Job Description

Prison Journalism Project (PJP) is looking for a Director of Learning who will provide strategic and operational leadership for all of Prison Journalism Project’s learning programs, driving the organization’s Journalism as Literacy approach across every training pathway. PJP is a fast-growing independent, non-profit journalism and education organization that aims to train incarcerated writers with the tools of journalism, so they can be published widely and contribute to an informed and intelligent public discourse about mass incarceration. Throughout our holistic programming, writers build literacy and professional skills necessary for successful reentry and employment through hands-on learning. This role sits at the intersection of curriculum design, editorial collaboration, partnership development, and program assessment. The Director of Learning ensures that PJP’s training infrastructure is coherent, accessible across literacy levels, and aligned with the organization’s broader goals of expanding who can participate in journalism and publish their work for a public audience. The Director of Learning works closely in collaboration with full-time directors and the CEO and will be responsible for managing a skilled team of contractors. This role starts immediately.

Essential Duties

• Lead strategic and operational direction for all learning programs under PJP’s Journalism as Literacy approach
• Design and manage curriculum for Learning+, a three-year training and publishing progression for incarcerated writers
• Oversee writer assessment and competency attainment across programs
• Manage and support a volunteer mentor program for advanced writers
• Provide strategic oversight of PJP Inside, a quarterly print magazine, including full production cycle management
• Expand magazine distribution to new facilities and manage printing/mailing logistics
• Oversee the Handbook Certification Program, a 14-module correspondence-based journalism curriculum
• Manage Learning Coaches across programs, ensuring quality grading and constructive feedback
• Lead design and development of digital journalism courses on the Edovo prison tablet platform
• Oversee On Assignment, a developmental publishing blog for emerging writers
• Manage the Prison Newspaper Project, which supports prison publications nationwide
• Build and maintain external partnerships with Departments of Corrections, community organizations, and academic affiliates
• Develop content for the Faculty Affiliate Program and its quarterly newsletter
• Drive program assessment using qualitative and quantitative metrics to demonstrate impact
• Refine PJP’s competency framework and ensure materials are accessible across literacy levels
• Support organizational strategic planning and report quarterly progress to the CEO
• Contribute to grant writing and reporting related to Learning programs
• Manage a team of staff and contractors, including invoice approval and workload coordination
• Lead monthly Learning team meetings and support overall operational efficiency
• Manage annual department budget and review monthly expenses
• Work with CEO to manage and expand organizational capacity

Desired Qualifications

• Adult learning leadership, curriculum development experience and expertise in monitoring and evaluating educational initiatives
• 2+ years experience working in a newsroom or teaching journalism. Prison newsroom experience is a plus
• High executive function: 5+ years experience in an educational leadership role. Prison education work is a plus
• Has their pulse on the kind of stories newsrooms and readers today are looking for
• Experience creating and delivering training for incarcerated students
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Strategic thinker
• Google Suite mastery
• Comfortable with public speaking
• Ability to foster a healthy work culture
• Understands the importance of building an equitable and inclusive team and culture
• Understands the importance of Duty of Care
• Leadership and coaching skills
• Exceptional time-management and organizational skills
• A strong writer with solid news judgment
• Fluency in English with a masterful grasp of grammar and AP style

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.