Application Guide
How to Apply for Program Director
at Impact Justice
🏢 About Impact Justice
Impact Justice is a national innovation and research center that advances safety, justice, and opportunity through boundary-breaking work, including the first-of-its-kind Menopause Project that brings comprehensive menopause and perimenopause care to incarcerated women in California. Working here means joining a team that imagines, builds, and scales criminal justice innovations while shifting narratives and empowering directly impacted people. The organization is unique for its hands-on partnership with corrections systems and its commitment to evidence-based, humane solutions.
About This Role
As Program Director for the Menopause Project, you will lead the strategic growth and operational management of a pioneering initiative that has already launched across California's women's prisons. You will oversee program expansion, manage partnerships with corrections departments, and ensure the delivery of clinical training, patient awareness, and peer support curricula. This role is impactful because you will directly improve health outcomes for thousands of incarcerated women while shaping a national model for carceral menopause care.
💡 A Day in the Life
A typical day might involve meeting with the clinical training team to review curriculum updates, then hopping on a call with a state corrections department to discuss expansion logistics. Later, you might analyze pilot data to prepare a progress report for funders, and end the day mentoring a program coordinator on stakeholder engagement. Expect frequent collaboration with internal teams and external partners, all while advancing a groundbreaking initiative in carceral health.
🚀 Application Tools
🎯 Who Impact Justice Is Looking For
- Proven experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder programs in criminal justice, public health, or a related social impact field, ideally with direct experience working within or alongside correctional systems.
- Deep knowledge of menopause and perimenopause care, women's health, or gender-responsive programming, with the ability to translate clinical evidence into practical training and policy.
- Strong track record of managing partnerships with government agencies, corrections departments, and community organizations, including navigating bureaucratic processes and building trust.
- Exceptional project management and communication skills, with experience supervising teams, managing budgets, and scaling pilot programs to broader implementation.
📝 Tips for Applying to Impact Justice
Highlight any direct experience working with correctional systems or incarcerated populations—Impact Justice values lived and professional expertise in this area, so quantify your impact (e.g., 'trained 50 providers across 5 facilities').
Demonstrate familiarity with menopause and perimenopause care by referencing specific clinical guidelines (e.g., NAMS, ACOG) or gender-responsive health frameworks in your application.
Emphasize your ability to scale programs: describe how you've taken a pilot from design to multi-site implementation, including metrics and lessons learned.
Show alignment with Impact Justice's narrative-shifting approach by mentioning how you've communicated program results to diverse audiences, from policymakers to the public.
Use the cover letter to explicitly connect your experience to the Menopause Project's goals—explain why you are passionate about bringing comprehensive menopause care to incarcerated women and how you would advance the program's next phase.
✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter
1. Your vision for expanding the Menopause Project beyond California, including potential challenges and strategies for adapting the model to other states. 2. Specific examples of how you've built and sustained partnerships with corrections departments or similar government agencies, highlighting your ability to navigate bureaucracy. 3. Your expertise in menopause/perimenopause care and how you would ensure clinical accuracy and cultural responsiveness in training and materials. 4. Your leadership style and experience managing remote teams, with a focus on how you foster collaboration and accountability.
Generate Cover Letter →🔍 Research Before Applying
To stand out, make sure you've researched:
- → Read Impact Justice's reports and publications on the Menopause Project and other initiatives to understand their approach, language, and impact metrics.
- → Research the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's women's prisons, including the specific facilities where the program launched, to speak knowledgeably about the context.
- → Explore the broader landscape of menopause care in the U.S., including disparities in access and the unique challenges faced by incarcerated women, to identify gaps and opportunities.
- → Look into Impact Justice's other programs (e.g., Restorative Justice, Reentry) to understand how the Menopause Project fits into their overall mission and how you might collaborate across teams.
💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics
Based on this role, you may be asked about:
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Focusing only on clinical menopause knowledge without demonstrating experience in program leadership, partnership management, or scaling initiatives—this role requires both health expertise and operational acumen.
- Using generic language about 'passion for justice' without concrete examples of working within correctional systems or with incarcerated populations, which can come across as uninformed.
- Neglecting to mention remote work experience or how you manage distributed teams, as this is a fully remote role with significant autonomy and coordination demands.
📅 Application Timeline
This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.
Typical hiring timeline:
Application Review
1-2 weeks
Initial Screening
Phone call or written assessment
Interviews
1-2 rounds, usually virtual
Offer
Congratulations!
Ready to Apply?
Good luck with your application to Impact Justice!