Program Director, Law Enforcement

Who we are:

The Council of State Governments Justice Center is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that combines the power of a membership association, representing state officials in all three branches of government, with policy and research expertise to develop strategies that increase public safety and strengthen communities. We help achieve those results by

• Bringing people together from both sides of the aisle to foster collaboration;
• Driving the criminal justice field forward with original research;
• Building momentum for policy change at the state and local levels; and
• Providing expert assistance to translate the latest research into policy and practice.

The CSG Justice Center is one of the most robust criminal justice organizations in the country, composed of approximately 120 employees with decades of experience in law enforcement, community corrections, court administration, housing, mental health and addiction services, state prisons, local jails, juvenile justice, education, workforce development, and victim advocacy. Staff here have served governors, state legislators, and members of Congress on both sides of the political spectrum. What bonds us together is a shared commitment to our mission, to a common set of values, and to the national, bipartisan advisory board that guides our work. Learn more about careers at the CSG Justice Center.

How you'll fit in:

The program director, law enforcement, will serve as an integral leader in the CSG Justice Center's Behavioral Health Division. The program director is responsible for overseeing and growing the division's portfolio of work focused on improving outcomes for people with behavioral health conditions and homelessness who come in contact with law enforcement. Examples of efforts that you will guide include overseeing our Police-Mental Health Collaboration portfolio that helps law enforcement agencies partner with behavioral health providers to improve responses to people with mental health and substance use needs; providing technical assistance through our support center and to federal grantees from jurisdictions across the country that are seeking to improve law enforcement and crisis responses to people with behavioral health conditions; serving a as steward of the Law Enforcement Mental Health Learning Sites program through which 14 law enforcement agencies and their partners provide peer-to-peer support for agencies across the country who are working to adopt best practices.

You will also work closely with senior leadership from the Behavioral Health Division to guide the vision of the law enforcement portfolio at this moment of significant possibility and change. Jurisdictions around the country are evolving the ways in which they respond to people who are in crisis, resulting in a richer and wider continuum of first response options. The program director of law enforcement will help us support communities as they adopt, implement, and evaluate promising new practices and help guide our work and thinking in this area. You will coordinate with external partners, raise funding, and be responsible for supervising and supporting a growing team that is currently made up of four staff.

What you'll do:

Specific responsibilities of the program director, law enforcement include the following:

• Lead, grow, and implement new initiatives to help communities improve law enforcement and crisis responses to people with behavioral health needs and people experiencing homelessness.
• Serve as an agency-wide subject matter expert and advisor on issues related to law enforcement, particularly the intersection of law enforcement and behavioral health and homelessness.
• Directly provide on-site and off-site training and technical assistance (TTA) to a cohort of behavioral health and law enforcement grantees and their partners from across the country and provide direction to a team of TTA coaches.
• Develop and guide the development of a range of policy briefs, webinars, and other publications and tools to support best practices nationally.
• Lead policy-focused meetings of high-ranking police officers, police departments, behavioral health providers, government officials, policymakers, and national experts.
• Work with division and agency leadership to fundraise for new and ongoing work for the law enforcement team.

What you'll bring:

• Ability to interact effectively with diverse people in different contexts and foster equity and inclusion through self-awareness, cultural sensitivity, and valuing others
• Dedication to public service with an unfailing commitment to act with civility, be nonpartisan in performing CSG Justice Center duties, and be a responsible steward of member and donor funds
• A bachelor's degree in a related field, preferred, such as counseling, criminal justice, law, psychology, public health, social work
• At least seven years of work experience in the law enforcement field including four years of management or leadership experience
• Expertise on the key policy and practice issues at the intersection of law enforcement, behavioral health, and homelessness
• Experience working directly with law enforcement agencies to implement policy and practice change
• Experience overseeing or providing technical assistance and developing policy guidance
• A commitment to providing supervision for a team of staff including supporting their technical assistance activities, developing policy guidance, and tracking deliverables to ensure they are completed on time and at high quality
• Excellent writing and editing skills
• Strong critical and strategic thinking skills
• Exceptional oral communication skills, including the ability to effectively distill and present complex information in a way that is accessible to a range of audiences including policymakers and practitioners

How you apply:

If you're interested in helping us drive change across the country, you should upload the following elements with your application:

1. Cover letter with salary expectations
2. Resume
3. Writing sample
4. At least three professional references

Learn more about careers at the CSG Justice Center.

We welcome and value diversity in our staff, including race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, educational attainment, disability, protected veteran status, and personal experience with the criminal justice system.

CSG is an Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. CSG participates in E-Verify.