Director of Program Services

Organization Overview:

The mission of HomeFront is to end homelessness in Central New Jersey by harnessing the caring resources and expertise of the community. We lessen the immediate pain of homelessness and help families become self-sufficient. We give people skills and opportunities to ensure adequate incomes and to increase the availability of adequate affordable housing. We help homeless families advocate for themselves individually and collectively.

At HomeFront, our work is organized around five core beliefs:

We believe that families deserve safe, secure Housing. On any given night, HomeFront provides a roof over the head of approximately 450 individuals, the vast majority of those children. HomeFront’s housing work spans a broad continuum: emergency shelter at our Family Campus, scattered site transitional living, over 140 units of permanent affordable supportive housing, and a robust set of homelessness prevention programs that distribute nearly a million dollars a year in rental assistance for families facing eviction or homelessness.

We believe that with the Right Tools, all families can succeed. For families to become—and, more importantly, remain—stable, they need the tools, skills and opportunities to keep them on track and build self-sufficiency. Life skills are interwoven throughout all that we do, but we also offer formal programming through our Hire Expectations program: educational support for adults to study for and acquire their high school equivalency; career coaching, job skills training, and workforce development to obtain and keep a job that pays a living wage.

We believe that families need Basic Necessities to live a life with dignity. Faced with limited resources and focusing on surviving, the families we serve often do not have the means to acquire basic necessities. We provide those resources to thousands of households a year through our Resource Network. Each year, the Resource Network distributes thousands of grocery bags from three food pantries, furnishes hundreds of apartments through our Furnish the Future program, hosts over a thousand families to “shop” for clothing, shoes, housewares, and linens at no cost at our FreeStore, provides over one million diapers and wipes from our Diaper Resource Center, serves thousands of children in our Back to School, Thanksgiving, and Holiday Wishes drives, and much more.

We believe that Children nurtured by love and support will grow on a path to realizing life’s possibilities. We embrace a two-generation approach to services, recognizing that support for both parents and children are necessary for long-term family self-sufficiency. HomeFront was founded to tackle the challenges facing hungry children experiencing homelessness and children have remained at the heart of our work ever since. From intensive services at our emergency shelter to an award-winning preschool to year-round enrichment programming and more, we wrap these children in the support they need now, provide hope for a better tomorrow and open their worlds to the possibilities that await them.

We believe that Personal Wellness – whether physical, mental, or emotional – is critical to ensuring thriving families. We implement targeted initiatives to increase accessibility to health and healing services, both physical and mental, to enhance the well-being of families and children.

Job Summary/Objective

HomeFront is seeking a Director of the HomeFront Family Campus (HFC) Community to provide oversight of programming at HomeFront’s Family Campus. HomeFront’s Family Campus is our innovative model designed to be a haven of healing and hope. The HFC offers a wide array of services for families experiencing homelessness and the effects of poverty including the on-site childcare, career support, vocational opportunities and job training, educational support for adults and children, physical and mental health and wellness partners, therapeutic art programming, specialized support for children, and the Family Preservation Center (FPC), providing emergency housing for families experiencing homelessness. The HFC is designed to offer these solutions to the barriers facing HomeFront families, lessen the immediate pain of homelessness, and help break the cycle of poverty.

The Director of the HFC Community embodies HomeFront’s mission and ensures families are provided services in a trusting and thriving environment while they strengthen life skills for a sustainable future. The Director shall provide leadership to HomeFront staff based at the HFC. The Director will develop and support a welcoming, thriving and supportive environment for FPC guests and HomeFront program participants across the community and collaborate with HomeFront leadership and community partners to provide a community space for events and activities geared toward education and support for families in need. They will also provide direct support and leadership for the programs operating within the “Right Tools” and “Personal Wellness” departments, which are based primarily at the HFC.

Essential Job Functions/Responsibilities

The Director of the HFC Community provides oversight of Campus programming, including but not limited to: providing leadership and management to a team of managers including the Director of Hire Expectations, Director of Health Access & Education, Director of Behavioral Health Access & Education, and 2 other support staff at the HFC; creating and maintaining an environment of dignity and respect for all participants and guests, staff and volunteers; and promoting innovative and enriching programming for families experiencing housing crisis or living in poverty in Mercer County through direct service and community partnerships.

• Provide leadership to 3 Program Directors and 2 support staff, coaching each team member to reach their individual potential, while demonstrating commitment to the delivery of high-quality programming around HomeFront’s core beliefs
• Ensure programs are high-quality, trauma-informed, coordinated, and responsive to the needs of HomeFront families, including elements of choice and empowerment wherever possible
• Develop and maintain strong partnerships with key stakeholders, including government agencies at all levels, community social service providers, businesses and local employers, funders, and volunteers
• Collaborate with program teams and other key HomeFront staff to enhance creativity in service delivery and participant engagement and ensure access to all programming, including coordinating transportation and reducing barriers to services
• Collaborate with Director of Innovation & Evaluation and HomeFront leadership to make data driven decisions and ensure ongoing quality improvement to programming
• Solicit and integrate participant and staff feedback to develop new programs and program enhancements to meet identified needs
• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with HomeFront program managers to ensure a holistic delivery of services to meet all participants’ needs
• Collaborate with the Community Engagement department to engage volunteers and sponsors for activities at the HFC
• Monitor established key performance indicators and complete program internal and external reports on deadline
• Ensure and protect agency, employee and participant confidentiality and enforce program guidelines and safety regulations and other duties as assigned.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Social Work or related field
• Minimum of 5 years of management experience
• Proven ability to implement process improvement initiatives and develop new programming
• Demonstrated experience in change management
• Valid driver’s license

Preferred Education and Experience

• Masters Degree in Social Work or related field, or equivalent experience
• Knowledge of state, Trenton and Mercer County social services landscape, surrounding county businesses, organizations and demographics
• Experience in the non-profit sector including working with executive teams and volunteers
• Demonstrated experience in WorkFirst NJ programming and/or career counseling and adult education programming
• Knowledge of navigating healthcare and mental health systems for Medicaid recipients and uninsured

Physical Demands

• Must be able to lift up to 25 lbs
• Must be able to walk, stand and sit for long periods of time
• Must be able to walk up and down several flights of steps
• Exposure to the outdoors and inclement weather is possible

Schedule

This is primarily a day time role, but flexible scheduling may be required based on activities and coverage needs of the Family Campus, including evenings and weekends

Travel

Some local travel may include accompanying or driving clients to events

Other Duties

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required. Duties, responsibilities and activities may be added or changed as needed.

HomeFront, Inc is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome employees and prospective employees without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, marital status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or veteran status.