Coordinator, Group Work

THE OPPORTUNITY

Brooklyn Justice Initiatives (BJI), the largest operating project of the Center, seeks to re-engineer the experience of criminal court in Brooklyn, New York, by providing judges and attorneys meaningful alternatives to bail, fines, and jail sentences.

Operating out of Kings County Criminal Court along with community-based offices, BJI is a team of social service providers, court-based resource coordinators, mental health practitioners, compliance specialists, and others who seek to improve the quality of justice.

Supervised Release offers an alternative to jail by providing pretrial supervision, case management, and voluntary social services to people charged with misdemeanor and felony offenses, and in doing so, uses an arrest as a window of opportunity to change the direction of a participant’s life, avoiding the harmful effects of incarceration.

Program participants are monitored to ensure their appearance at court dates and mandatory programming, and receive referrals to services like job training, drug treatment, and mental health counseling.

BJI is seeking a Coordinator, Group Work for the borough’s Supervised Release Program (SRP) which provides case management and social service connection to thousands of court-mandated participants each year.

Reporting to the Clinical Director, the Group Work Coordinator will manage the participant group work portfolio. This role will require exemplary group facilitation and project management skills.

Specifically, the Group Work Coordinator will oversee the development, implementation, facilitation, and quality assurance of a diverse catalog of groups that will run throughout the year and vary in content and format.

Group content will vary from psycho-educational to skill-based; group formats may include one-time sessions, ongoing series, and closed and open formats.

All groups will aim to substantively address participant needs and count toward their pretrial supervision compliance status.

The Group Work Coordinator will both facilitate groups and provide training and guidance for direct practice staff responsible for co-facilitation to help staff develop their group work skills, including generating group participation, asserting healthy boundaries, and responding with dignity to constructive feedback and conflict.

The Center for Justice Innovation strongly encourage and seek applications from women, people of color, LGBTQIA community members, as well as individuals with lived experience with the legal system.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to :

• Develop, schedule, and lead facilitation for a diverse and robust calendar of groups for SRP participants; Develop group curricula across a variety of content, including psycho-educational, skill-development, prosocial behavioral regulation, and youth-focused content;
• and format, including single session, ongoing series, and closed and open formats; Create new groups in an on-going capacity in response to staff and participant feedback regarding preferences, needs, interests, and limitations;
• Develop group materials and teaching aids to support a variety of learning styles and needs;
• Maintain a rotation schedule for group co-facilitators, including Case Managers and Senior Case Managers;
• Work with the Clinical Director to develop, implement, and manage training for co-facilitators on the group content, structure, and engagement;
• Maintain collaborative working relationships with the Center’s Training Institute and SRP to coordinate, streamline, and differentiate training efforts for staff relevant to group work;
• Collaborate with colleagues, co-facilitators, and direct practice leadership to develop innovative groups relevant to SRP;
• Develop group evaluation tools to gather participant feedback; Work with the Clinical Director to analyze and integrate group evaluation feedback;
• Develop and implement participation tracking tools to ensure accurate and timely data entry and case documentation aligned with the program model, court reporting obligations, and best practice;
• Contribute to consistent and effective cross-team communication; Participate in team and inter-team meetings;
• Participate in individual supervision and regular staff trainings to develop program expertise and related skill sets;
• Participate in all-staff and departmental meetings to build team cohesion, communication, and morale;
• Attend project events, community events, and meetings after hours, as needed;
• Additional relevant tasks, as necessary.

Qualifications : The ideal candidate will have :

• A Master’s degree and license in a mental health field and three years of group facilitation experience required, or a Bachelor's degree and five years group facilitation experience required;
• Demonstrated exceptional clinical acumen and experience required;
• Strong ability to facilitate and co-facilitate groups required;
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational and time management skills required;
• Ability to work effectively independently and as part of a highly interdependent, multi-disciplinary team within a fast-paced and dynamic work environment required;
• Exceptional interpersonal skills required;
• Expert knowledge of de-escalation and conflict intervention required;
• Experience working with people impacted by the criminal legal system strongly preferred;
• Lived experience of, or experience working with people impacted by, the criminal legal system strongly preferred;
• Bilingual (English-Spanish) preferred.

Position Type : Full-time in-person work required; weekend and evening hours required, as needed.

Position Location : Brooklyn, NY

Compensation : The compensation range for this position is $60,500 - $78,500 and is commensurate with experience. The Center for Justice Innovation offers an excellent benefits package including comprehensive healthcare with a national network, free basic dental coverage, vision insurance, short-term and long-term disability, life insurance, and flexible spending accounts including commuter FSA.

We prioritize mental health care for our staff and offer services like Talkspace and Ginger through our healthcare plans.

We offer a 403(b) retirement plan with a two-to-one employer contribution up to 5%.