ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Coalition Assistant provides critical support in three primary areas: evaluation and data collection, community outreach, and capacity building for coalition members and partners. This role operates at the intersection of community safety, public health, and substance use prevention. Grounded in a commitment to equity and community leadership, the Coalition Assistant helps center the voices, expertise, and lived experiences of people directly impacted by incarceration, over-policing, and substance use. This role will integrate an equity informed approach that acknowledges the overlap between over-policing, criminalization, and gaps in prevention, and actively engage and elevate individuals with lived experience to inform responsive, community-led solutions. Specific duties and responsibilities include:   

Evaluation & Data Support

•    Assist in designing and administering surveys, interviews, and listening sessions that are trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and grounded in the perspectives of directly impacted community members, including individuals with experience in the criminal legal system and those affected by substance use. 

•    Assist with gathering, organizing, and analyzing data that captures the full scope of people’s experiences, including the relationships between policing practices, substance use criminalization, and community health outcomes.  

•    Support the development of evaluation tools that move beyond traditional metrics to capture community-defined measures of safety, wellbeing, healing, and justice. 

•    Assist in preparing reports and presentations that elevate the priorities of impacted community members and connect substance use prevention data to broader equity and justice goals. 

•    Maintain organized and confidential records of coalition activities, meeting notes, and participant information, with careful attention to privacy and respect.

Outreach & Community Engagement

•    Build and sustain trusted relationships with community members, particularly those directly impacted by criminalization barriers to substance use prevention or treatment services, and exclusion from formal systems and institutions. 

•    Support the development of outreach materials that are accessible, culturally responsive, and grounded in community language and priorities, helping to destigmatize conversations around system involvement and substance use. 

•    Assist in coordinating events, listening sessions, and coalition meetings in formats and locations that are welcoming and accessible to directly impacted individuals, including those in recovery or actively reentering their communities.

•    Maintain and update contact lists and partner databases with care, upholding strong standards of privacy, confidentiality, and community data sovereignty.

Capacity Building

•    Help identify the skills, resources, and supports needed for community members and coalition partners to participate fully and lead effectively, including those navigating recovery, reentry, or ongoing system involvement. 

•    Support the coordination of trainings, workshops, and leadership development opportunities that build power among directly impacted individuals, including trainings on substance use prevention strategies and advocacy skills. 

•    Assist in connecting community members to relevant resources, such as substance use prevention programs, recovery support services, legal aid, reentry support, and know-your-rights information. 

•    Foster a coalition culture that values lived experience with incarceration, policing practices, and substance use as essential expertise, equal to or exceeding professional or academic credentials. 

•    Support the onboarding of new coalition members with a focus on reducing barriers to participation for those impacted by system involvement or substance use.
COMPETENCIES

•    Experience with incarceration, system involvement, substance use, or recovery, and/or strong connection to communities impacted by policing practices and substance use preferred.

•    Experience in community organizing, advocacy, reentry services, substance use prevention, harm reduction, or legal system reform preferred.

•    Familiarity with trauma-informed, healing-centered, and recovery-informed approaches or a willingness to learn and apply these frameworks preferred. 

•    Experience with data collection, surveys, or participatory and community-based evaluation methods. 

•    Demonstrated commitment to equity and community-driven approaches to public safety and health. 

•    Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to build authentic, trusting relationships across diverse communities, including those in recovery or with system involvement. 

•    Clear and effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage a range of audiences. 

•    Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a mission-driven team environment. 

•    Proficiency in Microsoft Office or Google Workspace; bilingual skills are a plus.

EDUCATION EXPERIENCE

High School Diploma/GED