Program Director-Housing and Crisis Intervention

Briarpatch Youth Services, Inc.; Fitchburg (WI); On-site; USD 80,000 - 84,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

401k Retirement Savings Plan

Flexible Spending Account (FSA)

Generous paid time off

11 paid holidays

Life and Disability Insurance

Job summary

Briarpatch Youth Services, Inc. seeks a Program Director - Housing & Crisis Intervention to oversee services for youth and families facing homelessness and crisis. This exempt, full-time role requires on-site work at 2720 Rimrock Road in Fitchburg, with some flexible hours for shelter needs.

The director will manage program staff, ensure licensing and contractual compliance, and contribute to grant writing and fund development. Strong leadership and trauma-informed practice are essential.

Qualifications

• Broad knowledge of youth development and systems including housing and child welfare.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience in program development and management.
• Experience in nonprofit sector relationships.

Responsibilities

• Oversee development and delivery of services for youth, young adults and families experiencing homelessness or crisis.
• Ensure services meet contractual, licensure and agency standards.
• Lead and support program staff and leadership team in decision making.
• Participate in budgeting, fund development and grant activities.
• Monitor program compliance and reporting; participate in inter-agency committees.

Skills

Youth development

Written and verbal communication

Program development

Program and personnel management

Nonprofit relationships

Tech skills

Trauma-informed care

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Job description

Briarpatch Youth Services has an exciting job opportunity for a skilled professional. The agency is a dynamic non-profit community organization that has served Dane County since 1971. Briarpatch provides a broad array of services to more than 2,000 youth annually who have runaway, are experiencing homelessness, are justice involved, or facing other challenges.

Program Director-Housing and Crisis Intervention

Days/Hours: This is a 40 hour per week position that requires on-site hours Monday-Friday in an 8-hour (daily) timeframe between 8:30 am and 8:00pm. (A Director at Briarpatch may not have other employment during these hours.) Based upon program and client needs, some evening (monthly shelter meeting until 10:00PM), weekend, and holiday hours are required. This position provides “on call” service in rotation with program staff (to support shelter staff) every third/fourth week.

Leadership Team at Briarpatch

While we respect work life balance at Briarpatch Youth Services, we are a 24/7/365 facility and urgent matters related to shelter, youth crisis, IT, finance, or press can emerge at any time. This means that, as an exempt leadership team member, you may have a call/matter that occurs in the evening or on the weekend.

IMPORTANT

Director level work at Briarpatch means willingness to enter into difficult conversations to resolve conflict. It means working with staff to understand difficult decisions, even when they are unpopular. It also means supporting staff when help is needed. We wear many different hats outside of our roles and as leaders we model “jumping in to help” outside of our roles.

Type

Full Time

Exempt/Non-Exempt

Exempt

Pay Range

Is $80,000 - $84,000 annually.

Work Location

2720 Rimrock Road, Fitchburg, WI 53713

Deadline to Apply

10/30/2026. The interview process may start prior to the deadline date.

Description

The individual in this position provides oversight of the development and delivery of services to youth, young adults, and their families experiencing homelessness, housing instability, and/or in need of crisis intervention services. They will ensure that these services are provided in accordance with contractual and youth shelter licensure requirements and agency philosophy. They understand the need to work as a collective agency and can see the bigger picture beyond each program, which sometimes entails making difficult decisions. Additional duties are assigned and performed under the supervision of the Executive Director. The Program Director - Housing & Crisis Intervention is one of two Program Directors and a member of the Leadership Team.

Required Skills

• Requires a broad knowledge base of youth development and community level systems that include housing and child welfare.
• Be able to show a demonstrated competence in the following areas:
  • Written and verbal communication skills,
  • Program development,
  • Program and personnel management
  • Nonprofit sector relationships.
• Must possess high-level tech skills which include the ability to create presentations, use of web-based reporting platforms, folder systems, spreadsheets, and documents.
• Knowledge of trauma-informed care, harm reduction, and skille d at tailoring culturally responsive crisis stabilization techniques.

Required Education/Experience Qualifications

• 7+ years relevant experience
• 5+ years team supervisory experience
• Must have knowledge of social service systems

DCF Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree or higher and 2 or more years of supervised child welfare work experience as approved by the WI Department of Children and Families.

OR

• Five or more years of experience working in a licensed group care setting working with children or adults as approved by the WI Department of Children and Families.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supervising managers
• Experience serving on a senior leadership or executive team
• Experience with operations and compliance in grant funded programs with knowledge of grant-reporting tools and data management
• Bachelor’s degree or higher preferred

Duties

Program Administration – 35%

• Participates in the preparation of annual budgets for all cost centers.
• Ability to understand DCF compliance policies and support Managers in the application of policies.
• Ensures that monthly, quarterly, and annual reports for all client service areas contain desired information and are accurate and completed in a timely manner and are distributed to the appropriate individuals.
• Participates in fund development and grant writing activities as requested.
• Monitors each program’s compliance with contractual requirements, licensing rules, and with agency standards, policies and procedures.
• Participates in inter-agency committees and meetings.

Supervisory – 30%

• Provides direct supervision to the Program Managers in Youth Advocacy Services, Shelter Services, and Street Outreach Services; including hiring, on-boarding, disciplinary actions, coaching, and completion of employee performance evaluations in accordance with agency policy.
• Participates in program development and program evaluation activities, including formulation of policies and procedures.
• Works closely with Program Managers towards problem solving, conflict resolution, completion of tasks, goals, and outcomes.
• Assists Program Managers with the development of annual goals and objectives for their respective programs.

Direct Program Support – 15%

• Provides Youth Shelter on-call support and direct coverage to clients as program needs dictate.
• Shelter coverage may occur from time to time. Must maintain shelter certification through training.

Community Connector – 10%

• Represents the agency at meetings of professional, community organizations, and at statewide (and possible national) conferences.
• Participates in summit and conference planning committees that address our service areas and client needs.
• Acts as a liaison between the agency and those organizations/agencies providing funding and/or regulatory oversight.
• Facilitate quarterly Shelter Advisory Committee meetings.

Overall Agency Support and Morale – 10%

• Maintain flexibility to jump in and problem solve.
• Volunteer at agency events and meetings.
• Performs other reasonable and related duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Up to four (4) individuals and short-term team supervision should a manager vacate their role.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to lift 25 lbs.
• Ability to sit and/or stand at a desk for most of the day.

Reliable Transportation

• This position requires a valid driver's license and a driving record that will allow the person to operate agency-owned motor vehicle that includes the 12-passenger van.
• Must be able to provide transportation periodically.
• Reliable transportation to/from work is required.
• Health Insurance
• Life and Disability Insurance
• 11 paid holidays
• 401k Retirement Savings Plan
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Mileage Reimbursement
• Generous paid time off

More information on Briarpatch Youth Services may be found on our agency website www.briarpatch.org

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.