Deputy Director

Over 13,000 unaccompanied young people are surviving homelessness on their own in Washington state at disproportionately higher rates for Black, Indigenous, and other youth of color and young people identifying as LGBTQ+. Lack of housing stability, supportive connections and necessary services significantly impacts a young person’s transition to adulthood leaving their economic, social, civil, and political rights unrealized. But what can be done? Is it possible to not just prevent but ultimately end youth and young adult homelessness in Washington?

A Way Home Washington answers that question with an unequivocal “yes.”

Who We Are

A Way Home Washington (“AWHWA”) is a statewide movement to prevent and end youth and young adult homelessness prioritizing the existing disproportionality of homelessness rates among young people of color and LGBTQ+ youth. We partner with communities, agencies, young people, and leaders across Washington state to realign local and state youth serving systems to meet the needs of young people in ways that matter most to them and result in safe and stable housing. By engaging on a local level and creating a statewide network, we connect communities and provide opportunities to discuss common barriers and solutions for ending youth and young adult homelessness.

Throughout our history, we have focused on integrating evidence-based practices and applying Continuous Quality Improvement to test, learn from, and develop further innovative solutions. Ending youth homelessness won’t be achieved by maintaining the status quo; we think outside the box resulting in cutting-edge initiatives. We know that young people believe “nothing about us without us” and as a result, we have a duty to ensure that youth and young adults hold key roles in shaping and influencing effective systems change that leads to ending homelessness.

A Way Home Washington is a fiscally sponsored organization of TSNE (tsne.org).

What We Need

AWHWA is currently seeking a Deputy Director who will be responsible for overseeing and leading all internal operational programming at AWHWA. They will partner closely with the Executive Director to chart AWHWA’s future growth and strategic approach applying their subject matter expertise towards human resources, project management, and administration.

AWHWA is a small but growing organization transitioning out of their start-up phase. Now, positioned to strengthen its foundational practices and evolve its internal systems to a values-aligned, enlightened state, this position offers an exciting opportunity to play a leading role in maturing the foundation of a new organizational culture and corresponding operational systems.

Following the innovative approaches AWHWA applies to their community partners, the Deputy Director internally challenges the status quo asking, “how can we keep pushing the bar?” With administrative HR functions managed by AWHWA’s fiscal sponsor, the Deputy Director’s runway is clear for strategic leadership initiatives to build and grow people-centered internal programs.

Essential Functions

Responsibilities of the Deputy Director include:

• Provide strategic oversight to AWHWA’s internal operations including human resources, finance, administration, information technology, and organizational planning.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director, build and implement an internal organizational culture in alignment with AWHWA’s strategic goals and mission of ending youth and young adult homelessness in Washington.
• Partner with the Executive Director to recommend and develop strategies of enlightened people-centered operational systems.
• Develop and maintain expertise in non-profit operational and administrative best practices to make thoughtful and innovative recommendations for internal processes.
• Oversee AWHWA’s financial responsibilities including completion of monthly financial reports, expense reports, invoices, and vendor contracts. Provide direct supervision, coaching, and support to the Grants and Finance Manager.
• Provide compassionate, high-quality service to staff for sophisticated HR needs including conflict management, policy interpretation and performance management. Apply emotional intelligence to high-level HR situations balancing empathy and objectivity.
• Foster and contribute to a positive, respectful, trauma-informed, collaborative workplace culture that allows for building an integrated workplace community united in fulfilling AWHWA’s mission.
• Contribute to organizational development and betterment by leading and participating in collaborative engagements and unified organizational projects.
• Ability to work onsite at the AWHWA headquarters in Seattle 2-3 days per week.

Who You Are

We recognize that no one person will have every quality and attribute that defines success for this position. Examples of professional and personal abilities or experiences a successful incumbent has, or can demonstrate the ability to obtain, include:

• Belief that preventing and ending youth and young adult homelessness in Washington state is possible.
• Advanced knowledge of human resources and/or organizational development, preferably with demonstrated experience applying strategic leadership through either field in a nonprofit or progressive mission-driven context.
• Previous experience directly supervising others or applicable leadership experience demonstrating an ability to motivate and lead others well.
• Demonstrated understanding of how to design and lead an equity-based, institutional systems-change. Previous experience of leading impactful organization-wide change efforts preferred.
• Previous financial experience appreciated, but not required. Interest in learning and willingness to be coached into a financial sustainability strategist required.
• Stellar judgement, specifically owning your unknowns and determining how to obtain missing information or knowledge.
• Excellent communication skills, specifically the ability to understand the needs of your audience and adapt your communication style accordingly.
• Ability to exercise tact and diplomacy in organizational settings.
• Excellent critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
• Motivated by creativity and contributing forward-thinking, innovative strategies towards AWHWA’s mission.

In the spirit of “nothing about us without us,” we strongly encourage BIPOC, persons with disabilities, persons with lived homelessness experience, and LGBTQ+ individuals to apply. We are a non-discriminatory workplace and equal employment opportunity employer committed to building an organization reflective of the community it serves. We believe that everyone has their own superpower that brings niche expertise into their work. We value the unique lived experiences of every individual, and we hope you’ll share your superpower with us.

Physical Demands/Work Environment

The physical demands described here are representative of those for this position. Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions. Work is performed in an office environment and in close proximity to other workers.

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is required to:

• Handle, or feel objects, tools or controls;
• Reach; traverse; sit (usually for longer periods of time); occasionally ascend/descend; and position self (to) move;
• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds;
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate;
• Job is not subject to significant occupational or environmental hazards;
• Likelihood of personal injury would be relatively slight;
• Environmental and work hazards are not present to a measurable degree.

Compensation and Benefits

Location: Work will be primarily performed remote in Washington State or Seattle, WA. Work is eligible for some remote work.

Compensation:The starting salary range for this position is $110,210 - $141,110 annually, dependent on experience and internal equity within AWHWA. The full salary range possible within the role in the future is $110,210 - $172,010, dependent on experience and performance.

Benefits: This position is eligible for a full benefits package including:

• Generous Paid-Time-Off (PTO): twelve paid holidays, three weeks of vacation, one week of personal holiday, and ability to accrue up to 487.5 hours of health leave time for benefited staff;
• 80% Employer-paid, offering some $0 deductible Health Insurance through Harvard Pilgrim along with several low-deductible plans;
• Low-cost Guardian Dental and Vision;
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for Health and Dependent Care;
• Employer-paid Life, Long- and Short-Term Disability Insurance;
• Employer-paid Pension through TIAA;
• ...and more!

How To Apply

If this job sounds like a fit for you, please submit your application via the “Apply for this job online” button at the top of the TSNE page. A complete application includes a resume and cover letter. 

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and selected candidates will be contacted for interviews as applications are received and reviewed over the next few weeks. While we hope our open application process allows candidates ample time to prepare their application, we want to respectfully acknowledge that we will likely schedule fewer interviews with new applicants as we get further along in the interview process.

TSNE/AWHWA strives to achieve excellence through a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment that embraces all of our individual and collective differences. Black, Indigenous, People of Color, Middle Eastern and North African, Bilingual and/or Bicultural candidates, and LGBTQ2SIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. We value and honor the unique talents, learning styles, and lived experiences of each individual that enrich and strengthen our workplace culture, and we are proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer.

All employment conditions are based on an individual’s performance and job qualifications. TSNE/AWHWA prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, creed, color, religion, native language, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, physical or mental disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, parental status, pregnancy, race-based hairstyles, or any other protected characteristic stated by federal and state law. Regardless of any class’ protection under the law or lack thereof, TSNE/AWHWA celebrates diversity and values the strengths that come with having a diverse team of employees. It is represented in our workplace culture, and it is who we are.

TSNE/AWHWA's EEO statement extends to volunteers, interns, contractors, vendors, and clients.