Lead Advocate

Title: Lead Advocate

Type: Full-Time Contract (1 year, with potential for renewal) – two positions available

Location: Remote, with domestic travel – open to candidates across Canada

Travel: Monthly travel to the penitentiaries designated for women in your assigned area (approximately 3 days per month), plus additional limited domestic travel

Start Date: Flexible

Compensation: $32.00–$34.00/hour + competitive benefits (based on experience and qualifications)

Language: English required, French is an asset.

Advocate for Change in Canada’s Prison System

The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) is seeking a highly skilled, strategic advocate to lead regional advocacy work. You will operate at the intersection of legal advocacy, human rights, and systems change, supporting federally sentenced women and gender-diverse people while influencing institutional practices and policy. We’re looking for someone who can navigate complex systems, build trust across power dynamics, and translate legal knowledge into meaningful impact.

About CAEFS

At the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS), we envision a world without prisons, with strong and well-resourced communities for everyone. CAEFS advocates for the rights and dignity of criminalized women and gender-diverse people and our work is grounded in abolitionist, intersectional, and human rights-based approaches.

The Opportunity

As Lead Advocate, you will:

• Lead advocacy efforts in federal prisons designated for women in your assigned region
• Coordinate a regional advocacy team of volunteers and Peer Advocates
• Engage directly with incarcerated individuals and Correctional Service of Canada staff / management
• Use legal and policy frameworks to advance rights-based practices and improve conditions of confinement

Lead Advocates are supervised and supported by CAEFS’ Senior Advocate, with oversight from CAEFS Co-Executive Directors.

Core Responsibilities

Strategic Advocacy & Systems Change

• Identify patterns in rights-related concerns and advance solutions
• Apply legal, constitutional, and policy frameworks to advocacy strategies
• Escalate critical issues to CAEFS’ leadership and maintain ongoing communication with CAEFS’ Senior Advocate
• Liaise with Correctional Service of Canada leadership including, but not limited to, monthly in-person meetings with the Institutional Management Team at the penitentiary designated for women in your assigned region.
• Produce high-quality public advocacy letters and reports

Direct Advocacy & Legal Education

• Conduct monthly advocacy visits to the penitentiary designated for women in your assigned region.
• Facilitate regular meeting with Peer Advocates and Inmate Committee Members
• Maintain a weekly shift on CAEFS advocacy phone line
• Support individuals in navigating complaints, grievances, and legal processes
• Provide rights-based education grounded in Canadian law and policy
• Liaise with local Elizabeth Fry Societies to respond to advocacy-related requests

Regional Leadership & Coordination

• Coordinate and mentor teams of volunteer Regional Advocates and Peer Advocates
• Recruit, onboard, and sustain engagement of volunteer Regional Advocates
• Supervise and support incarcerated Peer Advocates
• Deliver Peer Advocacy training to incarcerated individuals in collaboration with CAEFS’ Senior Advocate
• Collaborate with local Elizabeth Fry Societies in your region and other community-based organization
• Seek out opportunities to strengthen CAEFS regional capacity

Program Delivery & Operations

• Oversee regional planning, scheduling, and reporting in collaboration with CAEFS’ Senior Advocate
• Maintain secure, confidential program records in accordance with CAEFS’ policies and practices
• Manage regional budget and financial tracking in accordance with CAERFS’ policies and practices
• Collaborate closely with national colleagues across regions, including participating in weekly check-ins with CAEFS’ Senior Advocate, regular meetings with Lead Advocates, and periodic all-staff meetings.

What You Bring

Deep Expertise

• 5+ years in advocacy, legal, or human rights-focused roles
• Strong working knowledge of:
  • Canadian constitutional and human rights law
  • Federal penal policy and systems
• Proven ability to apply legal frameworks in real-world advocacy contexts

Strategic & Relational Strength

• Ability to build credibility with:
  • Incarcerated individuals
  • Institutional leadership
  • Community stakeholders
• Skilled at navigating power, conflict, and complex environments
• Demonstrated systems-thinking and problem-solving ability

Leadership

• Experience coordinating teams or volunteers
• Highly organized and effective in remote work environments
• Strong judgment, discretion, and integrity

Communication Excellence

• Exceptional writing skills (clear, persuasive, audience-specific)
• Ability to synthesize complex issues into actionable insights
• Confident verbal communicator across diverse audiences

Working Conditions

• Hybrid remote work within a supportive team structure, combining ongoing supervision, collaboration, and independent responsibilities
• Monthly domestic travel to conduct advocacy visits to the penitentiary designated for women in your region
• Meaningful work alongside individuals navigating complex and challenging circumstances

Who This Role Is For

This role is for someone grounded in a commitment to the rights and dignity of criminalized women and gender-diverse people, and motivated by the possibility of transformative change. You understand that advocacy happens both within and beyond systems, and you engage in this work with care, integrity, and a strong sense of responsibility to the people and communities you work with.

This role may be a fit if you:

• Are committed to abolitionist, intersectional, and human rights-based approaches
• Value the knowledge and leadership of people with lived experience
• Work effectively across difference, power, and institutional contexts
• Thrive in collaborative, strategic, and evolving work

Why Join CAEFS?

You’ll join a small, committed team working collectively to advance human rights, challenge harmful systems, and support people inside prisons and on parole. We offer a flexible remote work environment, competitive compensation, and the opportunity to engage in thoughtful, values-driven work that contributes to meaningful, long-term change.

How to Apply

Please send a resume and cover letter to admin@caefs.ca with the subject line “Lead Advocate – [your name]”. This opportunity will remain open until suitable candidates are found.

Your cover letter should speak to your advocacy experience, your familiarity with the legal framework governing federal prisons (or equivalent experience with other legal structures), your feminist lens and alignment with CAEFS’s values, and what draws you to this work. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Accommodations are available throughout the recruitment process. Please let us know if you require any.