Program Director Crabbs Branch Men’s Shelter

About the role

This is a pre-opening position for the Interfaith Works Men's Shelter at Crabbs Branch (IWCB), which is an IW program currently serving women but will transition to a low-barrier emergency shelter for adult men experiencing homelessness by September 1, 2026. Located in Derwood, MD, the 60-bed program will provide year-round shelter, meals, and case management services. The goal of the program is to efficiently move shelter guests to housing so that homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for shelter operations, ensuring a safe, welcoming, trauma-informed, and housing-focused environment for guests, staff, volunteers, and community partners.
• Develop annual program goals, quality improvement initiatives, and operational priorities aligned with the Homeless Services strategic plan.
• Foster a culture of accountability, equity, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Promote a trauma-informed, housing-focused, person-centered service model.
• Identify operational challenges and implement solutions that improve client outcomes and staff effectiveness.
• Lead organizational changes and implement new County or organizational requirements.
• Direct all daily shelter operations to ensure a safe, welcoming, and low-barrier environment.
• Ensure shelter operations consistently support rapid exits to permanent housing.
• Oversee admissions, eligibility determinations, assessments, housing plans, referrals, discharge planning, and crisis intervention.
• Review client grievances and oversee resolution in accordance with Interagency Commission on Homelessness standards.
• Ensure policies and procedures remain current and are consistently implemented.
• Oversee emergency preparedness planning and operational continuity.
• Recruit, hire, onboard, develop, coach, and retain high-performing staff.
• Directly supervise the Program Support Manager, Case Managers, Behavioral Health Technician, and Volunteer Coordinator.
• Conduct weekly supervision meetings focused on performance, professional development, accountability, and case consultation.
• Complete annual evaluations and corrective action plans when necessary.
• Build leadership capacity among supervisors and emerging leaders.
• Ensure adequate staffing coverage while managing overtime and workforce efficiency.
• Support employee engagement initiatives that strengthen morale, retention, and organizational culture.
• Provide clinical supervision hours when qualified for staff pursuing Maryland licensure.
• Ensure delivery of evidence-based, trauma-informed, and housing-focused services.
• Provide consultation on complex behavioral health, housing, and crisis situations.
• Monitor documentation quality and clinical standards.
• Ensure individualized service plans support client goals and housing stability.
• Monitor service effectiveness through outcome data and client feedback.
• Ensure compliance with all County contracts, Interfaith Works policies, licensing standards, grant requirements, and applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
• Maintain fiscal accountability for shelter operations, monitoring expenditures, forecasting budget needs, identifying cost-saving opportunities, and ensuring responsible stewardship of organizational and public funds.
• Develop and manage the annual operating budget.
• Review monthly financial reports and identify budget variances.
• Approve purchases, invoices, payroll, and other financial transactions.
• Ensure County reimbursement requests and invoices are submitted accurately and on time.
• Establish clear performance expectations and accountability measures for all shelter staff while fostering a culture of teamwork, professionalism, respect, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure accurate utilization of the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
• Monitor program performance through dashboards and outcome reporting.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, annual, and ad hoc reports for County and organizational leadership.
• Utilize program data and outcome measures to identify trends, improve service delivery, and drive performance toward housing placement and shelter stabilization goals.
• Build and maintain positive working relationships with Montgomery County officials, SEPH, community partners, law enforcement, healthcare providers, behavioral health agencies, and other stakeholders supporting individuals experiencing homelessness.
• Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with housing providers, behavioral health agencies, healthcare organizations, nonprofit partners, law enforcement, and community stakeholders.
• Represent Interfaith Works at community meetings, workgroups, and public forums.
• Provide direct supervision to the Volunteer Coordinator in partnership with the Director of Faith Community Partnerships, ensuring alignment between volunteer engagement activities and shelter operational needs.
• Assist with donor visits, program tours, and community engagement activities.

Qualifications

• A master's in social work, Counseling, or similar behavioral health field.
• A valid Licensed Certified Social Work - Clinical (LCSW-C) or Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) preferred.
• Maryland license preferred and a minimum of three years post-graduate experience. LGSW or LGPC is also acceptable.
• Experience working with individuals with acute and chronic behavioral health issues and knowledge of crisis intervention techniques.
• Knowledge and ability to effectively apply best practices in engaging those experiencing homelessness, including Trauma-Informed Care, Housing First, Harm Reduction, and Motivational Interviewing.
• Flexibility and openness to working in a fast-paced program serving clients from diverse racial, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds.
• Available to work at least one evening per week.
• Available to answer calls after hours.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to work as a team member with compassion, respect, and professionalism.
• Knowledge of issues related to homelessness and community resources.

Benefits

Interfaith Works offers a comprehensive benefits package for its employees. Employees receive 14 paid holidays and 21 days of PTO. Benefits for full-time employees, those who work 30 hours per week or more, include access to subsidized medical, dental, and vision costs for employees and their families; employer paid long-term disability insurance as well as life and AD&D insurance. Employees have the option to purchase supplemental benefits that are fully portable, including short-term disability insurance, critical illness insurance, and more. All employees regardless of full or part-time status have access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at no cost to them.

Pay

The pay rate for this position is $85,000 - $90,000.

Schedule

The schedule for this position is flexible with on-call hours, nights, and weekends, and some teleworking.