Policy Advocate; Underserved Populations

If your goal is to make a positive impact on the lives of sexual assault survivors, especially those whose voices have been under‑represented, then this position is a perfect opportunity to enhance your professional journey. The Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MCASA) provides technical assistance, training, outreach, education, and prevention in pursuit of our mission to end sexual assault in Maryland.

Our team works together to produce trainings, address system change, and increase public awareness. Through this position, you will be meeting the needs of underserved populations by providing outreach and training to professionals who serve sexual assault survivors. Key responsibilities of this position include coordinating MCASA’s Women of Color Network and providing leadership to MCASA’s Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) program.

PREA‑specific work will help ensure that incarcerated survivors of sexual violence receive appropriate services as required by the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). The ideal candidate will possess exceptional communication and public speaking skills, and a knowledge of sexual assault and intersectionality.

This position, along with the rest of the agency, entails significant virtual work and allows for flexible scheduling. Employees are expected to be available to travel to the MCASA office in Silver Spring within 90 minutes or live within the State of Maryland. While many job duties may be performed virtually, some are in‑person. This may include on‑site meetings, meetings with stakeholders or community members, training workshops, outreach events, conferences or other in‑person events.

The MCASA offices are also available to employees, and they may choose to work there as needed. Most MCASA staff work remotely, with MCASA providing laptops and office supplies.

• Identify training opportunities and create meaningful content and curriculum that support MCASA’s mission to end sexual assault in Maryland and our commitment to ensuring excellence in resources for and about underserved sexual assault survivors.
• Support Maryland’s rape crisis and recovery centers in improving response and outreach to underserved populations through training and technical assistance and dissemination of recent research findings or policy changes. Underserved populations may include, but are not limited to, rural populations, members of the military, women of color, people who are economically challenged, incarcerated survivors, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, people who are sex workers, victims of human sex trafficking, people in later life, people with isolated professional or school cultures (such as elite sports), and allies of these populations.
• Assist with development and coordination of MCASA’s Maryland Women of Color Network (MWOCN) including meeting facilitation, group expansion, producing quarterly newsletters, maintaining the MWOCN membership directory, and event planning. Ensure communication to support a positive relationship with MWOCN and other parts of MCASA.
• Serve on the planning committee for the MWOCN conference and other events. Assist with the production and presentation of annual conference and events.
• Convene and facilitate monthly PREA Advocate Calls and help ensure incarcerated survivors have access to services.
• Coordinate with MCASA’s Communication Coordinator to update and distribute electronic and tangible educational materials including training announcements, brochures, booklets, fact sheets, press releases, and other outreach connected to services for underserved populations and the Maryland Women of Color Network.

• Gather and document feedback from training participants after each educational session to assess satisfaction, knowledge gained, and effectiveness of instruction.
• Collect data and prepare grant reports.
• Support effective agency communications including, for example, listservs, social media, e‑newsletter, conference calls, etc.
• Prioritize and fulfill responsibilities in accordance with available funding and grant requirements.
• Recruit and supervise interns each semester, Fall, Spring, and Summer.
• Oth…