Executive Director

The Homes for Families Board of Directors is excited to announce the search for our next Executive Director (ED) who will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for staff, program implementation, and the execution of HFF’s mission to end family homelessness in Massachusetts. Our board is comprised of 50% members who have experienced homelessness and 50% providers in the family shelter system. The ideal candidate should be able to lead, organize, and motivate a small, passionate, and endlessly committed team to improve the lives of children and families experiencing housing instability and homelessness. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the ED will have overall strategic and operational responsibility for Homes for Families’ staff, programs, and execution of its ambitious mission.

This candidate will also have experience engaging in advocacy and public policy, community organizing, and approaching complex, structural issues from an equity and anti-racist lens. If we’re being honest, having a sense of humor won’t hurt either.

Who We Are:

Homes for Families is a statewide advocacy organization committed to ending family homelessness through permanent and emergency solutions.  We are a collaborative of families who have experienced homelessness, service providers, and advocates.  Together we educate, organize, and advocate for improved public policies to address the root causes of family homelessness with holistic and community-based solutions.

We understand that the best way forward is collaboratively, through family and provider driven, ground-up organizing, advocacy, and policy making.  Our philosophy is guided by a set of Core Values: 

• We respect every human being;
• We are driven by families’ experiences, insights, and voices; 
• We provide a foundation for learning, a platform for sharing, and we create opportunities for leadership; and
• We work to reduce inequality through collaboration, advocacy, and community.

Homes for Families leads a membership network of 46 emergency shelter, housing, and human services providers from across Massachusetts to develop a unified voice on behalf of those working on the front line to help address issues of family homelessness, poverty, and economic development.

We partner with deeply housing-unstable families (both in shelter and doubled up) in order to have an accurate understanding of the barriers, challenges and true solutions to ending homelessness. Our partnership with families is the core of our ability to affect change and shift culture towards one where housing needs are met.

The Ideal Candidate:

The ideal candidate will have the ability to:

• Lead, motivate, and partner with a highly skilled and dedicated staff;
• Raise private and public funds and cultivate new funding opportunities;
• Oversee the progress of strategic plans and help guide in a clear vision for the future to the staff, the Board, and members of Homes for Families’ broader networks.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Management:

Staff & Board

• Lead and develop staff; actively seek out opportunities for staff to grow skills and engage in appropriate professional development opportunities;
• Engage and energize Homes for Families’ staff, board members, organizational and family partners, and funders.
• Develop, maintain, and support a strong and active Board of Directors; seek and build board involvement with strategic direction;

Program Implementation

• Partner with Deputy Director to monitor and evaluate programs and ensure integrity across all levels of implementation;

Operations

• Oversee fiscal management; monitor, develop and implement organization’s annual budget and personnel benefits program;
• Prepare and submit all appropriate reports to Board, state auditing agency, and funders in a timely manner;

Fundraising

• Oversee fundraising efforts to ensure the organization is able to cover existing programming and agency overhead;
• Develop and implement strategies to diversify and grow funding sources

Stakeholder Engagement and Advocacy:

• Represent Homes for Families publicly; develop and maintain relationships with public and private agencies and advocacy organizations;
• Build and maintain relationships with key policymakers and influencers across the state
• Represent Homes for Families in statewide collaborations and initiatives
• Serve as the organization’s lead policy and advocacy staff person; lead both legislative and administrative advocacy; engage in direct lobbying to carry out family/provider-generated public policy agenda;

• Oversee communication and media strategy, leveraging social media and other platforms such as HFF’s blog, advocacy actions via constituent database, and collateral.

Desired Skills and Abilities:

• Persons with lived experience are strongly encouraged to apply;
• Commitment to leading through teamwork and fostering a culture of mutual respect and shared accountability;
• Ability to prioritize workload and delegate as necessary;
• Passion for grassroots advocacy with a holistic, anti-racist lens;
• Experience working with state and local government;
• An ability to foster the fun and bring humor and positivity into the work setting;
• A genuine commitment to lifting up those around you; and
• Promote a culture that is shaped, driven and centered by family voice, expertise, and experience