Anchor Community Initiative (ACI) 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.

The heartbeat of our mission is the Anchor Community Initiative (ACI). The ACI is an innovative, data-driven, and equity-focused campaign to house youth and young adults who are experiencing unaccompanied homelessness. With local leaders on the ground, AWHWA brings all parts of each community to the table and supports their efforts to functionally end and prevent homelessness. The ACI serves as proof of concept, using data to inform strategies, performance, and modifications to the ACI approach.

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 an ACI Director, to provide strategic oversight to the ACI Program and lead the ACI Team’s efforts in centering youth leadership and using data to continuously improve systems to reduce and end youth and young adult homelessness.

The ACI Director is a strategic thinker and transcendent leader. As a member of the organizational leadership team, the ACI Director plays a collaborative role in building unity and culture at AWHWA. They lead their team not just by the vision of the ACI Program, but with an understanding that success of the ACI is reliant on strong partnerships and integrated strategies of all AWHWA programs.

Responsibilities of the ACI Director include:

• Sitting on the AWHWA leadership team, collaborate with other Directors and Executive Director on developing organizational strategy and building of an inclusive, equity-centered culture;
• Work with Executive Director, other program area leadership, and ACI team to develop, iterate, and implement the ACI strategy and model, including the strategies for youth engagement coaching and ending disproportionality for LGBTQ+ youth and youth of color;
• Identify key tools, resources, trainings, and shared learning opportunities that are needed to build a high-caliber community of practice for Anchor Communities;
• Provide leadership and direction to ACI Team to ensure that all developed program operations are informed by YYA impacted by or with lived experience of homelessness;
• Collaborate closely with the Data & Evaluation, Strategic Communications, Training & Engagement, and AWHWA Advocacy programs to ensure program strategies align with overall AWHWA goals of supporting communities to make progress towards ending YYA homelessness through a justice-driven lens;
• Leverage the ACI’s relationship with the community to welcome and expand direct community connections with other AWHWA teams cultivating shared and aligned goals among all departmental efforts of supporting communities working to reach functional zero;
• Partner with the Data & Evaluation team to ensure that communities have access to the data tools, visualizations, and data coaching they need to make progress towards their goals;
• Collaborate with the Executive Director and key advocacy partners to elevate and clear state level barriers to Anchor Community progress towards milestones and advance effective, targeted solutions for increased support. Serve as a key point of contact for coordination between ACI and key state initiatives and partnerships;
• Recruit, hire, onboard, and train ACI Team members. Provide direct and indirect supervision to ACI Team emphasizing mission-alignment, professional development and growth;
• Manage program budget to meet ACI program needs and ensure alignment with AWHWA goals. Monitor and approve all budgeted project expenditures and report variance to Executive Director and senior staff regularly;
• Engage the community representing AWHWA as a vocal spokesperson for the work ACI is doing. Participate in public presentations and fund development for the ACI and AWHWA;
• 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 travel to visit and support Anchor Communities in-person.

Who You Are

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

• Belief that preventing and ending YYA homelessness in Washington state is possible.
• Demonstrated strategic-level program management experience. Program management experience within homelessness and/or youth-serving systems preferred, but not required.
• Willingness to learn and apply Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) methods to strategic planning efforts aimed to end YYA homelessness required. Existing understanding, knowledge of, and/or demonstrated experience with CQI methods, specifically how data and measurement can be used to drive improvements toward established goals, preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading strategic-level programs with equity-focus. Ability to maintain fidelity to equitable approaches at all times, particularly when external partners don’t share our commitment to centering equity.
• Willingness to learn and become a subject matter expert on issues pertaining to YYA homelessness. Existing knowledge of related issues preferred, but not required.
• Ability to build strong, trusting partnerships with YYA most impacted by AWHWA’s work and effectively coach the ACI Team to do the same.
• Exceptional people management and development skills, specifically encouraging out-of-the-box thinking and cross-departmental collaboration from the supervised team. Previous supervisory experience required.
• Ability to make decisions assertively and confidently, specifically the ability to lead an initiative by corralling intersectional thoughts from partners and stakeholders and making the right decision for the community.
• Stellar judgement, specifically owning your unknowns and determining how to obtain missing information or knowledge.
• Emotional intelligence and trauma-informed sensibilities pertaining to professional interactions in a work environment shared by those with lived experience.
• Excellent communication skills, specifically the ability to understand the needs of your audience and adapt your communication style accordingly.
• Strong critical thinking 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 remote work.

Compensation:The starting salary range for this position is $97,850 - $123,600 annually, dependent on experience and internal equity within AWHWA. The full salary range possible within the role in the future is $97,850 - $149,350, dependent on experience and performance.

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

• Generous Paid-Time-Off (PTO): 12 paid holidays, 3 weeks vacation, 1 week personal holiday, and health leave time for full-time 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.