Job Description

Title: Director of Emergency Shelter Services

Reports to: Director of Programs

Employment Status: Full-Time

FLSA Status: Exempt

Schedule: Primarily business hours with regular site presence across shifts and availability for urgent shelter operational needs

Salary Range: 100,000-120,000

POSITION SUM$MARY

The Director of Shelter Services provides strategic, operational, and programmatic leadership for Interfaith Works' emergency shelter programs. The Director is responsible for ensuring that shelter operations are safe, consistent, person-centered, fiscally responsible, contractually compliant, and aligned with Interfaith Works' mission, values, policies, and standards of care.

The Director of Shelter Services directly supervises shelter Program Directors and establishes clear standards of accountability across shelter programs. Working closely with Program Directors and other program leadership, the Director ensures effective coordination among Program Support Managers, Shift Supervisors, Peer Support Specialists, Case Management Supervisors, Case Managers, Volunteer Coordinators, and other staff supporting shelter operations.

The Director is responsible for translating organizational strategy into consistent shelter practice. This includes monitoring program performance, staffing and scheduling, guest services, incident response, facility and operational needs, budget performance, contract requirements, data and outcomes, workforce development, and continuous quality improvement.

The Director maintains a visible presence across shelter locations and regularly engages staff and guests on all shifts to understand program conditions, identify barriers, reinforce expectations, and support strong shelter leadership.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership and Program Oversight

1. Provide overall leadership, direction, and accountability for all Interfaith Works emergency shelter programs.
2. Directly supervise shelter Program Directors and establish clear expectations related to program quality, staff performance, fiscal stewardship, compliance, and guest services.
3. Conduct regular individual supervision and leadership meetings with Program Directors to review operational performance, staffing, budget status, incidents, program outcomes, risks, and corrective actions.
4. Ensure Program Directors are effectively supervising and developing their respective management teams and holding staff accountable for established performance expectations.
5. Establish consistent operational standards across shelter programs while recognizing program-specific contractual and population needs.
6. Maintain regular on-site visibility across shelters, including periodic visits during evenings, overnight hours, weekends, and other nontraditional times as appropriate.
7. Identify emerging operational or programmatic concerns and intervene early before issues become significant organizational, contractual, financial, or safety risks.

Shelter Operations

1. Ensure shelters operate safely, efficiently, consistently, and in accordance with established policies, procedures, contracts, and regulatory requirements.
2. Monitor shelter staffing plans, vacancies, scheduling patterns, overtime, call-outs, coverage, and use of temporary or contract staffing.
3. Work with Program Directors to maintain staffing models that appropriately balance guest needs, safety, contractual requirements, workforce capacity, and financial sustainability.
4. Ensure clear delineation of responsibilities and effective coordination among Program Directors, Program Support Managers, Shift Supervisors, Peer Support Specialists, Case Managers, Case Management Supervisors, Volunteer Coordinators, security personnel, and other shelter-based staff.
5. Monitor facility and operational conditions and ensure concerns related to cleanliness, maintenance, food service, safety, equipment, supplies, transportation, and other essential functions are appropriately escalated and resolved.
6. Ensure each shelter maintains effective processes for shift transitions, documentation, communication, incident reporting, medication-related procedures where applicable, guest concerns, and emergency response.
7. Partner with Finance, Human Resources, Facilities/Operations, Development, Faith and Community Partnerships, and other departments to resolve issues affecting shelter operations.

Program Quality and Guest Services

1. Establish and monitor standards for respectful, trauma-informed, person-centered shelter services that preserve the dignity of every guest.
2. Ensure shelter programs appropriately incorporate Trauma-Informed Care, Harm Reduction, Motivational Interviewing, Housing First principles, and other relevant evidence-informed practices.
3. Monitor guest experience, grievances, complaints, critical incidents, and service barriers and ensure timely and appropriate resolution.
4. Conduct periodic listening sessions and other opportunities to hear directly from shelter guests regarding program strengths, concerns, and opportunities for improvement.
5. Review significant or recurring guest concerns that have not been resolved at the Program Director level and determine appropriate next steps.
6. Promote a shelter environment that balances compassion, guest autonomy, clear expectations, accountability, safety, and equitable treatment.

Performance Management and Continuous Quality Improvement

1. Establish measurable operational and programmatic performance expectations for each shelter.
2. Review quantitative and qualitative data to assess shelter performance, including utilization, staffing, overtime, incidents, grievances, exits, housing outcomes, service engagement, budget performance, and other key indicators.
3. Develop corrective action plans when programs do not meet established performance, contractual, financial, or quality expectations.
4. Monitor implementation of corrective actions and hold appropriate leaders accountable for sustained improvement.
5. Identify patterns across shelter programs and develop system-wide solutions, procedures, training, or operational changes when appropriate.
6. Support the development, implementation, and ongoing review of shelter standard operating procedures, policies, tools, and workflows.

Contract and Regulatory Compliance

1. Ensure shelter programs comply with applicable Interfaith Works policies, Montgomery County requirements, contracts, licensing or regulatory requirements, grant conditions, and relevant federal, state, and local standards.
2. Maintain working knowledge of contractual scopes of work, required staffing levels, deliverables, performance measures, reporting requirements, and allowable expenditures for shelter programs.
3. Work closely with Program Directors and appropriate administrative staff to prepare for monitoring visits, audits, contract reviews, and other funder or regulatory oversight.
4. Ensure identified compliance concerns are corrected promptly and documented appropriately.
5. Review required program reports for accuracy, completeness, consistency, and alignment with contractual requirements prior to submission when appropriate.

Financial and Resource Management

1. Work collaboratively with Finance and Program Directors to develop, manage, and monitor shelter operating budgets.
2. Review shelter financial performance regularly, including actual expenditures compared with budget, payroll, overtime, contracted services, supplies, transportation, food, client assistance, and other major cost drivers.
3. Ensure Program Directors understand their budgets and are actively accountable for managing expenditures within approved allocations.
4. Identify financial risks early and develop corrective strategies in partnership with Finance and senior leadership.
5. Support responsible stewardship of restricted and unrestricted organizational resources and identify opportunities to improve operational efficiency without compromising essential guest services.
6. Participate in budget development, contract renewals, grant applications, RFP responses, and other funding activities related to shelter services.

Workforce Development and Culture

1. Partner with Human Resources and Program Directors to recruit, onboard, train, develop, retain, and appropriately manage shelter staff.
2. Establish clear performance expectations for shelter leadership and reinforce a culture of accountability, professionalism, collaboration, responsiveness, and respect.
3. Identify training needs across shelter programs and ensure staff receive appropriate training in areas including trauma-informed care, crisis response, de-escalation, documentation, boundaries, safety, customer service, cultural responsiveness, and other required competencies.
4. Support Program Directors in addressing performance concerns promptly and appropriately in partnership with Human Resources.
5. Develop leadership capacity within shelter programs and support succession planning for critical roles.
6. Foster communication across shelter programs so that effective practices, resources, and lessons learned are shared across the organization.

Incident Management and Risk

1. Ensure significant incidents are appropriately reported, reviewed, investigated, escalated, and addressed in accordance with organizational and contractual requirements.
2. Partner with Program Directors and senior leadership to identify operational, clinical, safety, personnel, reputational, and compliance risks affecting shelter programs.
3. Participate in organizational response to critical incidents and ensure appropriate follow-up, documentation, communication, and corrective action.
4. Identify recurring incident trends and implement preventive measures, training, procedural changes, or other interventions.

Community and Organizational Leadership

1. Represent Interfaith Works shelter programs professionally with Montgomery County, the Continuum of Care, community partners, funders, elected officials, faith communities, volunteers, donors, and other stakeholders as assigned.
2. Participate in relevant Continuum of Care, Interagency Commission on Homelessness, committee, workgroup, and community meetings.
3. Attend Senior Leadership Team, organizational leadership, and other internal meetings as required.
4. Collaborate with Development and Communications staff on shelter tours, donor engagement, volunteer initiatives, grant development, community education, and storytelling while protecting guest confidentiality and dignity.
5. Keep the Director of Programs and CEO informed regarding significant programmatic, financial, staffing, contractual, safety, or reputational issues affecting shelter services.
6. Provide clear recommendations to senior leadership regarding shelter operations, staffing, resources, policies, partnerships, and opportunities for improvement.
7. Perform other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Director of Shelter Services directly supervises the Program Directors responsible for Interfaith Works emergency shelter programs.

The Director is accountable for ensuring that Program Directors maintain effective supervision and management structures within their respective programs and that roles, responsibilities, decision-making authority, and escalation protocols are clearly understood throughout the shelter workforce.

QUALIFICATIONS

1. Master's degree in Social Work, Counseling, Human Services, Public Administration, Nonprofit Management, or a related field preferred. A combination of relevant education and significant leadership experience may be considered.
2. At least seven years of progressively responsible experience in homeless services, behavioral health, human services, residential services, emergency shelter, or a related field.
3. At least five years of supervisory or program management experience, including responsibility for managers or multidisciplinary teams.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. While performing the duties of this position, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; and reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus. The noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate.

BENEFITS

Interfaith Works offers a comprehensive benefits package for its employees. Employees receive 14 paid holidays and 21 days of PTO. Benefits for full-time employees, those who work 30 hours per week or more, include access to subsidized medical, dental, and vision costs for employees and their families; employer paid long-term disability insurance as well as life and AD&D insurance. Employees have the option to purchase supplemental benefits that are fully portable, including short-term disability insurance, critical illness insurance, and more. All employees regardless of full or part time status have access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at no cost to them.

NOTE

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee(s) incumbent in this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by any person authorized to give instructions or assignments. All duties and responsibilities are essential functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities. To perform this