Function

​Reporting to the Community Engagement Director, the Community Engagement Associate will provide administration, observation, and documentation support for CAASE’s community engagement initiatives. The position primarily supports the developing Victims’ Rights Representation (VRR) Division of the CAASE Legal Department, ensuring that this division is accountable to and engaged with communities in south Chicago and Southern Cook County.

Victim’s Rights Representation

• Facilitate community education on victims’ rights in under-resourced neighborhoods on the south side of Chicago and in southern Cook County.
• Develop data collection and analysis models to determine victims’ rights representation needs on the south side of Chicago and in southern Cook County.
• Identify and engage community partners in south Chicago and southern Cook County suburbs to determine victims’ rights representation needs.

Community Engagement and Organizing

• Support community engagement initiatives, including Survivor Advisory Councils, open mics, writing workshops and additional programming via facilitation, administration, documentation and social media communication.
• Support Community Engagement Director in identifying and developing opportunities for survivors and survivor-leaders to influence and/or lead initiatives.
• Other duties as assigned.

Status:​Full time, non-exempt.

Reports to:​Community Engagement Director

Experience and Qualifications

Applicants must have

• Experience working across communities most vulnerable to sexual exploitation, including communities of color, LGBTQ communities, undocumented people, those living with disabilities, those living under the poverty line and/or those with housing insecurity.
• Working knowledge of south side communities and organizations, especially organizations with a focus on preventing or treating sexual harm
• Experience with data collection/analysis
• Experience with program facilitation, administration, documentation and social media communication
• Experience with community organizing, political organizing and/or journalism

The ideal applicant will also have

• Comfort with/enthusiasm for public speaking
• Experience with digital technology, which may include audio and video recording, editing and/or engineering, photography and/or graphic design
• A basic working knowledge of gender-based violence
• Passion for advocacy and structural analysis
• Proficiency in Spanish

Organization Values

​CAASE is a feminist organization, committed to ending all forms of sexual exploitation including specifically sexual assault and prostitution. CAASE is opposed to all forms and manifestations of inequality, including but not limited to those based in race, sexual orientation, and gender. CAASE does not discriminate against job applicants or employees on the basis of race, color, age, order of protection status, physical or mental disability, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, marital status, military status, or unfavorable discharge from military services. CAASE supports a person’s full access to reproductive health information and services.

Salary and Benefits: CAASE provides a competitive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, retirement contribution, short-term disability insurance and paid time off. Salary: low-mid forties, negotiable depending on experience.

This position will be funded as part of CAASE’s work on the Victims’ Rights Enforcement Project. The Victims’ Rights Enforcement Project–also known as Rights In Systems Enforced Project (“RISE Project”) is a project of the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI). Funded by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), award number 2018-V3-GX-K018, the RISE Project is funding six legal Clinics to provide crime victims with access to legal representation to assert and seek enforcement of their rights throughout criminal justice processes, increase awareness of victims’ rights and increase victim access to no cost legal services through an expanded body of attorneys knowledgeable about rights assertion and enforcement in criminal trial and appellate courts.

How to Apply ​​

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. To apply, send a substantive cover letter, resume, and writing sample to Nikki Patin via email at [email protected] or by mail at 307 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1818, Chicago, IL 60601. No phone calls please.