing sample (instructions below) to Jobs@LawEnforcementAction.org with your name in the subject line. All applications must be received by Mon, Aug 16, 2021 at 12:00 Noon ET / 9:00 am PT. No phone calls, please.

  • Cover letter – We value diversity in the workplace and encourage candidates that are applying for this position to include insight as to why you are interested in the position, why we should hire you, and why you think you would be the best candidate. Describe any experiences with the criminal justice system, professional or personal, that may apply. Do not simply repeat the information from your resume.

  • Resume – List relevant professional, educational, and criminal justice-related experience. Include the contact information for three references.

  • OpEd writing sample – Please write an OpEd for publication in a local newspaper in support of the city of Louisville adopting a Community Responder model, which would send trained civilians to respond to many low-risk 911 calls currently handled by police. Write as if you were one of our speakers trying to convince people who are unsure about the model but who listen to law enforcement. Please sign the op-ed as that speaker, and feel free to use some creative license – within reason – about their experience. Word count: 500-750 words.

Important Note:

Our entire organization works remotely from multiple locations and communicates mostly by video conference, email, and telephone — not just during the COVID-19 pandemic. We do not gather in an office. On occasion there may be some in-person events and meetings that will require travel and attendance. Approved work related travel will be covered by the organization. We also offer funds to cover the tools necessary to perform the job remotely according to our technology policy, which will be communicated with candidates at the appropriate time.

More about our organization:

The Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) was founded in 2002 by five police officers who wanted to end the War on Drugs. Today, LEAP is a national nonprofit with more than 300 police, judges, prosecutors, and corrections representatives who support criminal justice and drug policy reforms to make communities safer. LEAP elevates the voice of law enforcement in support of reform by arranging media interviews and in-person presentations for our team of law enforcement speakers across the country. Our speakers work on policy change from drug decriminalization to restorative justice, bail reform, police accountability, and overdose prevention sites.

LEAP is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities and do not discriminate against employees because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression), national origin, age (40 or older), physical or mental disability, genetic information, or status as a covered veteran, or any other protected status under local, state, or federal law.

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