Director of Housing

“Every person deserves compassion, dignity, and the safety of a place to call home.”
Homelessness is the largest social and public health crisis in California. Illumination Foundation (IF) is a growing non-profit organization dedicated towards disrupting the cycle of homelessness by providing targeted, interdisciplinary services in our recuperative care centers, emergency shelters, housing services and children's and family programs. IF currently has 13+ facilities with 22+ micro-communities scattered across Orange County, Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire.

Job Description

The Director of Housing supervises all Illumination Foundation Rapid Rehousing and Permanent Supportive Housing programs across Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. The director is responsible for maintaining and understanding all housing contracts, coordinating, and communicating with program funders, and ensuring programs meet project performance metrics, contract deliverables, and quality client care. The director is responsible for supervising all housing program managers, department hiring and onboarding practices, and development and maintenance of program policies and procedures. The director will enhance the quality of client care through understanding of, training on, and implementation of industry best practices.

The salary range for this position is $100,000.00 - $110,000.00 per annum, depending on experience.

Responsibilities

Housing Programs:

• Oversee daily operations of all rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing programs across Illumination Foundation operations.
• Monitor contract budgets and spend downs to ensure all housing programs remain in compliance with their related funding sources and utilize financial resources effectively and appropriately.
• Serve as the housing department’s ADA officer, receiving and reviewing reasonable accommodation and modification requests.

Supervision:

• Supervise associate manager and manager of case staff across Illumination Foundation housing operations.
• Coordinate the hiring process of new staff.
• Maintain and implement onboarding processes to equip new staff for their roles.
• Coordinate orientation and ongoing in-service education for staff to improve skills and client care.
• Ensure a positive work environment for case management teams built on trust, respect, and accountability.
• Oversee and facilitate both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the housing department functions, ensuring compliance with contractual tenets and Illumination Foundation guiding principles.
• Monitor inbound and outbound program referrals to ensure members are being linked properly in accordance with their needs.
• Oversee the integrity of housing department staff documentation, applying Illumination Foundation documentation standards when warranted.
• Oversee staff training and growth and administer new program-wide curricula when necessary.
• Screen candidates and hire supervisory staff to meet programmatic needs.
• Promote staff career development and career pathways through twice yearly performance reviews and personalized mentoring.
• Complete corrective actions in collaboration with the agency people and culture department when staff do not meet role expectations.

Client Care:

• Provide case consultation and emergency management for case oversight.
• Provide management support to assist case managers and clients in creating crisis management plans or plans to support client’s progress towards self-sufficiency.
• Oversee care coordination with program managers and leads for all programs to ensure client care, effective case planning, and positive outcomes in line with the organization's mission and contract outcomes.
• Ensure housing department staff use ethical, client-centered approaches when engaging members.
• View documentation through a programmatic lens and a client-centered one, intervening in cases that fail to uphold our standards of client care.

Collaboration:

• Coordinate with care team members on other teams including housing, substance use, operations, and medical to ensure continuity of client care and positive client outcomes.
• Engage in weekly 1:1 collaborative effort with housing department management staff and the Associate Director of Housing.
• Collaborate with client care team members belonging to other programs, to co-create and optimize the delivery of client care services.
• Collaborate with administrative staff belonging to contracting agencies and be a point of contact for field-based / client-facing inquiries, questions, and concerns of contractors.
• Receive, process, and reply to member grievances.
• Cultivate a collaborative, consensus-driven approach to program decision making and operations.
• Assist program managers with setting program expectations for frontline staff and work with managers to enforce expectations while ensuring frontline staff have the support and training they need to operate effectively.
• Train program managers on supervision-related best practices with a particular focus on ensuring compliance with labor law requirements.

Expectations:

• Possesses a full understanding of the needs of the low-income/homeless population.
• Passion and commitment to serving those experiencing homelessness.
• Effectively using interpersonal and communication skills including tact and diplomacy.
• Proven knowledge and skill in case planning and management.
• Ability to remain calm in crisis situations.
• Ability to implement tasks and see through completion.
• Strength in the areas of problem-solving, communication, and team building.
• Ability to work with a multidisciplinary team, clients, and the public.
• Ability to work independently, manage time effectively, prioritize, and exercise good judgment with minimal supervision.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills necessary to provide effective leadership for subordinate personnel and to develop and maintain a wide variety of internal and external working relationships.
• Excellent judgment and effective interaction in challenging situations.
• Expertly assess the strengths and needs of homeless clients.
• Demonstrates the ability to maintain an elevated level of confidentiality of client information and work-related information/materials.
• Uphold Illumination Foundation’s Guiding Principles of Integrity, Humility, Sustainable Compassion, Quest for Knowledge and Critical Thinking, Client-Centered Care, Innovation, Advocacy, and Stewardship and Compliance.

Preferred Experience/Minimum Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree in social services, healthcare, or related field; or equivalent combination of training and experience.
• Minimum 5 years of recent progressively responsible administrative management/supervisory experience.
• Homeless services, case management, mental health, permanent supportive housing experience.
• Current valid CA driver's license.
• Experience in non-profit housing and/or housing for people with disabilities and chronic health conditions.
• At least 5 years of experience in the Social Services field.

Preferred:

• Master's degree in social services or related field.
• Bilingual in English and Spanish.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams).
• Ability to use databases such as HMIS.

Benefits

• Medical Insurance funded up to 91% by Illumination Foundation (Kaiser and Blue Shield), depending on the plan.
• Dental and Vision Insurance.
• Life, AD&D, and LTD Insurance funded 100% by Illumination Foundation.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Professional Development Reimbursement.
• 401K with Company Matching.
• 15 days' vacation PTO/year.
• 6 days sick PTO/year.
• 10 days holiday PTO/year.
• Potential eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSFL) for federally qualified loans.