Senior Director of Programs and Engagement

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Senior Director of Programs (SDP) is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and is accountable for the quality, relevance, and impact of Solid Ground’s programs and for the agency’s engagement with the people and communities it serves. The program scope includes residential services, stabilization and supportive services, food access and education, youth development, wraparound and resident services, and the behavioral health and well-being partnership, delivered through the program directors.

Programs delivered on a fee basis, including services offered to participants beyond Solid Ground housing, remain within this scope. The engagement scope is program-facing: participant voice and feedback, volunteer services, and the community partnerships and relationships that deliver or shape programs. The SDP sets program strategy within the agency’s strategic plan, leads programmatic growth, and holds program leaders accountable for consistent, safe, and effective service delivery.

Throughout this role, the SDP sets program standards and reviews program performance; department directors and their teams deliver services and author their own program materials, plans, and reports within those standards. The SDP works as a peer with the Chief Operating Officer, who holds the agency’s operating platform: enterprise systems, compliance standards and tracking, information technology and data systems, housing operations and facilities, and administration.

The SDP does not oversee finance and accounting, human resources, grant writing, fundraising and donor stewardship, advocacy, or the operations functions, and does not supervise any other Chief-level position. Working relationships, consultation requirements, process ownership, and priority project sequencing are set out in the attached Executive Roles Addendum.

25% Program Leadership and Quality: Provides executive leadership for all programs in scope through the program directors. Ensures programs are sound, trauma-informed, culturally relevant to the communities served, and delivered consistently across sites regardless of which staff are present. Sets program standards including enrollment targets by population served, staffing ratios, schedule stability, and service consistency, and holds directors accountable to them.

Conducts a comprehensive audit of each program area twice per year, drawing on the quarterly program walkthroughs submitted by directors and the monthly team audits completed by managers. Ensures programs meet contractual, regulatory, and quality standards, in partnership with the Chief Operating Officer, who holds agency-wide compliance standards and tracking.

20% Program Strategy, Design, and Growth: Within the agency’s strategic plan, sets program strategy and translates it into annual program goals and outcomes. In conjunction with the CEO, develops long-range growth and development plans for the agency’s programmatic work and coordinates implementation with the appropriate departments. Determines program models and service design, including whether services are delivered directly, through partners, or purchased, and evaluates those choices against participant need, program budget, and use of agency staff and space.

Leads the design of youth development programming as a distinct program area. Coordinates the development of new program ideas and pilot projects and integrates successful pilots into the program portfolio. Ensures program design…