Executive Summary
The Director, Community Services, Programs & Evaluation serves as the organizational authority on program design, execution, and impact at Ark Aid.
Reporting directly to the Executive Director, this senior leadership role sets the strategic vision for a comprehensive continuum of care, ensuring all services are rooted in the organization's faith-based values and the core conviction that every individual is Beheld, Beloved, and Belongs.
Tasked with balancing operational rigor with deep compassion, the Director is responsible for developing, evaluating, and scaling an evidence-informed, replicable housing and community development framework. By overseeing two critical Program Managers, establishing robust data-driven evaluation metrics, and cultivating strategic sector partnerships, the Director elevates Ark Aid’s model of wraparound care, positioning the organization as a premier thought leader and reference point for serving highly marginalized populations in London and beyond.
Key Responsibilities
Program Strategy, Vision and Model of Care
- Strategic Direction: Define and scale the strategic vision for Ark Aid’s full program portfolio in alignment with community needs, mission, and organizational capacity.
- Model of Care: Own and continuously deepen the relational, trauma-informed, harm-reduction, and faith-grounded framework across all service touchpoints.
- Service Excellence: Set organizational standards for what Beheld, Beloved, and Belong looks like in daily practice, holding staff accountable to high-quality care.
- Innovation & KPIs: Identify community service gaps to recommend evidence-informed pivots, while establishing outcome-based KPIs that measure true mission impact.
Housing & Community Development Strategy
- Continuum of Care: Develop a coherent, Ark-specific strategy that integrates shelter, life stabilization, housing, and community belonging into a replicable model.
- Strategic Logic: Connect emergency and transitional services to long-term housing stability, ensuring a clear progression pathway for participants.
- Cross-Functional Alignment: Collaborate with housing partners and Operations to co-design service frameworks alongside physical housing developments.
- Inclusive Design: Engage lived-experience advisors, sector experts, and community partners to keep the voices of those served at the center of program design.
Program Evaluation, Evidence and Continuous Improvement
- Evaluation Framework: Own the organizational evaluation strategy, defining data collection, analysis, and how findings drive high-level strategic decisions.
- Evidence-Based Practice: Lead the implementation of research-informed service models, testing program efficacy against measurable community outcomes.
- Continuous Learning: Translate evaluation data and sector research into strategic insights, embedding active learning cycles into the management culture.
- Thought Leadership: Champion evidence-driven impacts to the Board and funders, while pursuing research partnerships to position Ark Aid as a sector leader.
Community Partnerships & Strategic Presence
- Ecosystem Positioning: Determine Ark Aid’s strategic role in London’s community service ecosystem to maximize collective impact and system-level change.
- Strategic Alliances: Build and sustain high-value partnerships with healthcare, government, Indigenous-led, and faith-based organizations to extend care reach.
- Sector Advocacy: Represent Ark Aid in sector collaborations and government working groups to shape local homelessness policy and funding strategies.
- System Integration: Act as the main liaison ensuring programs seamlessly integrate into coordinated access systems and upstream prevention initiatives.
Staff Capacity, Training and Communities of Practice
- Capacity Strategy: Identify and build the specialized knowledge, clinical rigor, and reflective skills required by frontline staff serving marginalized populations.
- Training Framework: Oversee a staff development curriculum anchored in trauma-informed care, harm reduction, cultural humility, and crisis response.
- Communities of Practice: Establish structured internal learning communities to share knowledge, deepen practice, and reduce frontline isolation.
- Workforce Wellness: Champion psychological safety, reflective supervision, and compassion fatigue supports as vital structural investments for the workforce.
Leadership Development and Organizational Culture
- Management Coaching: Directly develop and coach the Program and Life Stabilization Managers to confidently own their portfolios and contribute to strategy.
- Talent Pipeline: Identify and cultivate emerging leaders within the program portfolio to build robust internal succession pipelines.
- Mission-Driven Culture: Foster a workplace culture rooted in servant leadership, mutual accountability, and the living expression of organizational values.
- Staff Empowerment: Empower teams to take ownership of their practice, leveraging their unique expertise and lived experiences to improve services.
Operational Oversight and Strategic Collaboration
- Financial Stewardship: Hold ultimate oversight of program portfolio budgets, managing resources sustainably and approving major financial decisions.
- Policy & Risk Management: Develop and maintain strict program policies, practice standards, and delivery frameworks to mitigate risk and ensure quality.
- Executive Collaboration: Partner with the Executive Director and senior leadership to align programming with the broader strategic plan and housing developments.
- Operational Compliance: Collaborate with Operations on shared priorities (HR, data systems, facilities) while ensuring full compliance with all grant and funder agreements.
Qualifications & Skills
Required
- Education: Degree in Social Work, Community Development, or related field (Master’s preferred); or equivalent executive experience.
- Leadership: 8–10 years in program management/community development, with 3–5 years at the Director level leading strategy and multi-team portfolios.
- Capability: Proven success in program design, evaluation, and coaching managers to lead rather than managing tasks.
- Sector Expertise: Deep knowledge of trauma-informed care, harm reduction, and service delivery for highly marginalized populations.
- Mission Fit: Active commitment to Christian values, with the ability to sign and uphold the Ark Aid Statement of Faith.
- Compliance: Valid driver’s license and a clear Vulnerable Sector Check.
Preferred
- Credentials: RSW designation, graduate degree (MSW/MPA), or PMP certification.
- System Knowledge: Familiarity with London’s shelter system, Housing First, HIFIS, coordinated access, and Built for Zero.
- Methodologies: Experience with logic models, theory of change, collective impact frameworks, and systems-level advocacy.
- Learning Systems: Background establishing internal communities of practice or peer learning frameworks.
What We Offer
- Competitive Compensation: Salaried position starting at $89,000 (commensurate with experience).
- Comprehensive Benefits: Full health, dental, and wellness benefits program.
- Work-Life Balance: Generous paid vacation and time-off allotment.
- Executive Leadership: A high-impact role guiding the strategic direction of a rapidly growing organization.
- Meaningful Impact: The opportunity to directly transform community services and shape the future of housing stability in London.
Ark Aid Mission is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our hiring practices, and we actively welcome applications from all interested candidates, including individuals with disabilities.
Accommodations are available upon request at any stage of the selection process. If you require disability-related accommodation during the recruitment or interview process, please contact us.
Our Commitment to Authentic Review: At Ark Aid, we value human connection and lived experience. While we may use technology to help manage applications, every single resume is personally reviewed and evaluated by a human member of our leadership team. No automated screening or AI filters will reject your application.
Pay: From $89,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental care
- Extended health care
- On-site parking
- Paid time off
Application question(s):
- Are you actively committed to Christian values and comfortable championing Ark Aid's faith-based, community-led vision in your daily work?
- Are you willing to undergo a background check, in accordance with local law/regulations?
Education:
- Bachelor's Degree (preferred)
Experience:
- Leadership: 8 years (preferred)
Work Location: In person
