Parole Success Advocate (Women's Prisons)

Job Description

Job Description

Parole Success Advocate - Women’s Prisons

Priority application deadline will be
Friday, October 2, 2026 at 5:00pm PT

Applications received by the priority deadline will receive first consideration. Applications received after the priority deadline will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

 

About UnCommon Law

UnCommon Law fights to ensure that all people incarcerated for violent crime have access to effective legal representation and opportunities for healing. Through our unique, trauma-informed model of advocacy, we provide the space currently missing in the system for healing, accountability, and safe pathways home from prison. In developing new self-narratives, the people we serve are able to more effectively disrupt violence inside and outside prison and become leaders who change negative societal narratives about those incarcerated for violent crime. Our groundbreaking approach is changing policy and outcomes, driven by the voices and experiences of system-impacted communities.

UnCommon Law’s values include accountability, audacity, authenticity, collaboration, community, empathy, imagination, joy, liberation, and sustainability.

 

About the Role

The Parole Success Advocate is a core driver of Home After Harm, an energetic and interdisciplinary team at UnCommon Law. The Parole Success Advocate works to create a therapeutic community inside prisons by facilitating group spaces and one on one support for people inside who are preparing for parole and life success. The Parole Success Advocate will lead weekly groups with participants inside the prison and participate in workshops, legal visits, or other training inside the prisons as needed. In the event that in-person programming is delayed or canceled, the Parole Success Advocate will support Home After Harm participants through written letters, correspondence lessons, phone calls, and/or video conferencing.



 
About Home After Harm: UnCommon Law’s Pathways to Parole Success (Home After Harm) is currently a pilot program that helps people prepare for the discretionary parole process. Informed by people who have been through the parole process themselves, this program will support participants in taking accountability for past actions, while healing from past trauma. Home After Harm also provides limited legal support with a team of attorneys who will provide individual case feedback. This program currently runs cohorts in two men’s prisons in which participants are led through a written curriculum in small group, large group, and individual settings, and will be expanding to two women’s prisons. This position will work with the Director of In-Prison Programs, other PSAs, UnCommon Law’s Clinical Team, as well as outside experts when necessary, to create HAH lessons that are responsive to the particular experiences and concerns of female-identifying parole candidates. 

This exempt position reports directly to the Supervising Parole Success Advocate and offers an annual salary range of $69,000 to $79,833 . As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our values. New hires are typically placed between the minimum and midpoint range. Final salary offers are determined based on the candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as assessed during the interview process and aligned with our structured salary schedule.

Our office is based in Oakland, CA. This is a hybrid role that requires regular travel to Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) and other California prisons as needed, as well as in-person attendance at our Oakland office for staff meetings, training, and other program activities in accordance with our hybrid work expectations. Travel and in-person expectations will vary based on the program cohort schedule and team needs. Candidates who live near CCWF are strongly encouraged to apply.

Who Should Apply

We encourage candidates who have experience living in a California women’s correctional setting (Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF), California Institution for Women (CIW), Folsom Women’s Facility) and personal experience navigating the discretionary parole process from one of these prisons. Candidates should bring strong facilitation skills with trauma-informed and person-centered approaches. We are looking for a highly relational and organized candidate who has a willingness to work collaboratively with the team and possesses strong written and verbal communication skills. Creativity and a proven capacity for collaboration are also a must.

We do not require candidates to have a college degree and we welcome candidates with non-traditional backgrounds and experience. The strongest candidates will let us know how their experiences and abilities relate to this role. We greatly value lived and related experience, and transferable skills. Applicants who submit cover letters that are not tailored to the position or the organization will not be considered.

 

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Program Facilitation and Training

• Prepare for and facilitate weekly in-person groups, and complete related documentation and case notes
• Contribute to and participate in legal workshops
• Conduct one-on-one meetings with program participants, including reviewing relevant documents to prepare for individual meetings, taking notes, and entering relevant information into a database
• Contribute to and participate in weekly collaborative interdisciplinary participant support meetings that involve regular case discussions, including creating agendas, notetaking, and facilitation
• Conduct Peer Mentor (inside facilitator) training and provide ongoing support through a collaborative working relationship with peer mentors
• Create and give trainings to UCL on facilitation techniques, delivering services inside prisons, and trauma-informed practices
• Conduct phone or video calls with program participants and peer mentors
• Draft and respond to participant correspondence, including individual letters and reviewing and providing feedback on participant writings

Program Administration and Logistics

• Schedule phone/video calls and obtain access to prison files as needed
• Maintain participant record management system
• Assist in development and modification of program materials and calendar management.
• Collaborate with UCL staff (and external consultants, when necessary) to write and update gender-responsive HAH curriculum and materials for women’s prisons, including continued review and adaptation to ensure relevance
• Communicate with prison/parole officials, and other service providers in the community
• Frequent travel to in-prison and other settings throughout the state
  

Organization-Wide

• Learn and use UCL’s technology platforms and tools
• Participate in regular staff meetings, including required in-person staff meetings
• Participate in in-person team building activities and retreats as needed
• Participate in UCL events in the community or inside prisons to educate or train attendees on parole hearing preparation or on trauma experiences or responses
• Assist in cross-team collaborative opportunities, such as reception, non-client mail, and fundraising as needed
  

Experience

• Experience living in a California women’s correctional setting (Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF), California Institute for Women (CIW), Folsom Women’s Facility) and personal experience navigating California’s discretionary parole process from one of these prisons
• Experience facilitating group settings, with a focus on person-centered and trauma-informed approaches
• Experience with and willingness to continue to develop proficiency in technology and writing
  

 

Abilities and Attributes

• Passionate about the mission of UnCommon Law
• Excellent facilitation and leadership skills that include kindness, non-judgment, and sensitivity to confidential matters
• Compassionate and culturally sensitive
• Self-reflective and attentive to vicarious trauma
• Organized, prepared, and able to operate under pressure
• Strong writing skills
• Ability to use technology platforms such as Zoom and Google Suites (Gmail) and ability to get up to speed on new technologies (including online participant record management system)

Benefits and Support

Currently, UnCommon Law offers 100% paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance for employees and covers 75% for dependents. To support our team’s mental well-being, we also provide a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) of $200/month in reimbursable funds for therapeutic expenses. We have a flexible time off policy and a full organizational closure for two weeks from late December to early January each year. We offer a generous family leave policy, flexible hours, FSA and Retirement plans, regular access to training and clinical support, and generous sick leave. In addition to the formal benefits, we are committed to building and maintaining an equitable culture that is sustainable and joyful, and where each team member can thrive. You’ll see this in the acknowledgements in weekly staff meetings, in-office lunches, and community gatherings.

Application Instructions

Please submit a resume and a cover letter describing your interest and relevant experience for the role, along with contact information for two professional, academic or other relevant references to our hiring portal ( Applicants who submit cover letters that are not tailored to the position or the organization will not be considered. 

Please note that all correspondence in the hiring process will be through the BambooHR portal. Following the submission of your application, you should receive an automatic response (via email) thanking you for your application. If you do not receive this, please check your spam folder.

UCL is committed to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and culturally responsive environment for all members of our staff, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients. UCL does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, or prior contact with the criminal justice system. We strongly encourage applications from people impacted by incarceration as well as from traditionally underrepresented communities.