New Search! Vice President for Programs at FamilyAid!

Pillar Search & HR Consulting is honored to partner with FamilyAid on the search for their new Vice President for Programs.  

About FamilyAid:

FamilyAid is one of America’s leading providers of solutions to family homelessness. Their mission is to empower parents and caregivers facing homelessness to secure and sustain housing and build solid foundations for their children’s futures. They prevent family homelessness whenever possible, reduce harm if homelessness can’t be avoided by housing families as quickly as possible, mitigate trauma especially for children, and provide wraparound supports that foster long-term stability. They provide children and parents with a path to self-sufficiency via two-generation educational programs, housing search and placement support, and connections to vital resources they need to return to their own homes. Their strategic vision and bold strategies to reduce two-generation homelessness successfully served over 5,000 children and parents last year.

FamilyAid’s supportive, collaborative, diverse workplace of more than 160 professionals is ideal for a skilled, result-oriented leader who is driven to help children and families thrive. FamilyAid has been recognized as a Top Massachusetts Workplace by The Boston Globe and by Charity Navigator as one of the nation’s top organizations working to end homelessness. Learn more at https://familyaidboston.org

Position Summary:

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Vice President for Programs is responsible for the leadership and direction of FamilyAid’s prevention, shelter, and stabilization services to increase family resources and eliminate or mitigate the trauma caused by childhood homelessness. While upholding the agency’s mission and values, the Vice President for Programs conceives, develops, implements and oversees program outcomes that are aligned with FamilyAid’s 2-Generation (“2-Gen”) service model. Our 2-Gen model is an evidence-based approach to supporting families, avoiding or moving quickly out of homelessness and towards self-sufficiency while ensuring children receive the supports and services they need to overcome the traumatic effects of housing instability and have a strong foundation for their future.

The Vice President will oversee an expansive portfolio that includes a new state of the art 2-Gen navigation center delivering shelter and on-site services, trauma-informed prevention and diversion case management services, child services and support for children, economic mobility programming, emergency shelter, Medicaid-managed care programing as well as housing search, placement and stabilization services.

The position requires significant visibility and positive, close collaboration between and among other agency departments and external constituents, an ability to lead several seasoned program directors, and be available for emergency contact and consultation as needed to support families in crisis.

The successful candidate will have demonstrable experience in program development, project management, change management, data-driven decision-making, program monitoring and evaluation, and problem-solving. Additionally, the successful candidate will possess strong analytical and critical thinking skills, and significant experience in the areas of systems development, government contracts and compliance, government funding proposals, budget management, human resources and data management/technology functions.

Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Possess strong core ethics, integrity, and accountability consistent with FamilyAid’s mission, vision, and values.
  • Align and lead self and team towards achievement of FamilyAid’s strategic plan and annual operational and financial goals.
  • Successfully perform work in a manner that is diplomatic, inclusive, transparent, communicative, open and fair.
  • Promote a culture of high-performance.
  • Develop and model positive, trusting, supportive, safe, and nurturing relationships.
  • Working closely with the Chief Operating Officer, continuously assess, proactively develop and implement program model changes as needed to improve outcomes, achieve the agency’s strategic plan, and deliver best-in-class services to our client families.
  • Working closely with senior leadership, develop and implement and report progress toward approved annual program goals and plans. Working closely with the VP of Data and Evaluation, ensure timely and accurate data collection, the use of data in program decision-making and service delivery, monitoring and evaluation against contract deliverables and broader agency goals and plans, and efficient and effective case management and housing search and placement services.
  • Manage and successfully maintain strong-positive working relationships with a portfolio of key external collaborators and funders including but not limited to the Commonwealth’s Department of Housing and Livable Communities, Department of Education, and Mass Health; City of Boston Mayor’s Office of Housing, third party vendors and contractors; and other service providers.
  • Lead and facilitate cooperative and collaborative working relationships with all FamilyAid departments, modeling and expecting similar relationships between direct reports and other FamilyAid managers, supervisors and staff.
  • Provide relevant information to and participate in FamilyAid’s Senior Management and Leadership teams to assure alignment of agency-wide services and to ensure achievement of the agency’s strategic and annual goals.
  • Working collaboratively with FamilyAid’s Senior Management and Leadership teams across various functions, helping to ensure compliance with regulatory, contractual, and private and public funding expectations and requirements.
  • Provide highly visible, front-line leadership and participation in all agency activities including but not limited to general staff meetings, human resource events, agency celebrations and commemorations, agency-wide initiatives, family events, and annual city homeless census events.
  • Working collaboratively with the agency’s senior leadership, develop, direct, promote, manage, revise and maintain all approved agency regulatory, personnel, facilities, program, operations, financial policies, protocols and procedures.
  • Working with FamilyAid’s Human Resources department and program directors, ensure that all human resource policies and procedures, including required training, time sheets, benefits enrollments, etc., are appropriately communicated, followed, documented and evaluated for all program staff.
  • Provide consistent and ongoing supervision of program directors and other director reports, if applicable.
  • Plan and facilitate regular program director team meetings to ensure that information is shared, progress against goals is articulated, and ongoing activities and efforts are consistent and coordinated.
  • Undertake other duties as assigned by the Chief Operating Officer and/or President & CEO.

Qualifications:

  • Master’s degree required, an academic focus in social work, public health, or a related field strongly preferred.
  • 15+years of progressive professional experience, including significant tenure in senior/leadership roles at a human service organization with at least 100+ employees and a $10M+ operating budget.
  • Proven track record of successfully designing, implementing and evaluating anti-poverty social services programs with a history of defined and measurable positive outcomes for participants.
  • Experience overseeing and advancing programs, process and compliance in medical insurance billable environment (ACO, Medicaid) desired.
  • Background working with a population of families experiencing homelessness, particularly with a focus on children.
  • Strong knowledge of local, state, and federal housing laws and regulations, housing subsidies, tax incentives), and compliance requirements.
  • Demonstrated effectiveness in engaging and influencing internal and external constituencies to improve system policies and practices.
  • Demonstrated success in adapting to competing and changing priorities.
  • Demonstrated success in motivating, directing, empowering, and retaining senior managers and program teams who work directly with clients experiencing significant trauma.
  • Proven effectiveness in leading organizations serving a diverse client base through a high level of cultural competency.
  • Bi-lingual skills (especially Spanish or Haitian Creole) a plus.
  • Excellent organizational, written, and verbal communication skills.
  • Flexibility and compassion, as well as an ability to remain calm in crisis situations is essential.
  • Adaptable and able to manage competing priorities in fast paced setting.

Supervision: This position reports to the Chief Operating Officer

Location and Work Schedule: Exempt.  Some evening and weekend hours may be required.  While FamilyAid maintains a hybrid workplace allowing work from home, the field, and our main office at 3815 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02130, this position requires a significant physical presence at FamilyAid locations and with Boston-based funders and collaborators.

FamilyAid Boston is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age.

FamilyAid has partnered with Cindy Joyce of Pillar Search & HR Consulting on the search for the new Vice President for Programs. Interested candidates are encouraged to submit both a cover letter and resume by email to jobs@pillarsearch.com.

Search Success! Emma Concepcion Joins UTEC as Chief People Officer

UTEC and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are excited to announce that, following an extensive and competitive candidate search, Emma Concepcion has joined UTEC as their new Chief People Officer.

Reporting to UTEC’s CEO, Emma will be responsible for leading UTEC’s people and talent strategies, managing and mitigating organizational risks, and continuing the development of their human resource-related strategies, policies, and procedures. She will be a strategic advisor to senior leadership on a variety of issues, including employee relations, leadership development, organizational culture, and talent management, and will be play a key leadership role in supporting UTEC’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all areas of management and embodying UTEC’s DEI vision in their work and workplace culture.

Emma joins UTEC from Bay Cove Human Services, where she was their Vice President of Human Resources and earlier was the organization’s Director of Human Resources. As a member of the Bay Cove leadership team, she established the workforce development team, was Co-Chair of the DEI committee, designed and implemented HR initiatives, enhanced staff retention and engagement, and aligned HR strategies with organizational objectives. While Emma was Bay Cove’s Vice President of Human Resources, the organization achieved recognition as one of Boston’s Top Places to Work for five consecutive years. Prior to her tenure in Human Resources at Bay Cove, Emma spent a decade as their Director of Housing. In addition to her human resources and human services expertise, Emma also has extensive mediation experience, as she spent several years participating in court mediation and mediation training as a member of the Harvard University Mediation Program, handling cases related to civil, housing, and harassment prevention orders.

About UTEC: UTEC is a nationally recognized program for justice-involved young adults. The program starts behind the walls of correctional facilities and intensive street outreach/gang peacemaking and transitions into an intensive program in the community post-release. The nature of their educational services, wraparound supports and counseling, social enterprise/workforce development, organizing/policy work, training institute, and innovative partnerships creates a variety of impacts in the lives of the individuals and communities they serve.

Last year, UTEC served over 600 young adults including a range of outreach activities, and approximately 150 young adults intensively through their comprehensive program. During this fiscal year, 75% of young adults at UTEC avoided arrest. With over 20 years of experience, UTEC is a catalyst, innovating in the way they serve young adults (ages 17-25) who are criminally and/or gang involved in Massachusetts’ Merrimack Valley. Learn more about UTEC at https://utecinc.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

Announcing Harvard Extension School’s First-Ever Nonprofit Human Resource Management Course

I am excited to announce that I am creating and will be teaching Harvard Extension School‘s first-ever Nonprofit Human Resource Management course this fall.  This course will provide an introduction to the practices, policies, and theories related to nonprofit human resource management. Designed for those who are now or will be an HR practitioner or executive for a nonprofit organization, museum, school, or foundation, this course will prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed to manage human capital in a nonprofit setting.

Classes begin on Monday, September 9th.  This is a live, web-based course running through mid-December, and will include several nonprofit executive guest speakers.  Registration opens on Monday, July 29th.  Learn more here!  

A woman-owned company based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides nonprofit executive search and human resources expertise, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to find the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please contact Pillar’s CEO, Cindy Joyce at cindy@pillarsearch.com.