YOUTH HOUSING PROGRAMS DIRECTORS: Shelter Program Director and Transitional Housing Program Director

Agency Overview: Waking the Village operates programs for youth and children overcoming homelessness. Our hallmarks are intense advocacy, relationship based services, and creative programming. We are hiring these positions due to agency growth and the addition of a new position.

Overview of Position: We are hiring two positions: a Youth Shelter Program Director and a Youth Transitional Housing Program Director.

Youth Shelter Director: Helms our Village Shelter for 8 Parenting Youth and their Children. This program centers on a shorter stay that discerns immediate needs and best housing options after a shelter stay. The Shelter Program Director supports two case managers, a live in house director, and a part time employment specialist in delivering services to youth escaping homelessness so they exit within four months to best fit, next step housing. Works with coordinated access system and case conferencing to fill openings. Builds partnerships to ensure housing options and essential wellness services to all residents. Skillful in crisis intervention and supporting youth navigating the impacts of trauma. Knows a range of housing options and trains staff to ensure strong housing plans as youth move from shelter. Coordinates with our other housing program directors to support exits to our transitional housing when it is best fit.

Youth Transitional Housing Program Director: Helms our Tubman House Transitional Living Program for 20 Parenting Youth and their Children. This programs centers on a 18-24 month stay that moves young adults toward self-sufficiency. The Program Director supports 4 case managers, 4 house directors, and a part time employment specialist in delivering services to youth escaping homelessness so that during their 18-24 month stay they stabilize housing and income, establish employment or career training, pursue education, and connect their children to preschool and services. Ensures their team develops skills and partnerships so that youth accesses job programs, college, diploma completion, and wellness supports. Ensures each child receives services in support of healthy development and reliable care. Skillful at leading a program that supports young adults in moving toward career and long term stability.

Both positions support and develop the staff that arrive daily to infuse the Waking the Village community with energy, compassion, and real presence. The Program Directors work alongside their housing teams, while also taking up the responsibilities of ensuring the entire team is cohesive and committed to program structures. The Program Director will ensure program consistency across shifts, develop leadership in all staff, ensure weekly meetings address training and feedback needs, and monitor case management procedures to ensure services and documentation is timely and thorough.

The Youth Housing Programs Director will need to be highly organized and comfortable establishing and maintaining systems to supervise completion of documentation. We use Google Drive for document exchange and Slack for workplace communication. We also use HMIS, a county wide software system to capture client outcomes, and our own data collection systems.

Primary Responsibilities:

*Support the housing team through training, daily interaction, and well-planned team meetings so that the team commits to program ideals and documentation mandates. The Program Director ensures program quality is high and consistent- and that the demands of documenting outcomes and maintaining client files is honored by staff. The PD identifies challenges and works with the team to address them and strengthen systems. Ideally, the PD is comfortable leading discussions that bring groups to consensus around solutions, actions steps, and program vision.

*Maintain program policy and procedure documents and intake forms so that they are relevant to current program direction and processes. The Program Director ensures that program manuals, resident manuals, intake forms, and literature related to the work of the youth housing team are up-to-date, accessible, and relevant.

*Play a key role in daily air traffic control and discussions around the best use of staff energy each day. Waking the Village housing lives in a tension between supportive daily structures and the realities of households overcoming homelessness, raising children, and being young. Each morning, and throughout the day, we must reassess direction and ensure key concerns are being addressed. The PD must have an ability to take the wide view and ensure crises large and small that bubble up are addressed.

*Ensure HMIS processes are honored and reflect outcomes. HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) is a software program that allows programs to report back to the city on vacancies, outcomes, and client demographics. Each case manager uses the system to document client progress. The PD will conduct monthly check ups to ensure all case managers are entering data correctly.

*Monitor documentation, intake, and resident files. Each case managers is responsible for maintaining files and case notes for their clients. In general, documentation averages four hours a week as case managers complete reports, maintain savings account registers, update the wider staff as needed of resident concerns, and complete intake and exit reports. The PD oversees the timeliness and quality of these processes through weekly monitoring.

*Helm strategies for housing system navigation, connection, and stabilization for each family. The shelter’s and the transitional housing program’s intent is to facilitate connection to the next housing step that best fits the needs of the young parent and their family. Some youth may be ready to secure employment and rent a room. Others may need connection to permanent supportive housing. Yet others might be best fit in our transitional living programs. We do not want families returning to homelessness, thus the program director ensures we have the best possible, most coordinated system possible to ensure youth move toward long term stability.

*Support staff in holding workshops in areas that respond to the needs of the current residents. Workshops center around a theme such as nutrition, anger management, self-expression, social justice, or financial independence.

*Train and support staff in empowering youth to have a real voice in shaping, evaluating, and creating a powerful program and nurturing community.

Essential Qualities

*Hard Working and able to work independently and see a plan through

*Creative and Committed Leadership: We welcome vision and an ability to bring a strong plan for nurturing teams and their professional growth

*Comfortable with workplace technology and software (Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack….)

*Strong Ability to Build Partnerships with Staff, Youth, and Community Partners

*Professional: An ability to establish healthy, clear boundaries and model emotional intelligence is essential. Must also be able to represent agency in local committees and collaborations.

*Joyful: Our Program Directors must exude positivity and energy as they address the day’s possibilities.

*Unafraid to speak the truth: We must not tip toe around hard conversations. Our youth and our team deserve honest and transparent communication. We must have the conversations needed to explore behaviors that undermine their goals and growth.

*Open minded and inclusive

*Flexible: Your best laid plans will intersect with the busy, complicated lives children, youth, and staff.

*Desire to nurture of a work environment where every person learns leadership and supports, encourages, problem solves, and envisions growth together.

*Willingness to embrace and address each day’s challenges. We are looking for a director who can solve problems and who addresses needs as they arise, rather than one who simply reports problems.

Requirements

*Experience as a teacher, social worker, counselor, or youth professional working with youth, in particular youth coping with trauma. We place a high value on the wisdom from lived experiences.

*Prefer a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Social Work, Human Development, Community Development, Sociology, Psychology, Education, Women’s Studies, Child Development or other related field of study. We also honor lived experiences of homelessness and housing insecurity.

*Prefer experience supporting a team and/or leading a program

*Prefer experience and/or training using a Youth Development model that puts youth in charge of decision making and governing of their community. Knowledge of Harm Reduction, Trauma Informed Care and Motivational Interviewing are all assets.

Additional abilities required by the position

* Ability to lift at least 30 pounds and ability to determine own physical limits so that injury does not result when leading service projects, recreation, or program activities.

*Ability to walk up and down stairs or a request for an accommodation

*Ability to safely transport self and others in agency vehicles. Must have a clean driving record that will ensure our agency insurance can cover staff to transport.

*Ability to manage stress of multi-tasking, leading youth, and counseling youth

*Ability to establish healthy boundaries and maintain personal wellness while shepherding clients through past and current experiences of trauma.

Pay: Depends on education, job stability, and experience.

Three years’ experience in related field: $26/hr

Three years’ related experience including one year of leadership: $27-$28/hr depending on education and degree

Three years of leadership in related field: $29-$30/hr depending on education and degree

Over five years of leadership in related field: $31- $33/hr depending on education and degree

Over ten years of leadership in related field: Starts at $34/hr depending on education and degree

Schedule: 40 hours a week. 8:30 to 4:30 from M-F is optimal schedule.

Benefits:

Health, Vision, and Dental Insurance (Employer covers 70% of premium up to $550/month)

Life Insurance

Employee Assistance Program

Work Phone with Unlimited Data

30 Paid Holiday/PTO Days Annually (with increase to 45 days over five years)

Equal Opportunity Employer

Waking the Village is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. WTV believes that all people are entitled to equal opportunity for employment or connection to services provided by our agency. We follow state, local, and federal laws prohibiting discrimination in hiring, employment, and service provision. We do not discriminate against employees, clients, volunteers, or applicants in violation of those laws. We extend this policy to volunteers and interns working for Waking the Village and all clients served by our agency.

Waking the Village reaffirms its long-standing policy prohibiting discrimination in employment and the provision of services on the basis of the fact or perception of:

Race

Color

Ancestry

National origin

Religion

Sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions)

Disability

Age

Citizenship status

Genetic information

Marital status

Sexual orientation and identity

Gender Expression and Gender Identity

AIDS/HIV

Medical condition

Political activities or affiliations/opinion

Military or veteran status

Status as a victim of domestic violence, assault, or stalking

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $54,080.00 - $72,800.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Monday to Friday

License/Certification:

• Driver's License (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• Sacramento, CA (Required)

Ability to Relocate:

• Sacramento, CA: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person