Shelter Manager

Position: Shelter Manager

Pay Rate: $54,000 - $61,000 $200 extra monthly in on-call pay (every 3rd week)

Reports to: Program Director

Hours: Full time, exempt. Some weekend, evening, and on-call hours required.

About us

At The Delores Project we provide safe, low-barrier shelter, housing, and personalized services for individuals experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. On site at Arroyo Village we operate a 24-7 housing-focused shelter for unaccompanied adult women and transgender individuals experiencing homelessness as well as a 35-unit supportive housing apartment community for people with a disability who have transitioned out of chronic homelessness. We also provide community-based continued care services for Delores community members who have transitioned from shelter into independent housing to help ensure their housing stability.

Together we work to ensure all individuals have the community of support and housing stability they need to reach their potential. We take pride in being a team that constantly strives to be the most inclusive and innovative service provider for those experiencing homelessness and poverty in the Denver-Metro area. We are client-centered and strengths-based in our approach and practice harm-reduction and trauma-informed models of care in all our programs. Our engagement with each other is rooted in our values of hospitality, respect, and dignity for each community member, whether they be staff, supportive housing resident, shelter guest, continued care client, or volunteer. We are always looking for people to join our team who are passionate about working with those we serve and who are curious, flexible, self-aware, like to have fun, and who are open to continuous learning and growth in their work.

About the program

At Delores Project our shelter is 24-7 and housing-focused. All guests are provided with an assigned bed, locked storage for their belongings, hygiene supplies, showers, laundry facilities, three meals and two snacks per day, housing-focused case management, and on-site behavioral healthcare. All guests are expected to participate in life skills programming and be actively working on a housing plan with their Rehousing Case Manager in order to remain part of the community.

About the job

The Shelter Manager (SM) oversees all day-to-day operations, programs, and services of our 50 bed shelter, ensuring that programs meet their identified outcomes and are in alignment with the mission, vision, and values of The Delores Project. This position is required to regularly evaluate program performance and reports, staff performance, and reports on program activities and outcomes to the broader organization and community. The SM provides direct supervision tohe Assistant Shelter Manager and Lead Shelter Assistant, and oversees a team of up to twenty five Shelter Assistants (full-time, part-time, and relief staff). The SM also works closely in collaboration with the Rehousing Program Manager.

What the Shelter Manager does

• In collaboration with the Program Director and Assistant Shelter Manager, design and manage programs and services along a low-barrier, strengths-based, trauma-informed, housing-focused continuum of shelter provision;

• Ensure effective, safe, and hygienic operations of the shelter;

• Oversee shelter policies and procedures and consistent implementation of them;

• Supervise a team of Shelter Assistant staff members, including hiring, training, coaching, performance managing, etc.;

• Collaborate with and effectively utilize volunteers where appropriate;

• Create and maintain monthly staff schedules that meet the needs of the shelter operations;

• Evaluate qualitative and quantitative shelter program results and prepare accurate and timely reports;

• Oversee the shelter team’s usage of HMIS, all data tracking across shelter programs, and ensure high data quality for all program data;

• Facilitate Guest Advisory Committee and ensure feedback and decisions are communicated to Program Director and other staff leadership while ensuring proper documentation from these meetings;

• Control shelter program and supply expenses in accordance with program budget;

• Ensure guest grievance, appeals, and restorative justice processes are performed in accordance with established model;

• Be on-call for shelter staff every three weeks;

• Be point person during crisis in shelter, supporting and providing for staff and guest needs;

• Regularly check in about and evaluate level of compassion fatigue of shelter staff, provide relief staffing, resources, and support as needed;

• Represent The Delores Project at various collaborative meetings with other service providers;

• Ensure there is shelter staff representation on Delores Project Committees;

• Work in collaboration with the Rehousing Manager and their team;

• Other duties as assigned by supervisor(s).

About you

• You want the opportunity to support and champion individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty in your community.

• You want a work environment that honors and celebrates the talents and life experiences of each team member.

• You desire a workplace culture that values belonging, transparency, and empathy.

• You want supervisors who support the personal and professional growth of all team members.

• You want to spend your time in a community of people who approach their work through a social-justice and anti-racist lens.

• You appreciate a workplace where there is always opportunity for ongoing learning and where there is room for professional growth and advancement for those who desire it.

• You want a work schedule that compliments your life and responsibilities outside of work and a work culture that supports harmony between your personal and professional life.

• You are highly self-aware and are comfortable and adept in a leadership role, embodying confidence and humility simultaneously. You understand the importance of good leadership and are looking for a place where you can continue to explore and grow in this area.

Qualifications that will help you be successful in this role

• Experience serving in a leadership role, including demonstrated skill in supervising and coaching others;

• A commitment to ethical, integral, positive, equitable, and open-minded leadership practices;

• Lived experience in communities of color, Indigenous and/or LBGTQIA identity, lived experience of poverty and/ or homelessness (work or volunteer experience with these populations may substitute);

• High emotional intelligence and maturity, including an ability to communicate openly and honestly;

• The ability to address conflict directly, with curiosity rather than judgment and to coach others to do the same;

• Experience managing small to midsize teams including interviewing, hiring, training, coaching, and developing staff;

• The desire to work as part of team and ability to motivate others to want the same;

• The desire to make decisions creatively and collaboratively and the ability to make executive decisions when in the best interest of the program or organization when necessary;

• Ability to deal with ambiguity, make hard or sometimes unpopular decisions when necessary;

• Able to kindly and candidly deliver constructive feedback and coaching to staff;

• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, organizational problem-solving skills, ability to exercise initiative in decision making, ability to work independently;

• Proficiency in program evaluation and knowledge of the HMIS and One Home databases;

• Experience working with people who have been victims of trauma, those with chronic mental health challenges and/ or substance use disorders;

• Understanding of client-centered, strengths-based, trauma informed, and housing first models of service and care;

• Prior training in conflict resolution, restorative practices, mental health first aid, traumatic brain injury, de-escalation, motivational interviewing, vicarious trauma, suicide prevention, harm reduction, crisis intervention, CPR, and/ or Narcan;

• An educational background in social work, social justice, counseling, gender or ethnic studies, human services, and/ or nonprofit management (customer service work with diverse communities may substitute);

• Ability to thrive in a dynamic and ever-changing work environment. Ability to switch priorities and gears as necessary;

• Ability to work with special populations including victims of trauma, those with chronic mental health challenges, and/ or substance use issues;

• Ability to suspend judgment of other people’s identities and life choices;

• Solid understanding of and commitment to professional boundaries and the ability to engage all individuals in a calm and consistent manner;

• Ability to speak another language, ideally Spanish or American Sign Language;

• Commitment to assuming the best intentions of others.

Working Conditions

This position works with and supports a residential environment to include walking, standing, sitting, lifting up to 30 pounds, carrying, pushing, pulling, bending, reaching, balancing, stooping, and kneeling. Work also includes manual dexterity for typing/ operating a computer, holding, grasping, and turning objects. Work also requires the ability to speak and use normal or aided vision or hearing. Hazards may involve exposure to common household chemicals, occasional loud noises, and exposure to illness or unsanitary hygiene.

Benefits

The Delores Project offers a generous benefits package which includes eleven paid holidays, PTO, medical/ dental/ vision/ life/ behavioral healthcare insurance, an optional flex-spending account, partial-paid parental leave, and an optional Simple IRA with a 3% employer match.

The Delores Project is an equal opportunity employer and dedicated to a policy of non-discrimination and equal opportunity for all employees and qualified applicants. People with disabilities, BIPOC individuals, Hispanic/ Latinx individuals, Indigenous people, and LGBTQIA candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

To apply, Please send a cover letter, resume, and answers to the questions listed below to by Monday, 2/28/2022 with “SM Application” in the subject line.

SM Application Questions

Please limit each answer to 300 words or less.

1. Why do you want to work at The Delores Project?

2. What is your definition of leadership? How have you embodied good leadership in a current or past role

3. What are your greatest values and how do you manifest these in your work?

4. When hiring a new staff member, what are you looking for?

5. How do you motivate and prevent burnout among those you supervise?

6. How do you approach staff who are struggling in their job performance?

7. How do you juggle the operational/ task-based responsibilities and the relational/ people-focused responsibilities of management?

8. What do good professional boundaries look like in a managerial role?

9. What do you do if you are given a directive from a supervisor that those you supervise disagree or struggle with?

10. How have you approached your work as a leader from an equity-based perspective?

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $54,000.00 - $61,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• On call
• Weekend availability

COVID-19 considerations:
All Delores Project staff are required to submit documentation of Covid-19 vaccination (including booster).

Work Location: One location