Program Manager: Holistic Mental Health and Wellness Empowerment Pilot Program, Chicago Western R3 Zone
The Program Manager runs the day-to-day of the pilot in Chicago's Western R3 zone and is responsible for the grant's compliance and performance. The role coordinates program operations, supervises the LAJ Empowerment Fellow, manages the contracted clinical and wellness providers, oversees participant engagement, and ensures the program meets ICJIA's reporting and documentation requirements. The Program Manager also coordinates the two-day Immersive Clinical Wellness Retreat, delivered as a core service within the program of care, and leads the outcome tracking that builds toward an evidence-informed, statewide model of care. The role is built to grow: with mentorship from the Director of Mental Health and Wellness, the Program Manager will take on increasing responsibility and is positioned to step into day-to-day leadership of LAJ's mental health and wellness work over time.
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Oversee day-to-day implementation of the pilot, keeping fidelity to LAJ's trauma-informed model and alignment with the grant's objectives.
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Supervise the LAJ Empowerment Fellow, who leads participant outreach, preliminary eligibility screening, resource navigation, and case-file documentation.
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Manage scheduling and coordination with the contracted licensed clinical providers, wellness practitioners, retreat clinicians and facilitators, and data analysis consultant, including the remote consultation contracts with out-of-state providers scoped to retreat preparation and readiness.
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Make and document the final participant eligibility determination for each applicant, applying the R3 criteria consistently, and conduct participant file audits at least twice a year to confirm complete documentation.
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Track enrollment, attendance, and engagement across the cohort, and identify and address barriers to retention.
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Plan and coordinate the two-day Immersive Clinical Wellness Retreat, including logistics, facilitator and remote consultant coordination, and participant preparation.
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Oversee administration of the Wellness Support Stipend, including approval of disbursements, the restricted-use card and vendor-direct payment controls, and the tracking and documentation the grant requires.
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Prepare the quarterly ICJIA progress and outcome reports, addressing every process and outcome measure, for review and approval by the Executive Director before submission, and maintain the documentation required under GATA and the R3 agreement, working with the Executive Director and LAJ's contracted CPA.
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Work with the data analysis consultant on the clinical and reintegration outcome tracking that informs the replicable statewide model.
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Coordinate the local network of support services, the housing, workforce, transportation, and benefits connections participants rely on, with the Empowerment Fellow delivering the direct, on-the-ground navigation.
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Contribute to sustainability planning, including documenting the program design and lessons learned to support future funding.
Who you are
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You're a builder. This program has a strong clinical model and a first cohort behind it, but the playbook for running it at this scale doesn't exist yet. You'll be writing it, and that's why you want the job.
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You believe operational rigor is a form of care. Clean files, accurate reports, and audit-ready documentation are how a program like this survives long enough to keep its promises, and you take pride in that work rather than tolerating it.
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You can hold the clinical and the operational at once. You're fluent enough in trauma-informed care to protect the model's fidelity, and organized enough to manage eight contractors, a retreat, and a state grant without dropping threads.
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You understand that coming home from a wrongful conviction is not the same as reentry, or you're committed to learning why, and you'll build every process around that difference.
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You lead with humility in a survivor-led organization. The people with the deepest expertise here are the founders and participants who lived it, and you're energized rather than threatened by that.
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You're building toward something. This role comes with mentorship and a defined path into broader leadership of LAJ's mental health and wellness work, and you want a seat you can grow into, not just a job.
Full-time salary of $100,000 per year, plus a health insurance stipend of $500 per month, with a defined progression as the role takes on broader leadership over time.
Life After Justice is a Chicago-based nonprofit founded and led by people who were wrongfully convicted and incarcerated. When Co-Founders Jarrett Adams and Antione Day came home, the support they needed didn't exist, so they built it. Today LAJ provides trauma-informed therapy, resource coaching, and family support to people rebuilding their lives after wrongful conviction.