Director, Programs

On behalf of the Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF), CultureSmith is honoured to lead their current search to add a new Director, Programs & Evaluation to the group.

Calgary Homeless Foundation is a purpose-driven organization that allocates resources to frontline agencies in Calgary's homeless-serving system of care.

They work in alignment with governments and collaboratively with service providers and their community partners. They help translate complex system needs into coordinated, efficient ground-level action that maximizes the impact of every resource and creates lasting pathways out of homelessness.

The Opportunity: Director, Programs & Evaluation

The Director, Programs & Evaluation (The Director) reports to the VP, Community Impact (VPCI) and serves as an integral part of the full leadership team providing both strategic expertise and guidance and operational oversight of the Calgary Homeless Foundation's (CHF's) funding envelope, evaluation strategy, and program coordination including Coordinated Access and the Day Space Network,

The Director plays a pivotal role in guiding the fight against homelessness by guiding key system-level initiatives within Calgary's Homeless Serving System of Care (HSSC).

This position leads four interconnected teams: System Planning, Evaluation, Coordinated Access and Assessment, and the Day Space Network and Outreach Coordination.

With oversight of the annual programs budget and responsibility for federal and municipal funding portfolios, the Director cultivates and strengthens collaborative relationships across funded agencies, government, and partners across the system to reduce barriers to housing, improve service delivery, and drive continuous quality improvement.

This role combines strategic thinking with operational leadership, championing evaluation frameworks, capacity building, and collaborative solutions that enhance outcomes for Calgarians experiencing homelessness.

The Director oversees four teams with four direct reports, Managers of the System Planning, Evaluation, Outreach, and Coordinated Access teams. The Director is a critical part of the Community Impact division and works in close partnership with the Director, Data and Analytics.

How they work at CHF

At CHF our approach is grounded in purpose, collaboration, and accountability. We believe that how we work together matters as much as what we achieve. Here's what you can expect from us and what we expect from you:

• Ownership Under Pressure:
  We take responsibility for outcomes, even when challenges arise.
• Constructive Feedback:
  We give and receive feedback openly, with the goal of learning and improving.
• Pace with Purpose:
  We move quickly when needed, without sacrificing quality or integrity.
• Healthy Disagreement:
  We challenge ideas respectfully and invite discussion to make decisions stronger.
• Shared Understanding:
  Expertise means building clarity for others, not being "right by default."

Our culture values transparency, inclusion, and resilience. We name real pressures—internal and external—and navigate them together. Interviews and development conversations focus on real examples of how we act when it's hard, because that's when our values matter most.

Accountabilities and Deliverables

• Serve as a subject matter expert (building shared understanding) on homelessness-related issues, including housing, social and health services, complex system design, and strategies for evaluating effectiveness.
• Build and sustain integrated partnerships that enhance system performance with funded agencies, all orders of government, public systems, and community organizations to foster an integrated system of care that ensures timely access to housing and supports.
• Advance Indigenous perspectives by identifying opportunities to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing and paradigms of practice.
• Lead four teams (System Planning, Evaluation, Coordinated Access & Assessment (CAA), and Day Space Network & Outreach Coordination) to achieve objectives such as:

-Making recommendations on the CHF funding envelope.

-Administering funding through grants and monitoring compliance with funding objectives.

-Implementing and monitoring standards across the HSSC and coordinating accreditation processes.

-Developing and coordinating the Day Space Network, Extreme Weather Response, and outcome-focused outreach initiatives.

-Designing and implementing continuous quality improvement initiatives.

-Leading a responsive and continuously improving CAA program to ensure equitable, efficient, and timely housing placements.

-Advising and co-creating training and capacity building programs for the HSSC.

• Implement CHF's evaluation strategy to assess system effectiveness, program outcomes, and participant experience, including:

-Interpreting and sharing evaluation findings internally and across the HSSC.

-Building evaluation capacity within CHF and among funded agencies.

-Collaborating with the Data & Analytics team to ensure evaluation activities are tracked and results are actionable.

• Champion engagement of people with lived and living experience in shaping programs and strategies.
• Develop an applied research strategy in collaboration with the VPCI and Director, Data & Analytics, leveraging partnerships with researchers, institutions, and other sources of expertise to drive innovation and evidence-informed practice.
• Demonstrate and promote CHF's leadership competencies and represent CHF as an integral part of the full leadership team across the organization
• Provide direct coaching and feedback habits to support the development and performance of direct reports and their teams and work with the VPCI to support the goals and objectives of CHF and the Community Impact Division.
• Demonstrate the ability to withstand the complexities of external pressures while navigating trade-offs between funded agencies and partners when not every need can be met

Qualifications and Education Requirement

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent in human services, social sciences, health sciences, business, evaluation, or other relevant discipline. A postgraduate degree would be considered an asset.
• 10+ years' experience in social services or healthcare. Experience with housing and homelessness would be an asset.
• 5+ years' leadership experience in social services or healthcare.
• Ability to speak to specific past examples of personal leadership in the face of challenge and complexity
• Strong examples of difficult funding decisions and the ability to translate complex data into tangible practice
• Strong background with collaboration and coordination of system-level initiatives.
• Strong background in evaluation and research methodologies, including at least one or more of:

-Utilization-focused evaluation

-Program logic models and theories of change

-Developmental evaluation

-Principles-focused evaluation

-Ability to identify and assess existing data sources for their potential in program evaluation

-Ability to work with partners to present analyses, find common themes, and identify relevant and actionable findings from evaluations.

• Grant management experience, including procurement, program budgeting and forecasting, and monitoring.

To apply for this role, please email your resume and cover letter or apply through LinkedIn:

Tony Harvie, Partner – CultureSmith

Calgary Homeless Foundation is an equal employment opportunity employer. They are committed to and support equal employment opportunity for all individuals without regard to race, religion, color, national or ethnic origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status.

This posting is intended as a summary of the primary responsibilities and qualifications for this position. The job description is not intended as inclusive of all duties an individual in this position might be asked to perform or of all qualifications that may be required either now or in the future.

We thank those applicants who are interested in this position; however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.