Breaking the Cycle Prevention Fellow - Dept. of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (TEX 1824 P

Appointment Type

Temporary Exempt (TEX), Category 18:
This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process, is considered “at will” and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. The duration of the appointment shall not exceed 18 months.

July 31, 2026

May close anytime but not before August 16, 2026

$146,016 and $177,528

REF
60785H

Through the provision of coordinated, compassionate, and high-quality services, the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) strives to make homelessness in San Francisco rare, brief, and one time. The Department provides assistance and support to homeless and at-risk youth, adults, and families to prevent imminent episodes of homelessness and end homelessness for people in San Francisco. Services including outreach, homelessness prevention, emergency shelter, drop-in centers, transitional housing, supportive housing, short-term rental subsidies, and support services to help people exit homelessness.

For more information about the department, please visit our website at (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

San Francisco is a pioneer in homeless services and a leader in providing supportive housing as a permanent exit from homelessness. The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH), founded in 2016, is a national leader in the movement to end homelessness by developing a coordinated, equity-driven, client-focused system of compassionate services while piloting innovative models, and implementing best practice solutions with measurable results.

HSH’s Homelessness Response System (HRS) funds, oversees and implements a system of care that shelters, houses, and serves approximately 15,000 people daily. Major programs include: street outreach and service connection through the Homeless Outreach Team (SFHOT); 3,600+ bed shelter system for transitional age youth, adults and families including shelters for members of the LGBTQ community; rapid rehousing rental subsidies for families, adults, older adults, and transitional aged youth;

the Problem Solving and flexible financial assistance programs; and robust supportive housing programs with over 14,500 units which provide housing and services to formerly homeless transitional age youth, individuals, and families.

The San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing seeks a Prevention Fellow to accelerate high-impact initiatives under the Mayor’s Breaking the Cycle agenda. The Fellow will be based at HSH but will work across City Departments to strengthen San Francisco’s upstream response to homelessness by optimizing prevention investments, integrating predictive analytics into service delivery, and designing program models that reduce inflow into chronic homelessness.

• Lead development of a citywide homelessness prevention strategy aligned with Breaking the Cycle priorities.
• Analyze current prevention spending across departments and recommend optimization strategies to better target high-risk populations.
• Identify structural barriers that limit prevention effectiveness and propose policy or programmatic adjustments.
• Design scalable prevention program models that reduce inflow into chronic homelessness.
• Support pilot initiatives and proof-of-concept programs that test targeted prevention approaches.

• Partner closely with California Policy Lab to interpret predictive risk modeling and translate analytics into actionable prevention workflows.
• Design operational processes for identifying and proactively engaging individuals at highest risk of homelessness.
• Develop decision frameworks that align predictive risk thresholds with intervention levels and funding allocation.
• Collaborate with City data and program teams to integrate predictive insights into frontline prevention programs.
• Establish performance metrics and evaluation frameworks to assess prevention impact over time.