Director of Operations

About the role

The Seattle Social Housing Developer (SSHD) is a Public Development Authority (PDA) committed to creating, owning, and stewarding permanently affordable, mixed-income social housing that is publicly financed, publicly controlled, and free from market speculation. As we lay the foundation for this transformative model, guided by international examples and rooted in public accountability, we are building a team to define a new standard for equitable, sustainable, and community-centered social housing development in Seattle. Our goal is to expand access, strengthen the social fabric of our city, and ensure housing that is affordable forever and inclusive by design for current and future generations. The Director of Operations reports directly to the Chief Operating Officer and converts SSHD’s operational strategy into consistent, accountable execution. The Director builds the operating routines, tools, workflows, and cross-functional coordination needed to support a growing portfolio, implement the social housing model, prepare for property acquisitions and transitions, and ensure that commitments move from decision to completion. This is a hands-on leadership role for an operator who can establish structure in a rapidly evolving public development organization. The Director does not replace the COO’s enterprise leadership or the day-to-day responsibilities of third-party property management, asset management, finance, compliance, resident governance, communications, human resources, information technology, or real estate development. The Director connects those functions, manages implementation, identifies gaps, and escalates matters requiring executive judgment. Reports To: Chief Operating Officer; Direct Reports: Yes; FLSA Status: Exempt.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain SSHD’s operational calendar, annual work plan, decision log, policy inventory, standard operating procedure library, and implementation trackers.
• Establish clear operating rhythms, including cross-functional meetings, dashboards, action-item ownership, deadlines, escalation protocols, and executive follow-up.
• Translate approved policies and executive decisions into workflows, templates, training, controls, and measurable deliverables.
• Identify process gaps, duplicated work, unclear ownership, and operational risks; recommend and implement practical improvements.
• Support implementation and adoption of enterprise work-management and information systems in partnership with the CO