Strategic Project Lead — Connecting Global Artists, Technologists, and Reform Leaders at San Qu[...]

San Quentin SkunkWorks; San Quentin (CA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative nonprofit organization is seeking a Strategic Project Lead to work on justice reform initiatives inside a prison. The ideal candidate will manage multiple interconnected projects, ensuring their successful execution and alignment across teams. Experience in project management and tools like Monday.com is essential. This role involves collaboration with artists, technologists, and incarcerated innovators.

Qualifications

• You have experience in managing complex initiatives with strong ownership.
• You can structure ambiguity and maintain project momentum.
• You can navigate environments with tight constraints or unusual operating conditions.

Responsibilities

• Build project plans and workflows across teams.
• Run weekly syncs and establish communication rhythms.
• Document decisions and maintain version control on plans and briefs.

Skills

Project management

Workflow coordination

Strong communication

Problem-solving in ambiguous conditions

Education

Project management certification (PMP, CAPM)

4–7 years experience in project management

Tools

Monday.com

Slack

Job description

Strategic Project Lead — Connecting Global Artists, Technologists, and Reform Leaders at San Quentin SkunkWorks

San Quentin SkunkWorks began as a bold idea inside San Quentin: what if incarceration could become a launchpad for change? Founded by incarcerated people and built in partnership with outside professionals, we’ve grown into a nationally recognized innovation lab inside prison walls. Our goal is simple but radical: transform the justice system by centering the leadership of the people most impacted by it. We design and test solutions inside—and then work to scale them beyond the walls. Our programs put incarcerated leadership into practice. We reclaim prison spaces with murals that restore dignity, run intensive leadership trainings that prepare incarcerated people to guide reform, and host monthly gaming events that bring more than 150 people together across divides. Each project is a live experiment in building a justice system that works better for everyone. We’ve been featured in CalMatters, the front page of the LA Times, and are backed by CDCR. But our biggest achievement? Building a movement where incarcerated people lead—and the world listens.

Join the incarcerated‑led innovation lab partnering with the Governor’s Office, eL Seed, FaithXLVII, and other visionaries to orchestrate the projects shaping the future of justice reform.

Why This Matters

San Quentin SkunkWorks is transforming how change happens. We bring artists, engineers, policy experts, and creative strategists together inside prison walls to co‑design solutions that challenge the status quo. We operate at the level of national partners — yet we’re also still crossing the threshold from a grassroots innovation lab into a fully equipped organization. That transition takes disciplined project leadership. Without it, transformative ideas stall. With it, the future of justice reform moves with intention and momentum. Your work will help us bridge that gap.

The Project

SkunkWorks is advancing several flagship initiatives at once, including:

• Chiaroscuro Light Within the Shadows — a multi‑artist mural project redefining the visual culture of San Quentin
• Transformational Gaming — a national model for game‑based cultural transformation
• GateKeeper — an end‑to‑end volunteer‑clearance workflow tool
• System‑level quality‑of‑life reforms, including normalized clothing and reentry guides
• A nationwide media rollout supported by leading communications partners

You’ll bring coherence and direction to one or more of these interconnected initiatives — ensuring they move from vision to execution with clarity and speed.

Your Role

You’ll join a high‑performing group of engineers, creatives, researchers, organizers, and incarcerated team leads working across physical and digital boundaries. Your leadership keeps complex projects aligned, resourced, and moving.

• Build project plans, workflows, and milestone maps across multiple teams
• Maintain clarity on scope, priorities, dependencies, and constraints
• Run weekly syncs, establish communication rhythms, and produce concise reporting
• Translate strategy into actionable tasks for inside and outside collaborators
• Track deliverables across creative, technical, operational, and research workstreams
• Document decisions and maintain version control on plans, briefs, and timelines
• Strengthen the pipeline between incarcerated innovators and outside professionals
• Optionally collaborate directly inside San Quentin with our team during scheduled access windows

You’ll be working with people who operate at the level of top tech, civic‑innovation, and creative‑industry teams — and your work will match that rigor.

What You Bring

• 4–7 years in project or program management with strong ownership of complex initiatives
• Mastery of workflow and coordination tools, especially Monday.com and Slack
• Demonstrated ability to structure ambiguity, drive alignment, and maintain momentum
• Strong written and verbal communication across multidisciplinary teams
• Experience navigating environments with tight constraints or unusual operating conditions
• Preferred PMP, CAPM, or equivalent project‑management certification
• Bonus experience in civic tech, creative production, research environments, or nonprofit operations

The Impact

Your leadership will help SkunkWorks make a pivotal leap — from a grassroots innovation lab built inside a prison to a national model for incarcerated‑led reform. You’ll ensure that global artists, technologists, policymakers, and incarcerated creators can move in sync, execute at a high level, and build the systems that reshape how justice reform happens. This isn’t administrative support. It’s operational leadership at the frontier of a cultural redesign.

Seniority level

Associate

Job function

Design, Art/Creative, and Information Technology

Industries

Civic and Social Organizations and Non-profit Organizations

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