Manager, Program Operations

District Alliance for Safe Housing

Status: Full-time, exempt employee 

Salary: $80,000 - $85,000

Reports to: Chief Program Officer

Location: Hybrid (in-person and remote), Washington, DC

About the District Alliance for Safe Housing 

Founded in 2006, the District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH) is DC’s largest provider of safe housing and trauma-informed services for survivors experiencing homelessness due to domestic and sexual violence. DASH meets survivors where they are, eliminating barriers to safe housing so that they can rebuild their lives on their own terms. 

DASH supports survivors—individuals, families, and transitioning youth aged 18-24—with housing; flexible financial assistance; and holistic services. DASH provides a continuum of emergency-to-transitional and transitional-to-permanent safe housing programs, including the 42-unit Cornerstone building, owned and operated by DASH.

DASH’s key programs include: Cornerstone, Empowerment Project, Right to Dream, Survivor Resilience Fund, and Safe Nights Fund.

DASH holds Candid’s Gold Seal of Transparency and has been recognized by the Catalogue for Philanthropy as one of the DC region's best nonprofits. To learn more, visit www.dashdc.org. 

Position Overview

The Manager, Program Operations supports the Chief Program Officer (CPO) by ensuring effective project management, compliance tracking, and operational efficiency across DASH’s programs portfolio. This critical role will serve as a key liaison between the CPO and program teams, providing strategic support and oversight to ensure that programmatic goals are met on time and within scope. The Manager, Program Operations also works with program leadership to help ensure budget compliance, adherence to grant agreements and organizational policies and procedures, and proper data capture and reporting. 

Specific areas of responsibility include:

Program Operations and Administration (35%)

• Assist the CPO with administrative requests to keep the Programs department organized and running smoothly day-to-day.
• Provide executive-level support to the CPO, including calendar management, meeting coordination, and communication facilitation.
• Coordinate and help to facilitate meetings, including preparing agendas, taking minutes, and coordinating follow-up on action items.
• Compile and analyze program data and information to prepare comprehensive reports for the CPO and Executive team, providing insights and recommendations to inform decision-making.
• Manage departmental compliance activities, such as quarterly audits of Programs files and records to ensure that all required documents are collected and filed appropriately. 

Program and Project Management (50%)

• Support the development and maintenance of workplans and timelines to ensure program delivery and data reporting across the entire Programs portfolio. 
• Develop and implement systems to monitor day-to-day program activities. This includes systems that:
• Monitor and improve program processes that facilitate client entries and exits throughout the year in all DASH housing programs.
• Facilitate coordination between DASH program staff, external landlords, survivors, and DASH's finance team to ensure a smooth process for clients entering DASH's scattered-site housing programs and clients exiting DASH's housing programs after the program time.
• Monitor day-to-day financial assistance requests from programs, ensuring timely completion, maintaining financial safeguards, and adherence to internal controls.
• With the Executive team and program leadership, manage the programs budget and ensure program expenses fall within their approved budget and grant awards.
• Support the CPO to track, investigate, and resolve escalations, including survivor complaints, difficulties with program partners, and program non-compliance.
• Support the creation of policies, procedures, guidelines, and FAQ documents to assist program operations and service delivery.
• Help identify and address gaps in knowledge, skills, and resources to strengthen service delivery. 
• Ensure staff consistently apply the DASH model, policies, and procedures for effective service delivery.
• Contribute to programmatic reports; and help with accurate and timely dissemination of information to internal and external stakeholders. Collaborate with program staff to analyze and present data.
• Understand grant requirements and ensure program and service delivery balance grant requirements and DASH’s trauma-based, survivor-informed values. 
• Ensure program and service compliance with confidentiality and victim services laws and regulations at the federal, state, and local level.
• Work in partnership with departmental leadership and staff to support detailed recordkeeping and ensure the accuracy of files, fostering an organized and transparent system that facilitates efficient retrieval and utilization of essential information.
• Help with audit readiness of program budgets across the entire programmatic portfolio. 

Leadership and Team Management (15%)

• Support the CPO’s oversight of the programs department. Work in partnership with the CPO to develop, coach, and retain high-performance team members, empowering them to elevate their level of responsibility, span of control, and performance. 
• Support CPO to delegate workstreams effectively to motivate, advance, and hold team members to a high standard of excellence and accountability.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning, skill-building, and empowerment to enhance the effectiveness of programs teams in delivering high-quality services to survivors. Support staff to develop problem-solving skills and contribute to team brainstorming to respond to nuanced and individualized cases.
• Ensure program staff understand how to implement their work according to the model of voluntary service and trauma-informed care for clients, the DASH model, and grant requirements. 
• Identify team training needs and consult with the CPO and People & Culture team to find or develop appropriate training resources.
• Assist in fostering a collaborative and innovative program culture that encourages continuous improvement and learning. 
• Model DASH’s standard of understanding, sensitivity, and responsiveness to cultural differences in the organization’s service and employee population.
• Master, communicate, and model DASH values.

Experience, Skills and Qualities

While we understand that no single candidate can possess every qualification listed below, the following are priority areas:

• Three or more years of related experience, or a combination of professional experience and a degree. Bachelor's degree (BA/BS) in a relevant field (e.g., nonprofit management, business administration, psychology, social work, social services) required. Relevant experience may be substituted for education credential. 
• Strong project management and analytical skills with ability to consolidate and analyze data, identify trends, generate reports and insights, and develop informed recommendations to support decision-making and opportunities for improvement.
• Strong administrative and organizational skills and attention to detail. Proven ability to work independently and as part of a team, to organize and prioritize tasks effectively, and to manage multiple projects simultaneously with accuracy and efficiency.
• Demonstrated experience producing written materials, including training materials and standard operating procedures. Ability to develop and document processes, ensuring accuracy and compliance. Demonstrated ability to create, maintain, and organize documentation in a clear and accessible manner.
• Strong communication, collaboration, ethics, adaptability, and problem-solving skills. Strong ability to respond diplomatically to challenging issues, and give and receive feedback with openness, compassion, and respect.
• Proven capacity to respond sensitively and thoughtfully to individuals from diverse cultural, ethnic, and social backgrounds, encompassing a range of values, attitudes, and languages.
• Proficiency in project management tools (Monday.com, Trello, Asana), Microsoft Office Suite (Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneDrive, Outlook).Preferred but not required: Knowledge of and experience working on issues related to trauma (e.g., domestic violence, gender-based and power-based violence, sexual assault/violence, stalking, human trafficking). Understanding of the dynamics of trauma and ability to work within a trauma-informed framework.

Other:

• Ability to travel within Washington, DC, including to DASH offices, community sites, and other Washington, DC locations during business hours is expected.
• Must provide proof of eligibility to work in the United States.
• Must successfully complete a background investigation, as well as a routine drug screening (if required by any of DASH’s funding agreements).
• Must provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 unless qualified for medical or religious exemption.

Compensation & Benefits

DASH offers a competitive salary in the range of $80,000 - $85,000. DASH benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance, with DASH covering 90% of the employee’s premium and 80% for spouse and children; a minimum of 20 days of paid leave, 15 holidays, and a weeklong winter holiday; and a 3% DASH non-elective contribution 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 DASH@good-insight.org. For best consideration, submit a resume and a cover letter by early November, 2024. Qualified applicants will be contacted on a rolling basis. Early applications are encouraged due to the pace of the search. 

Location 

DASH is located in Washington, DC. The Manager, Program Operations position operates on a hybrid schedule that requires location in the DC region. The number of in-office days will be agreed with the successful candidate but is expected to average two to three days per week.

Physical Demands

This role includes prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer. Contact DASH@good-insight.org to request reasonable accommodations.

Equal Employment Opportunity

DASH is a proud equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive work environment and building a team that reflects the rich diversity of our community. DASH bases employment decisions on each person’s performance, qualifications, and abilities. DASH does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or characteristics protected by the District of Columbia and federal law. People of color, people with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions, and identities are encouraged to apply.