Director - Prevention & Outreach

Since 1911, City Colleges of Chicago has been connecting students from across Chicago’s neighborhoods to economic opportunity. By offering a quality education at an unprecedented value, City Colleges provides our students and alumni with a pathway to upward mobility. City Colleges of Chicago is the city’s most accessible higher education engine of socioeconomic mobility and racial equity—empowering its students to take part in building a stronger and more just city. As Illinois’ largest community college system, City Colleges is comprised of seven colleges and five satellite sites across Chicago.

Project S.A.F.E. is a districtwide initiative across the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) whose mission is to support activities that develop campus-based coordinated responses that engage campus victim services, campus security, administrators, student leaders, student organizations, and disciplinary boards to prevent and address gender-based violence (specifically dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking). Project S.A.F.E. is funded by a grant from the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) and aims to promote equity in education by reducing barriers to educational access for those affected by gender-based violence by centering on survivor safety, empowerment, and healing through a compassionate and intersectional approach.

To meet the needs of survivors, Project S.A.F.E. partners with CCC’s Survivor Advocacy Services to facilitate supportive access to counseling, safety planning, academic support, educational and legal advocacy, and referrals to medical advocacy and legal representation, CCC has partnered with several community-based victim services organizations to provide referral support to survivors of gender-based violence.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE

Reporting to the Executive Director of Wellness, the Director – Prevention & Outreach provides strategic and operational leadership for CCC’s violence prevention initiative and education efforts under Project S.A.F.E.

This role supports the execution of long-term strategy and advances key priorities, including external partnerships, funding sustainability, districtwide education and training, and institutional policy alignment related to the prevention of gender-based violence.

The Director also facilitates program implementation through collaboration with campus-based staff, and reinforces the institution’s commitment to promoting holistic student services that recognize the impact of trauma on student learning, promoting a culture of care and student wellness.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

·         Develops and manages strategic partnerships with community-based organizations, City of Chicago sister agencies, and campus and district leadership to increase access to justice and support for student-survivors, including the development of Memoranda of Understanding, partnership agreements, and contracts.

·         Serves as the program supervisor for CCC’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) grants, ensuring  CCC’s alignment with grant objectives, adherence to performance and financial reporting, and compliance with funder and institutional policies in order to successfully achieve all funded program goals.

·         Identifies and leads applications for new funding opportunities for gender-based violence prevention and provides leadership on implementation of any new funding or programs.

·         Engages with campus leadership, Title IX, Wellness Centers, Safety & Security, and other internal stakeholders to continuously improve trauma-informed response protocols for survivors of gender-based violence.

·         Supports training efforts and provides subject-matter expertise, and guidance to campus Project S.A.F.E. Coordinators in the development and implementation of gender-based violence prevention programming to meet program goals, build institutional capacity, and support compliance with mandatory staff and student training requirements.

·         Convenes regularly with the Project S.A.F.E. Coordinators and with the Director of Survivor Advocacy Program to promote districtwide coordination of program goals, events, and outcomes and supports campus supervisors to ensure consistent execution of grant requirements across the district.

·         Delivers training and presentations to college and district leadership on gender-based violence, including best practices for supporting student-survivors and compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

·         Supports the design and implementation of program reviews, data collection practices, and evaluation projects to evaluate the effectiveness of existing support services to inform continuous improvement of programs.

·         Identifies gaps in service delivery to marginalized survivors and develops strategies for increasing the accessibility and cultural competency of services.

·         Maintains program website to ensure up-to-date information on accessing services, reporting options, and available resources.

·         Assists in monitoring relevant legislation and regulatory changes and recommends updates to protocols and procedures as needed.

·         Performs other duties as assigned.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS

Reports To                       Executive Director of Wellness

Direct Supervision          None  

Indirect Supervision       Coordinators-Project S.A.F.E.

QUALIFICATIONS

·         Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university in Education, Social Work, Sociology, Gender Studies, Public Health, or a related field. Master’s Degree preferred.

·         A minimum of four years’ experience working with victims of crimes, including at least one year in a leadership role.

·         Completion of a 40-hour Confidential Advisor, Sexual Assault, or Domestic Violence training program, or a willingness to complete CCC-sponsored training within nine months of hire.

·         Experience with grant management, grant reporting, and program design requiring engagement with multiple partners and stakeholders.

·         Experience developing and leading training on topics related to violence prevention and social justice.

·         Experience engaging students in higher education preferred.

·         Knowledge of best practices in gender-based violence prevention, education, and survivor support.

·         Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with diverse internal and external stakeholders.

·         Excellent organizational, management, and decision-making skills, with the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively.

·         Ability to handle sensitive situations with discretion and confidentiality.

·         Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams).

Salary Range

Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as other factors such as internal equity.

Benefits information is found at https://www.ccc.edu/departments/Benefits/

WE OFFER: Excellent health and welfare benefit package and long-term savings and investment programs including 403(b) & 457(b) Investment Plans and a pension plan with the State University Retirement System (SURS) Plan. Generous vacation, holiday, personal and sick days, and tuition reimbursement. For a more detailed overview of benefits, please visit the benefits page of our website.

We are an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Chicago residency is required for all full-time employees within 6 months of hire. Thank you for your interest in CCC!