Operations Manager I

Job DescriptionJob Description:

About The Bail Project: The Problem There is no place in the criminal justice system where money more clearly buys justice than bail. People who can’t afford bail remain in jail before trial, while those with money buy their liberty. Tying freedom to financial ability upends the presumption of innocence, tears lives apart, and perpetuates racial and economic disparities. It is also a key driver of mass incarceration. Each year, an estimated 2.5 million people sit in jail cells across America because they cannot afford bail. The Response The Bail Project is a national nonprofit that provides free bail assistance and pretrial support to thousands of low-income people every year. We are on a mission to combat mass incarceration and demonstrate that a more humane, equitable, and effective pretrial system is possible. The Model The Bail Project uses a national revolving bail fund to pay bail for individuals who are legally presumed innocent, and whom a judge has deemed eligible for release. We then provide court reminders, transportation, and work with local partner organizations to connect our clients with voluntary social services and community-based programs. We call this model Community Release with Support, and it has proven highly effective in helping people make their court dates. As our clients’ cases close, bail comes back into the fund where it is recycled to help additional people. The goal of The Bail Project is to work ourselves out of a job by gathering human stories and data from our ground work to advance legislative and policy change to end cash bail and invest in Community Release with Support (aftercashbail.org). The Team We are a community of advocates committed to ending mass incarceration and advancing racial and economic justice. Our organization consists of a central support hub and a growing network of client advocates or “Bail Disruptors” who work in their local communities to provide bail assistance and help advance advocacy efforts on the ground. Job Summary: The? Operations Manager is a member of the Operations and Support Hub teams and reports to the Regional Director of Operations. In tandem with the Regional Director of Operations, the Operations Manager manages site operations to support TBP’s mission to address the humanitarian crisis of pretrial incarceration , and encourage pretrial reform, by working with site staff to support the needs of clients and building and maintaining relationships with local stakeholders. The Operations Manager uses data-informed and staff-centered management practices to optimize site bailouts that adhere to the Bailout Decision-making Framework (BODMF), ensures sites are delivering services to clients with model fidelity, and contributes to local advocacy for pretrial reform. This position has management oversight of site staff and ensures employees understand and are meeting operational standards and site goals, and have the necessary support and resources to succeed. Operations Managers are competent in improving operational processes, and supervising and coaching staff to get desired results. They are also effective in communicating on behalf of TBP to advance the organization’s mission and address operational barriers with local stakeholders to optimize our Community Release with Support model. Essential Duties: Local Operations Supervise TBP site teams in the daily execution of their assigned duties Hold weekly 1:1 meetings and routine team meetings with staff, discussing action steps for achieving site goals and providing coaching and feedback as part of continuous learning and improvement for the site. Ensure staff understand their essential duties defined by their job description, their standard operating procedures (SOPs), their Client Service Guides, and TBP’s program logic model Directly provide ongoing staff training, using TBP training resources, on operational standards, processes, and data collection and analysis Engage in ongoing dialogue with staff to ensure they understand how their individual roles contribute to the results TBP aims to achieve as defined by the program logic model Model TBP values and, after receiving training, Breakthrough Action leadership principles with staff to enhance individual and collective responsibility, ongoing and timely feedback practices, and leadership development Support site team activities that build trust and rapport; spend motivational budget resources and encourage the use of annual staff development funds; ensure site staff are using PTO effectively Formally evaluate staff performance bi-annually and implement other tools and processes to routinely give and receive staff feedback in real-time and support their career development goals If necessary, pursue progressive discipline to address staff performance issues after supervisory and coaching efforts have been unsuccessful As a support hub employee and leader of site operations, ensure staff understand the rationale for standard policies and procedures and navigate potential conflicts between support hub departments and local operations Take responsibility for all aspects of local site operations and ensure the effective day-to-day operation of TBP’s model in the following programmatic areas: Lead optimization and bail posting: identify potential clients from multiple lead sources, review client eligibility, interview clients, and post bail Analyze administrative data to optimize client bailouts and decrease the median days clients remain incarcerated Maximize leads from Public Defender’s offices and market TBP services to community members to generate ongoing referrals Ensure standard communication scripts are delivered during client interviews Ensure procedures for banking and bond receipts are timely and accurate Documentation and data use for monitoring results, improving program quality, and encouraging staff learning: Hold site teams accountable for meeting data quality and timeliness standards for all information required to achieve TBP’s mission and goals On a post-audit basis, review intake and pre-work documentation for leads and case records weekly to ensure data standards are met for the BODMF and client support plans are provided as needed In 1:1s and team meetings, review weekly, monthly and quarterly operational performance metrics in Salesforce (and information in Monthly Ops and Quarterly Data reviews) to optimize bailouts, reflect on what’s working and what’s not, and generate ongoing learning and improvement goals for each site Utilize the Learning and Improvement goal setting and action plans regularly to document staff learnings, achievements, and challenges; use the action plan to document follow-up steps and update team goals Ensure the site Client Service Guide is accurate, fully understood by staff, and regularly updated as local conditions change Client support Ensure client needs are appropriately documented and supported, and “hand-off” referrals to service providers are coordinated when possible Identify and monitor local service gaps using Salesforce data and proactively develop strategies for addressing them Create workflows and employ standard operating processes from the Client Service Guide that ensure prompt communication with 100% of active clients about court dates and ongoing voluntary supports, if appropriate, throughout the duration of case Ensure staff are attempting to contact clients who have bench warrants, appropriately documenting these contact attempts, and working with clients and partners to resolve warrants whenever possible. Assist the Program Innovation and Data Teams in analyzing the impact of client supports on case outcomes, gathering feedback from clients on the quality of service provision, and implementing appropriate adjustments based on these findings under the guidance of the Regional Director. Revolving Bail fund Establish and execute timely processes for requesting and retrieving bail refunds according to the standards outlined in the Client Service Guide Establish and execute timely processes for identifying and contesting bail forfeitures, including engaging with local attorneys, as necessary Budget/Resources Contribute to creating and reviewing site budgets and requesting additional resources to achieve site goals based on data-informed analyses Ensure spending on other than personnel expenses follows the guidance in the TBP Expense Policy and is contributing to client success Build effective local service partnerships at each site to meet client needs Partner with the Regional Director to build a coalition of local community support providers who have the capacity to meet the needs of clients and monitor progress using client advocacy reports in Salesforce Develop and maintain effective relationships with local stakeholders, including Public Defenders, jail administrators, county clerks, community-based organizations, and relevant grassroots coalitions Attend and actively participate in all mandatory management meetings and workshops unless you’ve notified and received prior approval from Regional Director Partner with the Regional Director and other senior managers to plan for the trajectory of site operations based on reform efforts and changes in local pretrial systems Actively participate and lead weekly Ops Manager meetings and periodic regional team meetings; contribute to building meeting agendas, and share information and learnings As a Central Support Hub employee, champion and implement organizational directives with staff and ensure organizational policies and procedures are locally adapted, responsive, and consistently followed Advocacy Collaborate with Policy Team to identify and prioritize local opportunities for reform and systems change In collaboration with the Policy Team, establish advocacy goals at the local site level and at the state level In partnership with the Policy Team, cultivate and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, coalitions and constituents, and support achievement of TBP policy goals locally and statewide Help monitor status and progress of ongoing reform efforts and, in consultation with the Policy Team, participate on behalf of TBP as needed Share updates on reform progress with the Policy Team, and occasionally represent TBP at meetings or events with local stakeholders and media outlets Communications and Media Cascade approved internal communication content to site teams when requested; routinely dialogue with staff about organizational communications such as all staff emails from Executive Director and Support Hub Departments to strengthen understanding and receive feedback Share updates on site activities with the Support Hub, and occasionally, under the direction of the Director of Communications and your Regional Director, represent TBP at meetings or events with local stakeholders and media outlets In collaboration with the Communications Team, help develop narratives for client storytelling and bail reform for distribution on social media and to local and statewide press outlets Follow steps outlined in emergency response plan, including providing immediate notification to the Regional Director and Communications Director when a current client is in crisis and/or has been charged with a serious allegation reported in the media Ensure the facts of the client case are collected and documented In consultation with the Communications Department, represent TBP with local media to explain our decision-making Travel to sites to work with staff and speak with local stakeholders and system players about TBP’s mission and model Position Outcomes: 1:1 and team meetings are held weekly that include the review of programmatic data Sites exhibit a culture of learning and improvement, as evidenced by regular meetings that use and reflect on data (i.e, Salesforce reports and dashboards, and monthly and quarterly Ops reports) and feedback from clients and local stakeholders Site goal setting and action plan template is updated regularly with staff to organize site improvement work, track progress on site goals, document site learnings and achievements, and inform 1:1 and team agendas Data quality and timeliness standards are consistently met by staff Client cases are reviewed on a post audit basis weekly to ensure that site staff are complying with BODMF and other TBP processes in cases that do not receive or require supervisor approval Client bailouts are optimized based on efficient staff workflows and analysis of county administrative data which indicate an estimate of client eligibility Sites are meeting or exceeding quarterly/annual goals, including goals for client court reminders, client need identification and support, site forfeiture rates, and client refunds, or there is a clear understanding of which are the key assumptions underlying the goals that have since shifted Bail refunds are submitted and collected on a timely basis The Client Services Guide is updated based on local conditions and reporting tools are regularly used to ensure it is implemented with fidelity Client emergencies are reported immediately in accordance with the Crisis Response Plan Staff are evaluated on their performance twice a year on a timely basis; evaluations are reviewed with Regional Director before delivered and finalized with staff TBP core values and Breakthrough Action management principles are actively employed with staff in consistent coaching conversations to get desired results and to support career development goals of staff Organizational communications, directives, policies, and procedures are adopted and operationalized by site staff; time is scheduled in team meetings and 1:1’s to dialogue with sites to reinforce understanding and receive feedback Management recommendations for staffing and site resources are informed and justified with data Policy and Communications initiatives are fully integrated in site operations Qualifications: You have the ability to travel Exceptional interpersonal skills, including an ability to navigate and resolve conflict in a manner that values and respects relationships with colleagues inside and outside TBP Experience utilizing data to monitor and improve operational performance Strong ability to provide timely communications through emails, memos, and other written products that summarize information and present options for action; can communicate with internal and external stakeholders clearly and with empathy Strong ability to represent departmental and organizational positions in internal and external communications to achieve objectives Strong interest in expanding policy knowledge and influencing skills to achieve policy objectives that improve pretrial justice Flexible schedule and ability to work non-traditional hours as needed Deep commitment to pretrial detention and bail reform, racial justice, equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging; a commitment to combating oppression at

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