Legal Program Manager

The Illinois Prison Project (IPP) is a nonprofit organization in Chicago that seeks to reduce mass incarceration by providing legal services to individuals incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Corrections. We focus on novel and creative approaches to prison reduction including mass commutation campaigns, sentence restructuring, public education, and advocacy.

IPP is hiring for a Legal Program Manager, who will be responsible for managing day-to-day programmatic operations and client case management for one or more direct representation campaigns.

Responsibilities include:

• Manage a high volume client portfolio for IPP’s direct representation campaigns
• Assist with in-custody and reentry case management for incarcerated clients and their families
• Manage data collection, tracking, and recording for client records; keep accurate and thorough client records
• Obtain, organize, review, and synthesize case files for incarcerated clients and non-clients, including medical records, mental health records, court documents, and IDOC records
• Communicate regularly with clients and their families; schedule and hold client legal calls, review and respond to client correspondence, and communicate with client’s family members to support legal representation
• Assist and collaborate with other staff members on programmatic and administrative support including legal clinic support, strategic planning, intake management, systems development, and client support
• Assist staff attorneys with outlining written requests in pursuit of client release 
• Provide short-term, long-term, and daily tasks to a Program Intern and supervise their work

Desired Qualifications:

• A Bachelor’s degree or have had an equally effective and relevant alternative educational or professional experience; paralegal and case management experience a plus
• A deep commitment to criminal legal change in Illinois and social, economic, and racial justice
• Prior professional and/or lived experience related to experiencing incarceration; working to end incarceration; experiencing trauma, community violence, and/or gender based violence; and/or doing trauma-informed or anti-violence work
• Excellent personal and professional communication skills; competent and clear writing abilities; academic research skills a plus
• The ability to work independently and as part of a team
• Flexibility to work some evenings and weekends as required
• The ability to commute to IPP’s office in Chicago and travel throughout the state for prison visits, parole board hearings, and other events
• Proficiency using Google suite, Excel, and Zoom; prior experience with Clio (or other legal case management software) a plus

Location: A hybrid work environment, including working remotely and out of IPP’s office at 53 West Jackson Blvd in Chicago, IL

Reports To: Program Director

Illinois Prison Project is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates without regard to race, color, religion or belief, sex, pregnancy, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Illinois Prison Project believes that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical to our success as an organization, and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.