Director of SART & System Collaboration

Position Overview

The Director of Statewide SART and System Collaboration serves as a visionary leader and strategic partner, working alongside local, state, and national stakeholders to transform and strengthen the coordinated response to sexual assault across the state. In this director-level role, you will lead efforts to build and sustain a comprehensive, trauma-informed system of care — one that expands survivors' options for safety, healing, and justice. From vision-setting and program development to systems coordination, stakeholder engagement, and quality assurance, you will play a central role in ensuring survivors receive high-quality, continuous support that extends well beyond the acute health-system response — through recovery and long-term healing.

The Director leads efforts to transform multi-systems response to sexual assault through implementation of best practices, expansion of crisis response capacity, and strengthening of multidisciplinary collaboration statewide. This position serves as ICADV's senior subject matter expert and primary liaison with hospitals, medical centers, emergency departments, Child Advocacy Centers (CACs), Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs), the Iowa Attorney General's Office, law enforcement, prosecutors, Iowa Department of Corrections, and other state and local partners. The Director provides strategic direction for Iowa’s SART program development, manages grant-funded initiatives, supervises the PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) program coordinator, addresses systemic barriers to survivor-centered care, and ensures compliance with Iowa Code requirements, national standards, and federal grant mandates.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide strategic vision and leadership to strengthen Iowa’s SART program infrastructure and comprehensive healthcare and criminal justice system response to sexual assault.
• Partner with qualified providers, emergency departments, medical centers, Child Advocacy Centers, law enforcement, prosecutors, Iowa Department of Corrections, Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, and victim advocates to integrate trauma-informed, survivor-centered practices.
• Champion implementation of national best practices, including DOJ National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations, IAFN standards, and CDC violence prevention frameworks.
• Serve as primary liaison with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office SANE Nurse, serve on relevant committees, and lead efforts to develop and strengthen Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART) across Iowa.
• Work in partnership to address concerns and systemic barriers within health systems that impact the quality of services to survivors, including wait times, examination environment privacy, staff attitudes and bias, continuity of care, and follow-up services.
• Facilitate the adoption of best practices in forensic evidence collection, documentation, photography, and chain of custody procedures.
• Lead efforts to develop, strengthen, and expand Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs) across Iowa, ensuring a comprehensive, coordinated community response modeled on state-level multidisciplinary collaborations.
• Partner with the Iowa Department of Public Health on Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), kit tracking systems, and forensic evidence management to ensure best practices and protocol development.
• Advocate for policies, funding, and systemic changes to support survivor access to comprehensive victim services across sectors.
• Develop specialized training, including but not limited to train-the-trainer programs, to build Iowa’s capacity for delivering the best trauma-informed care for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and human trafficking across sectors.
• Serves as a strong representative of victim advocacy services, upholding professional standards and ensuring partners understand the scope of advocacy work, including ethical obligations and limitations regarding confidentiality and the sharing of identifiable information.

Required Qualifications

• Education and Licensure: Minimum 7 years progressive professional experience in healthcare, victim services, public health, or related field with demonstrated focus on sexual assault response, understanding of medical-forensic services, or SART programs.
• Minimum 5 years in leadership, management, or director-level position with responsibility for program oversight, strategic planning, or systems coordination.
• Comprehensive knowledge of the medical-forensic examination process, evidence collection, SANE/SART practice standards, trauma-informed care, and quality assurance methodologies.
• Deep understanding of trauma and its impact on survivors, trauma responses, and trauma-informed organizational practices.
• Experience managing grants, including budgets, compliance, reporting, and multiple funding streams.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present to executive leadership, legislative bodies, and professional audiences as needed.
• Demonstrated commitment to advancing health equity and serving diverse populations.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel extensively throughout Iowa (30-40% travel).

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s or Doctoral Degree
• Experience directing or managing SANE/SART programs, training programs, or a deep understanding of the medical-forensic response systems to sexual assault.
• Deep knowledge of the Child Advocacy Center model and experience coordinating multidisciplinary teams.
• Deep knowledge of trauma-informed, victim-centered sexual assault services.
• Grant writing experience with successful federal or state grant awards.
• Established relationships with the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, the Iowa Department of Public Health, and/or other key state stakeholders and qualified providers.

Pay: $78,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan

People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Clive, IA 50325