News

Position Description: MI-CEMI Program Coordinator 

Are you someone who has seen the harms of mass incarceration first-hand? Are you committed to bringing people together to make a change? Then apply to join the Michigan Collaborative to End Mass Incarceration (MI-CEMI) team!

MI-CEMI holds a unique role with the network of groups working to make change in Michigan’s criminal legal system. Our members are grassroots organizations, policy advocates, social service nonprofits, faith-based efforts and more – each doing amazing work on their own. MI-CEMI’s role is to help them work together so that they can accomplish more collaboratively than they can on their own. 

As such, the Program Coordinators’ role is to support the collaboration of our members, build relationships, and represent the collaborative to the public. 

Program Coordinator Responsibilities

Support Collaboration Through MI-CEMI Working Groups 

The working groups are the core of how MI-CEMI supports collaboration among partners across the state. Current working groups focus on reentry, programming in prisons, ending life and long sentences, and incarceration “off ramps” and police accountability. Working groups create a space where organizations with shared concerns but different strategies, constituencies, or approaches can build relationships, develop shared strategies, share information, and achieve more together than they can alone.

Program coordinators support the working groups through:

• Facilitation: Developing and facilitating agendas that encourage broad participation and help the group accomplish shared goals.
• Coordination: Make sure meetings are on the calendar, minutes get taken and distributed, etc.
• Sharing insight and expertise: While the program coordinators’ role is to support the leadership of our members, they also bring their own expertise, insight, and experiences to help shape the work.
• Execution: Program coordinators, alongside other members of the working group, take on tasks between meetings to help ensure that the work moves forward.

Repping and Relationship Building

Central to MI-CEMI’s work is forging relationships among people and organizations working to transform Michigan’s criminal legal system. Program coordinators support this effort by:

• Representing MI-CEMI at events across the state, either as an attendee or by tabling at the event.
• Representing MI-CEMI to coalitions and other efforts.
• Representing MI-CEMI in speaking events and to the media.
• Building relationships with members and partners by conducting and documenting one-on-one meetings.
• Improving relationships among members and partners through thoughtful introductions and connection building.
• Maintaining relationships with incarcerated members and contacts through JPay and mail correspondence.

Additional duties may include:

• Supporting MI-CEMI’s communication efforts through social media, email newsletter, etc.
• Meeting with public officials and other decision makers to support policy changes.
• Assisting with grant report writing and budget development.

MI-CEMI’s work is a team sport: We know that not everyone will excel in all the skills above. Someone who is a great facilitator may not be comfortable talking to the press. Our goal is to identify and focus on your strengths and play to those, bring together a team that compliments your strengths, and support your development. So, if you look at the list above and think, “I’m perfect for some of this, but I’m not great at all of it,” please still apply. 

Qualifications

Core Qualifications: The ideal candidate will:

• Be personally impacted by the criminal legal system, such as being formerly incarcerated, formerly in the juvenile justice system, a survivor of police violence or racial profiling, being a family member of someone who has experienced incarceration, etc.
• Have a strong commitment to transforming Michigan’s criminal legal system. See MI-CEMI’s founding resolution for more information.
• Strong interpersonal skills, such as the ability to build connections with people of various backgrounds, ability to manage conflict, and the ability to recognize others’ points of view.
• Commitment to collaborative change, which involves recognizing the different perspectives and motivations within the collaborative and finding common-ground solutions.
• Ability to manage their schedule, deadlines, and commitments, including keeping track of to-dos, maintaining a calendar of meetings and events, and submitting time sheets (we need these to be able to pay you). 
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, including commitment to anti-racism, LGBTQ inclusion, disability rights, and gender justice. 

The following skills are nice to have:

• Familiarity with Gmail, Google Docs, Zoom, and calendar apps such as Google Calendar.
• Knowledge of the topics addressed by MI-CEMI.
• Understanding of community organizing practices.
• Understanding of state or local policy making processes.
• Existing relationships with constituencies or organizations related to MI-CEMI’s mission.

Compensation

The program coordinator position is an independent contractor position at $25/hour. Average hours per week are negotiable between 20 and 35 hours per week. The contract is  until June 30, 2023, with the potential for renewal based on performance and funding.

Location

MI-CEMI is a primarily-remote, distributed organization and is open to applicants from all parts of Michigan. Current team members are based in Southeast Michigan. 

Application Process

To give you the best opportunities to show off your skills related to the position, you have two options for how to apply:

• Send a resume and cover letter to team@mi-cemi.org with the subject line “program coordinator application”.
• Record a brief video (no more than 5 minutes) explaining why you would be great for the job, including at least one example related to one or more of the core qualifications above. The video does not need to be professional quality, just a simple video from your phone is fine. Just make sure we can see and hear you clearly. Send a link to that video to team@mi-cemi.org. Be sure to include your name and phone number so we can follow up with you! 

Applications are open until the position is filled. We will begin reviewing applications on September 6, 2022.