Director of Programs

Blanchet House of Hospitality

Serving our housing & food insecure communities

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Job Announcement: Director of Programs

Salary: $95,000-$110,000 annually

Status: Full-time, exempt

Reports to: Executive Director

Location: On-site, with regular work across Blanchet House locations in Portland and Carlton

Schedule: Primarily regular business hours; this leadership position frequently requires evening and weekend availability.

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to careers@blanchethouse.org. No phone calls please.

First application review is October 19, 2026; position will remain posted until filled.

About the Role:

The Director of Programs serves a critical leadership role at Blanchet House, providing leadership, oversight, and day-to-day direction for Blanchet House's programming across three locations, ensuring programs provide safe, dignified, and effective services aligned with Blanchet House's mission and values. The Director oversees Blanchet House Residential, Kitchen, and Meal programs, Blanchet Farm Residential Program, and Bethanie's Room Emergency Shelter.

This position works closely with peers, collaborating on HR, training, program evaluation, financial tracking, external partnership building, and future strategic initiatives.

The Director leads and develops staff and leaders, strengthens collaboration and accountability across programs, and serves as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team and thought partner to the Executive Director (ED), acting on behalf of the ED when assigned and providing senior organizational leadership when the ED is unavailable.

The Position

Provide Leadership and oversight for Blanchet House Programs

• Oversee day-to-day programming across Blanchet House's three locations, including the Old Town Café & Kitchen, Men's Residential Program, Bethanie's Room Emergency Shelter, and Blanchet Farm in Carlton.
• Ensure appropriate program leadership, staffing, coverage, and continuity across programs.
• Provide senior organizational leadership when the ED is unavailable.
• Partner with HR and program leaders on personnel matters, training, and professional development.
• Partner with Finance and program leaders to develop program budgets, monitor spending, and ensure responsible stewardship of program resources.
• Ensure guest and resident voices inform program evaluation and improvement.
• Oversee program policies, procedures, and SOPs.
• Support emergency preparedness and lead program-level crisis responses, working with the Safety Committee.
• Build relationships with service providers, community partners, neighbors, and other stakeholders.
• Represent Blanchet House with donors, community groups, and media as appropriate.

Coach and Develop Program Leadership

• Supervise and develop leaders across five programs through regular 1:1s and team meetings to provide coaching, feedback, and accountability while supporting leaders in developing their own leadership skills.
• Set clear expectations, with individual and team goals, while building a culture of trust and accountability.
• Foster a collaborative culture across departments that fosters common goals and prioritizes shared decision-making when possible.
• Model and cultivate humility, a drive for continuous improvement, and high emotional intelligence across program leadership.

Serve as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team

• Prioritize the Senior Leadership Team as your first team, building relationships grounded in mutual trust and vulnerability, engaging in healthy conflict and decision-making.
• Actively contribute to and help lead organization-wide planning and problem solving.

Serve as a thought partner to the Executive Director

• Elevate concerns and identify gaps, risks, opportunities, and emerging needs across programs.
• Translate organizational priorities into action and change across programs.
• Regularly report on key program indicators, outcomes, and trends.
• Contribute to future planning and organizational alignment.

Qualifications and Experience

In addition to any required experience or training, Blanchet House will consider relevant work experience, volunteering, education and training, and transferable skills.

• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in nonprofit, human services, behavioral health, residential services, or related fields.
• 5+ years of people-management experience, including experience supervising and developing managers or program leaders.
• Experience overseeing complex frontline programs involving multiple teams, programs, or locations.
• Strong personnel management skills, including coaching, accountability, conflict resolution, and performance management.
• Demonstrated sound judgment and ability to lead effectively during crises, emergencies, and complex personnel or guest situations.
• High emotional intelligence, humility, self-awareness, openness to feedback, and a drive for continuous improvement.
• Reliable transportation and ability to regularly travel between Blanchet House locations in Portland and Carlton.

Preferred Qualifications

• Preferred: Experience working with people experiencing homelessness, substance use disorders, or housing instability.
• Preferred: Experience developing program metrics and using data to evaluate effectiveness and improve services.
• Preferred: Knowledge of Portland-area homelessness, behavioral health, and social-service systems.
• Preferred: Experience building relationships and collaborating with community partners, service providers, donors, and other external stakeholders.
• Preferred: Familiarity with Traction/EOS or a similar organizational operating system.
• Preferred: Experience leading programs or teams through significant organizational change and adaptation.

Our Benefits:

Eligible benefits include: health/dental/vision coverage for the employee; Employee Assistance Program (incl. household members); Simple IRA program with (up to) 3% employer match; generous Paid Time Off/Paid Holiday benefit (>5 weeks in Year 1); paid professional development; a work anniversary bonus; cell phone reimbursement; free meals and parking at Blanchet House.

Working at Blanchet house:

All Blanchet House employees are expected to contribute to a welcoming, safe, and respectful community grounded in our mission and values.

Our staff work alongside people experiencing homelessness, poverty, addiction, mental health challenges, trauma, and other significant barriers. Employees are expected to approach this work with compassion, appropriate professional boundaries, cultural awareness, and a trauma-informed mindset, treating every guest, resident, volunteer, colleague, and community member with dignity and respect.

All Blanchet House employees are expected to:

• Demonstrate commitment to Blanchet House's mission and values.
• Work effectively with people experiencing complex challenges with compassion, dignity, cultural awareness, and appropriate professional boundaries.
• Participate in Blanchet House's day-to-day services and maintain a meaningful presence in our programs and among the guests and residents we serve.
• Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills and collaborate effectively across teams.
• Be dependable, take responsibility for their work, and follow through on commitments.
• Be willing to learn, receive feedback, and adapt as organizational needs change.
• Maintain appropriate confidentiality and protect sensitive guest, resident, donor, employee, and organizational information.
• Understand and follow Blanchet House safety and emergency procedures.

Intentional Equity:

Blanchet House is committed to advancing equity and justice in our organization and in our community. This commitment inspires the Blanchet House staff to:

• Be intentional in our work toward equity and inclusion.
• Work toward a deeper understanding of the historical, systemic, and contemporary structures and actions of racism and other forms of discrimination, prejudice, and bias.
• Achieve a great understanding of and work toward correcting our own implicit biases.
• Continually identify inequities, eliminate barriers, and innovate our practices to better serve each other's experiences and needs.
• Staying engaged in the pursuit of equity and consistently seeking to repair and improve our understanding, practices, and services where we fall short.

Physical Demands:

• Willingness to travel regularly between Blanchet House sites throughout Portland.
• Ability to perform general office-based activities, with occasional lifting of up to 50 lbs and physical activity related to event setup/breakdown or other program needs. May require increased physical activity at times based on organizational or program needs.

Reasonable Accommodation:

Blanchet House is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for pregnant individuals and individuals with disabilities, including during the application process. If you need reasonable accommodations to participate in the application or interview process, please send an email with the subject line "Reasonable Accommodation Request" to bryan@sasquatchhr.org.

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to careers@blanchethouse.org.

Background check, drug screen, and proof of authorization to work in the U.S. required prior to hire. No phone calls please.

Blanchet House of Hospitality is an equal opportunity employer. We will extend equal opportunity to all individuals without regard to race, religion, color, sex, pregnancy), national origin, disability, age, gender identification, sexual orientation, genetic information, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state or local law. Our policy reflects and affirms Blanchet House of Hospitality's commitment to the principles of fair employment and the elimination of all discriminatory practices.

Job descriptions are a summary of a position's duties and responsibilities. They are descriptive in nature and do not necessarily define every function of a position.

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to careers@blanchethouse.org. No phone calls please.

First application review is October 19, 2026; position will remain posted until filled.