Job Type: Full-Time 

Job Title: Program Associate / Learning & Editorial

Location: Remote

Prison Journalism Project (PJP) is seeking a highly organized and mission-driven Programs Associate to support our Learning and Editorial teams by ensuring efficient, responsive, and empathetic communication with incarcerated writers. This role is central to maintaining strong relationships with writers, managing a high volume of correspondence across multiple platforms, and ensuring accurate documentation and data tracking.

The Programs Associate will play a key role in supporting daily program operations, maintaining workflow systems, and upholding PJP’s duty of care values in all communications.

Key Responsibilities

  • Process all incoming and outgoing correspondence with writers through VPM, E-Comms, Letter Stream, and postal mail, ensuring communications are routed to the appropriate internal team (Editorial, Learning, Audience, Development, etc.). 
  • Remain responsive to program needs during PJP business hours. 
  • Respond independently to writers’ questions and needs related to Learning and Editorial programs, with guidance from program directors as needed. 
  • Organize correspondence and program materials into appropriate folders and documents in Google Drive in accordance with Learning and Editorial workflows. 
  • Share relevant correspondence and documentation with team members as appropriate. 
  • Develop and maintain professional relationships with writers through check-ins, birthday cards, and other engagement opportunities. 
  • Incorporate PJP’s duty of care practices and values in all communications and coordinate with leadership to address urgent or sensitive issues. 
  • Identify and recommend opportunities to streamline and improve communication systems and workflows. 
  • Troubleshoot communication breakdowns, platform challenges, and unforeseen issues. 
  • Track and update changes in communication rules across state and federal systems in PJP’s database and website, and work with the COO to address systemic barriers. 
  • Transcribe Learning and Editorial stories as needed. 
  • Collect, update, and maintain writer data in PJP’s primary database, including performing ID checks when necessary. 
  • Review writer records to ensure publishing and licensing paperwork is complete prior to publication. 
  • Collect literacy data from writer stories and assignments. 
  • Flag and escalate corrections and takedown requests immediately by notifying the Editorial Director and Deputy Editor. 
  • Assess and share writer and publication data on a quarterly basis. 
  • Clean and archive correspondence records multiple times per year in accordance with organizational policy. 
  • Perform additional duties as assigned by the Learning and Editorial Directors. 

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

  • Strong written communication skills and ability to communicate independently with empathy, professionalism, and clarity as a representative of the PJP team. 
  • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail 
  • Ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain consistent follow-through in a high-volume environment 
  • Strong judgment and discretion when handling confidential and sensitive information 
  • Proficiency with Google Workspace (Drive, Docs, Sheets) and comfort working across multiple systems 
  • Ability to collect and track literacy-related data from writer stories and assignments with accuracy and consistency 

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience in nonprofit programs, editorial environments, education, or administrative support roles 
  • Familiarity with prison communications systems and facility restrictions 
  • Experience maintaining databases and tracking systems 
  • Transcription experience and/or strong editing skills 

Core Competencies

  • Responsiveness and reliability 
  • Strong time management and follow-through 
  • Ability to work independently while collaborating across teams 
  • Solutions-oriented and adaptable in a fast-paced environment 
  • Commitment to mission-driven work grounded in dignity and care 

How to Apply

Please submit a resume and cover letter. Selected candidates may be asked to complete a short assessment as part of the hiring process.

Questions? Reach out to Kris@prisonjournalismproject.org

Salary and Benefits 

$50,000 – $53,000

36-hour four-day work week 

Generous paid time off

Health, dental and vision insurance

401K 

More About PJP

Prison Journalism Project (PJP) trains incarcerated writers in journalism and publishes their work for a broad public audience. Founded in April 2020, we are the country’s largest publisher of writing from inside prisons.

We publish reported stories, essays and firsthand accounts written by incarcerated people that document daily life inside prisons and the broader systems that shape it. Some pieces are personal reflections, while others are reported journalism based on interviews, observation and research. Together, they provide a grounded, firsthand view of incarceration that rarely reaches the public record.

Our impact so far:

  • PJP has published more than 2,500 stories by over 800 writers.
  • Our programs reach writers in 44 states across 261 facilities.
  • Over 200 writers are currently enrolled in our learning programs, which provides frequent publishing opportunities while they also build literacy, communication and critical thinking skills.

Our writers’ reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Al Jazeera English, USA Today, The Marshall Project and dozens of regional outlets — bringing perspectives to public discourse that are rarely heard. Our quarterly training publication, PJP Inside, is read by over 17,000 incarcerated people per issue.

What distinguishes PJP’s journalism is that reporting is produced through a structured learning model that expands who can participate in the practice of journalism. Many of our writers come to journalism with little prior experience and a wide range of literacy levels. Through accessible assignments and an empathetic editing approach, our learning coaches and editors meet writers where they are and help them develop the skills to report and write clearly. This approach allows us to work with a broad range of contributors — from first-time writers to experienced reporters — and to surface stories that might otherwise remain invisible. The result is journalism that reflects the depth and diversity of life inside prison, bringing forward stories that matter and that convey a truthful, firsthand understanding of the system.

EEOC/Diversity Statement

PJP is an equal opportunity employer. We commit to fostering an environment in which people of all identities are welcomed, valued and supported. We seek to create an organization with diverse voices and experiences that are representative of our society and the communities we serve. Harassment and discrimination in the workplace is not tolerated. We are committed to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion within our workplace and encourage all qualified applicants to apply. We promote a climate of mutual respect.