Deputy Director

Description

Deputy Director
Carpenter’s Shelter

Status: Full-time, exempt employee
Salary: $115,000–$130,000
Reports to: Executive Director
Location: Alexandria, VA
Deadline: For best consideration, please apply by late January 2025.

About Carpenter’s Shelter
Carpenter’s Shelter believes housing is key to stability. We offer shelter and comprehensive services for children, women, and men experiencing homelessness, with the ultimate goal of transitioning those we serve to permanent, sustainable housing.

Since its inception in 1988, Carpenter’s Shelter has focused on the most under-resourced residents in Alexandria, Virginia. All those served are low-income; a majority face the challenges of job loss, reduced work hours, accumulated debt, domestic violence, lack of family support, mental illness, substance abuse, prior incarceration, or history of eviction. Every resident must cope with the increasing scarcity of affordable housing in Alexandria.

At Carpenter’s Shelter, we work toward racial equity in housing by sheltering, stabilizing, and transitioning residents into sustainable, independent lives and advocating in the community for more affordable housing.

Carpenter’s Shelter offers the broadest range of homeless services of any provider in the City of Alexandria, including but not limited to:

Emergency Residential Shelter: A 60-bed facility, redeveloped in 2020 through an innovative partnership with the Alexandria Housing Development Corporation (AHDC), provides safe, temporary shelter and comprehensive, goal-oriented case management to assist residents in transitioning to sustainable permanent housing.

Rapid Re-Housing (RRH): Carpenter’s Shelter is the sole provider of Rapid Re-Housing
services in Alexandria, providing rental subsidies and a continuum of services for families and individuals experiencing homelessness.

Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH): Carpenter’s Shelter provides housing and support for individuals who have been chronically homeless and have long-term barriers to achieving independent, stable housing.

Carpenter’s Shelter serves more than 600 individuals annually. In 2021, this included 139 children in 95 families and 138 individuals who transitioned to permanent housing. For clients who received short-term rental assistance and ongoing support for one year, 93% remained in permanent housing during their first vulnerable year in the community.

Position Overview
Carpenter’s Shelter seeks a progressive leader to build on nearly 35 years of direct service to local communities. The Deputy Director will report to and partner with the Executive Director to develop strategic plans, deliver high-quality programming, and ensure operational excellence.

The Deputy Director will be systems-oriented and able to improve organizational efficiency. They will work in partnership with the program team to develop strategies that respond to the needs and demands of clients and personnel.

The Deputy Director will bring experience leading, coaching, and mentoring teams. Their direct reports include a Director of Programs, Operations Manager, Facilities Coordinator, and a contracted Finance team. The Deputy Director, or members of their team, liaise with the Board of Directors’ committees, including Operations, Finance, Audit, Programs, and Innovation.

Job Duties

Specific areas of responsibilities include:

Organizational Leadership
– In partnership with the Executive Director, enhance, develop, and implement the organizational vision established in Carpenter’s Shelter’s Strategic Plan
– Demonstrate consistent quality of finance, administration, and communications
– Recommend timelines and resources needed to achieve organizational goals
– Develop policies and procedures related to programs, operations, and facilities
– Ensure organizational compliance with local, state, and federal regulations
– Develop strategies with senior management team to address challenges and opportunities
– Encourage cross-functional knowledge sharing and support between the Program’s team and – Development team

People Management
– Attract, develop, and retain high-performance team members, and coach them through opportunities for growth
– Provide leadership and cohesiveness with internal communication
– Support staff during organizational growth
– Work with staff to develop systems to ensure consistent high-quality project management
– Oversee program budget and advise on allocations and expenditures

Knowledge Management
– Develop systems, policies, and procedures to build organizational efficiency
– Ensure that key project outcomes are evaluated and leveraged for maximum community and organizational impact
– Develop dashboard to monitor and assess organizational key performance indicators (KPIs)
– Monitor and make data-driven decisions based on KPIs

Skills Required

Experience, Skills, and Qualities
This position is a challenging and rewarding opportunity that requires a diverse set of skills and experiences. While we understand that no single candidate can possess every skill, listed below are highly preferred qualities and experience:

– Demonstrated passion for Carpenter’s Shelter’s mission and commitment to working collaboratively with a management team of senior professionals
– 7+ years of nonprofit experience and a record of supervising staff
– Business acumen and financial management skills to develop and operationalize strategies to take the organization to the next stage of growth
– Understanding of nonprofit finance and budget oversight experience
– Record of grounding client needs and developing intentional trauma-informed strategies
– Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to defend and debate ideas collaboratively
– Compassionate leadership; able to work effectively with diverse groups of people
– Commitment to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace
– Knowledge of affordable housing trends and finance models preferred but not required

Work Schedule

Location
Carpenter’s Shelter is based in Alexandria, Virginia. The Deputy Director will work on-site with the potential for remote work up to one day per week. The Deputy Director may be asked to handle emergencies outside of regular business hours. The shelter is operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Additional Info

Compensation & Benefits
The salary for this role has been budgeted between $115,000–$130,000. Carpenter’s Shelter offers health, vision, and dental insurance, long-term disability and life insurance, flexible scheduling, paid time off, holidays, and a 403(b) retirement plan.

Application Process
Good Insight, a national nonprofit executive search firm headquartered in Washington, DC, is assisting with this search. Interested applicants should upload a resume and a detailed cover letter in PDF format to good-insight.org/careers. Confidential inquiries about the role may be directed to CarpentersShelter@good-insight.org. For best consideration, submit a resume and a cover letter by late January 2025. Qualified applicants will be contacted on a rolling basis. Early applications are encouraged due to the pace of the search.

Equal Employment Opportunity
Carpenter’s Shelter is an equal-opportunity employer. Carpenter’s Shelter is committed to providing a work environment that is free of discrimination and unlawful harassment, with policies in place to protect our employees and the community we serve.