Program Director

Project Renewal is a leading non-profit organization with the mission of ending the cycle of homelessness by empowering individuals and families to renew their lives with health, homes, and jobs. Our comprehensive and integrated 24/7 programs are designed to offer the holistic care our clients need. With a staff of 950+ and an annual budget of $140 million, Project Renewal is one of the larger social service nonprofits in New York City.

Title:                  Program Director

Program:          Compass House Women’s Shelter (Employment)

Salary Range: $88,000-$92,000 annually

Program Description:

The Compass House Women’s Shelter is a 90-bed, 24/7 emergency shelter for general population homeless women that are employable or are already employed. Our comprehensive services include case management, occupational therapy, workforce development services, and housing placement assistance.

Overall Responsibilities:

Under the general direction of the Vice President of Programs, with latitude for independent action and decision making, the Program Director for Compass House Women’s Shelter is responsible for the overall management of the site, providing leadership, direction, guidance, coaching and direct and indirect supervision to the staff to enable them to implement the policies and program initiatives to effectuate the proper delivery of services to the targeted client population; performs related work.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

The essential duties of the Program Director include but are not limited to the following activities:

• Overall responsibility for the management of the facility, as well as program development and implementation to ensure the objectives of the programs are being achieved; that clients are being referred to programs and are addressing the goals in their Independent Living Plan; initiates corrective action as appropriate.
• In conjunction with the Assistant Director, has overall responsibility for the day-to-day operation of the facility with respect to workload allocation and staff productivity; ensuring the shifts are adequately staffed; that basic services are provided to clients; and the interior and exterior of the facility are clean and conform to established standards.
• In collaboration with the Director of Social Services, determines policy for social services programming. Ensures that the Director of Social Services and staff provide quality care to the clients and ensures comprehensive as well as individualized plans for clients. The Program Director participates in the weekly Partners for Permanency and Case Conference meetings.
• Manages the personnel allocation for the shelter, including hiring staff, monitoring performance, and initiating disciplinary action, including termination, where appropriate. Also, ensures staff development and training on an individual and group basis.
• Ensures that staff is adhering to agency guidelines regarding any procurement of goods and services and that documentation is provided to the Facilities, Operations, and Finance Departments to facilitate timely payment to vendors.
• Handles community relations activities which include maintaining a positive relationship with the neighboring community and overseeing the creation of partnerships with community-based service providers.
• Regularly meets with direct reports on an individual and group basis to clarify roles and approaches to delivering services to the clients, making corrective recommendations as appropriate.
• Ensures that the facility follows all state and local regulations and reporting requirements, especially Health and Safety requirements, and that staff has required certifications and training to comply with the requirements of the oversight agencies.
• Ensures that all information on Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is prominently displayed and observed by all staff
• Interfaces with other city/state agencies as needed to better serve the clients, insuring the timely completion of weekly, monthly or annual reports.
• Ensures timely submission of supporting documents to respond to federal, state and city audits as well as any legal claims or lawsuits filed by clients and staff.
• Available to respond to emergencies on a 24/7/365 basis, especially after normal work hours, weekends, and holidays

Physical Activities:

While performing the duties of this position, the Program Director must be able to navigate the 6-story facility by foot, climbing up and down the stairwells, in order to observe staff and see clients. Furthermore, the Program Director must stand to talk to clients and staff, sit for extended periods of time at the computer, reach or squat to get records from files. The Program Director must be able to lift or move material and equipment weighing up to 15 pounds.

Education and Experience Requirements

• A Master’s degree in social work, public administration, psychology, education, sociology, occupational or physical therapy, or other related human services fields with a minimum of two (2) years of progressively responsible experience working with and managing a residential building providing services to homeless individuals. One (1) year of the required experience must have been in a managerial or supervisory capacity.
• A Bachelor’s degree in the aforementioned fields with three (3) years of experience and two (2) years having been in a managerial or supervisory capacity.
• An Associate’s degree in the aforementioned fields with four (4) years of experience and three (3) years having been in a managerial or supervisory capacity.
• A High School Diploma or GED equivalent with five (5) years of experience and four (4) years having been in a managerial or supervisory capacity.
• Bilingual or multilingual a plus

Preferred Skills:

• Leadership: Demonstrated ability to manage and motivate staff to accomplish stated program goals and objectives while developing their individual and group skills.
• Team building: Ability to develop and foster, through demonstration, team spirit, enabling staff to overcome the challenges of providing needed services to the client population.
• Communication: Excellent oral, writing, and listening skills are a must.
• Organizational: The ability to work well within a highly pressurized, deadline environment, while meeting the short- and long-term mandates of the program. Must collaborate with our Performance Evaluation and Quality Assurance Department (PEQA) and develop/ exhibit the ability to independently evaluate and manage program performance using data.
• Interpersonal: An ability to interface with clients as well as all levels of staff.
• Computer: Knowledge of case management software as well as proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite

Project Renewal is an equal opportunity employer.  Its long-standing policy has been to embrace the equality of opportunity for all employees and applicants without regard to actual or perceived race, color, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, religion or creed, gender (see separately issued Gender Discrimination policy for more detail), physical or mental disability, age (18 and over), military status, arrest record, marital status, domestic partnership status, genetic information or predisposing genetic characteristic, sexual orientation, status as a victim or witness of domestic violence, sex offenses or stalking, unemployment status or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state and local laws.