Director of Programs

Job Summary: The Director of Programs provides strategic leadership for RYSE’s youth-serving programs, guiding services designed to meet the complex needs of adolescents and transitional age youth on O‘ahu. This includes oversight of RYSE’s street outreach, justice system diversion, education, employment programs and behavioral health personnel, which engage youth experiencing homelessness, exploitation, trauma, or involvement with the legal system. The Director is responsible for the design, implementation, and evaluation of trauma informed, culturally responsive, and evidence-based service delivery tailored to local youth and their families. This role ensures program excellence while navigating multifaceted needs such as crisis intervention, field-based case engagement, family dynamics, working in collaboration to ensure academic support, workforce readiness, and advocacy within schools, courts, and community systems to strengthen safety, stability, and long-term wellbeing for Hawai‘i’s young people.

Job Responsibilities:

Program Leadership & Oversight

• Lead and mentor RYSE’s multidisciplinary program team, including outreach specialists, diversion staff, education and employment staff, and behavioral health personnel, ensuring alignment with RYSE’s mission to serve adolescents and transitional age youth experiencing homelessness, trauma, exploitation, and system involvement.
• Oversee the implementation and continuous improvement of RYSE’s education and employment programs, including academic engagement, workforce readiness, career exploration, and connections to training and employment opportunities for youth.
• Facilitate weekly integrated care and program meetings that coordinate services across drop-in center operations, mobile outreach, crisis support, diversion programming, education support, employment services, and community-based case management.
• Support staff in navigating complex youth needs, including acute safety issues, family instability, runaway/homeless episodes, co-occurring mental health/substance use concerns, school engagement barriers, and employment readiness needs.
• Work in collaboration with schools, workforce development partners, universities, and community colleges to strengthen pathways for youth education, internships, employment, and long-term success.

Street Outreach & Justice Diversion Oversight

• Direct the daily operations of RYSE’s Street Outreach program, including field-based engagement, safety planning, trauma-responsive relationship building, and linkage to basic needs, shelter, and ‑long-term‑ behavioral health care.
• Oversee RYSE’s Diversion services, collaborating closely with hospitals, schools, police, courts, probation, DHS, and detention center staff to provide clinical alternatives to arrest or detention for at risk youth.
• Ensure outreach and diversion strategies reflect values of harm reduction, youth empowerment, and culturally relevant support for youth disproportionately impacted by homelessness and the legal system.
• Develop and maintain protocols for crisis response including runaway recovery, high risk‑ de-escalation, and rapid engagement for youth experiencing exploitation, trafficking, or acute behavioral health episodes.

Program Development, Data, & Compliance

• Design and refine program workflows that ensure coordinated support across RYSE’s continuum: drop-in services, outreach, diversion, stabilization, education, employment, case management, and community partnerships.

• Establish performance metrics specific to RYSE’s youth population, including engagement outcomes, diversion success rates, stabilization indicators, and culturally informed measures of wellbeing.

• Working in collaboration with the Director or Development to ensure the integrity and delivery of all assigned program services as required by contractual agreements, grants, and agency standards.
• Oversee documentation, reporting, and compliance requirements for assigned programs, ensuring services meet Hawaiʻi Medicaid, Department of Health, grant-funded, and contractual standards as applicable.
• Conduct regular file and program audits across outreach, diversion, education, employment, behavioral health, and related services to ensure accuracy, timeliness, and adherence to agency and funder requirements.

• As a member of a multidisciplinary team, develop improvement initiatives based on data trends, staff feedback, and emerging needs within the youth's homelessness and juvenile justice landscapes.

Care Coordination & Community Partnerships

• Guide complex discharge and transition planning for youth moving from street to shelter, detention to community, or crisis stabilization settings.
• Maintain strong working relationships with schools, shelters, law enforcement, courts, medical providers, and youth-serving organizations to ensure coordinated support for RYSE youth.
• Advocate for youth within systems (e.g., schools, child welfare, courts) to promote equitable access to behavioral health care, cultural support, and stable housing.
• Attend community meetings and partnership opportunities as required.

Required Qualifications:

Experience & Leadership

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive leadership experience in youth services, behavioral health, education, workforce development, homelessness services, or related human services field.
• Demonstrated experience overseeing multidisciplinary teams and community-based programs serving adolescents and transitional age youth.
• Strong knowledge of program operations, staff development, data and reporting requirements, and collaborative partnerships across education, employment, behavioral health, and youth-serving systems.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with street outreach, youth homelessness services, or justice system diversion programs.
• Familiarity with Hawaiʻi Medicaid behavioral health requirements (CIS, CCS), evidence based‑ adolescent treatment models, and culturally grounded care approaches for Native Hawaiian youth.
• Prior work in organizations serving high risk or marginalized youth populations, including runaway/homeless youth, LGBTQ youth, youth survivors of exploitation, or youth with co-occurring mental health and substance use needs.

Educational Requirements:

• Master's degree in Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, Education, Public Administration, Human Services, or a closely related field from an accredited institution.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

This position involves engaging with diverse communities, participating in site visits, and attending policy discussions. Reasonable accommodations will be made to ensure accessibility.

While primarily office-based, occasional fieldwork, community meetings, and housing site evaluations may be required. Standard office responsibilities include document preparation, computer use, and phone communication.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

RYSE is committed to equity, inclusion, and social impact. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including members of the LGBTQ community and those with lived experiences in housing insecurity.