At Home Researcher Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

ABOUT DESTINATION: HOME
Destination: Home, a 501(c)3 supporting organization of Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF), is a public-private partnership ending homelessness in Silicon Valley. Through our collective impact model, we convene and collaborate with stakeholders across our community to address the root causes of homelessness and drive true systemic change. We embrace a data-driven and human approach - advocating for policies, incubating new ideas and programs, and investing in strategies to connect more of our homeless neighbors to a stable home and prevent homelessness before it begins. Our work is grounded in a commitment to advancing racial and socioeconomic justice - and working together, we can build a community where homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring.
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
This is a full-time, exempt level position in San Jose, California. This position requires approximately 10-15% travel each month.
HYBRID WORK SCHEDULE
Destination: Home currently operates in a hybrid office/remote work environment where employees are required to be in the office three days per week (typically, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays).
JOB SUMMARY AND REPORTING
Destination: Home is seeking an experienced and visionary Senior Director to lead Right at Home, a highly visible national initiative replicating an evidence-based homelessness prevention model across 10 diverse U.S. communities, including urban, rural, and tribal contexts. Reporting to the Chief Program Officer, the Senior Director is accountable for implementation, model fidelity and appropriate local adaptation, national grantmaking, community performance, research integration, and initiative operations. Destination: Home serves as funder and model holder, while local experts and provider networks lead implementation. The Senior Director will maintain a current understanding of progress in each community, connect communities with the right internal and external expertise, and bring data-informed recommendations to the Leadership Team when challenges arise. The role supervises the Sr. Program Officer, coordinates contractors and research and evaluation partners, and oversees a consultant-supported learning community. The Senior Director also serves as an initiative spokesperson in a variety of settings, working closely with development, policy, and communications teams.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Initiative Oversight

• Lead the implementation of the Right at Home model across 10 pilot communities with varied local systems and contexts.
• Design, maintain, and improve Destination: Home's quarterly performance-monitoring system to provide a clear, comparable view of progress across all pilot communities.
• Identify emerging challenges, diagnose contributing factors, and work with partner communities to develop solutions and capture learnings.
• Approve local modifications within established eligibility and fidelity parameters and elevate significant adaptations that could affect research validity or materially depart from the model.
• Direct attention and support where most needed, including traveling to and working in the field with communities requiring deeper assistance.
• Be accountable for multi-year budgets, annual priorities, performance measures, and timely execution across the initiative.
• Ensure alignment across program implementation, research, evaluation, data, and technical assistance partners.
• Manage contractors and vendors related to site-specific work and ensure their efforts align with initiative priorities.

Program and Grantmaking Leadership

• Provide oversight of the national grantmaking portfolio and pilot community investments.
• Supervise staff and oversee day-to-day administration, implementation coordination, technical assistance, and follow-through across all sites.
• Partner with research, evaluation, and data partners to monitor community-level performance, implementation fidelity, and continuous improvement.
• Conducts annual site visits and quarterly check-in calls, as well as reviewing grant reports and budget amendment requests, with the pilot communities
• Coordinate local experts, provider networks, technical assistance providers, and research partners to support effective local implementation.
• Oversee a consultant-supported best practices learning community of 20-30 communities, ensuring its work reinforces Right at Home and supports coordinated federal advocacy.

External Partnerships

• Build trusted relationships with community grantee partners and local implementation leaders, while maintaining a current understanding of progress, risks, and support needs in each pilot community.
• Serve as Destination: Home's lead and connector for Right at Home, using a network of internal and external experts to route questions and bring in specialized support.
• Support fundraising by providing performance data and community examples and participating in partner and funder meetings.
• Represent Right at Home at national conferences, policy forums, and stakeholder convenings.
• Lead relevant steering committees, advisory groups, and national partnerships.

Organizational Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop the Right at Home team and assess whether additional staffing or expertise is needed.
• Develop and refine the systems, governance processes, and cross-team coordination needed to support the initiative.
• Provide regular updates and bring data-informed strategic and resource recommendations to the Leadership Team.
• Foster a collaborative, equity-centered, high-performing culture.

Learning, Evaluation, and Communications

• Champion a culture of learning by using monitoring data, evaluation findings, and community experience to inform strategic decisions and adjustments.
• Share data, local successes, implementation challenges, and best practices across communities, partners, and organizational teams.
• Coordinate with communications and policy teams to share Right at Home's progress, highlight local successes, and prepare pilot and learning-community jurisdictions for coordinated federal advocacy.

Other

• Other related duties as assigned.

The responsibilities outlined in this job description are not meant to be all-inclusive and are subject to change. Employees are expected to be flexible and adaptable, performing other related duties as needed to meet the organization's evolving goals and priorities.
QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIRED SKILLS

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in homelessness prevention, affordable housing, philanthropy, public policy, community development, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, multi-site initiatives, cross-sector partnerships, and teams. Experience leading multi-state initiatives is preferred.
• Experience scaling a model across communities strongly preferred.
• Experience overseeing grantmaking, budgets, program operations, strategy, and data-driven performance monitoring.
• Strong knowledge of housing and homelessness systems, public funding, supportive services, and community-centered approaches.
• Ability to navigate political environments, influence policy, build coalitions, manage conflict, and facilitate complex discussions.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and organizational management skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to equity, economic justice, systems change, and incorporating lived experience into program and policy design.
• Lived experience with homelessness or housing instability is strongly valued.

SALARY AND BENEFITS
SVCF is committed to offering competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits. The target hiring range for this position is $221,000 to $235,000 per year based on experience, credentials and internal salary equity.
Our comprehensive benefits package includes generous medical, dental, and vision plans; paid time off; holidays and employer contribution and matching to a 403(b) retirement plan.
WORK ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL DEMANDS
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by the incumbent in this position. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND INCLUSION
Silicon Valley Community Foundation has a deep commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and equal opportunity. We are committed to building a team that is representative of our community.
SVCF is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, political affiliation, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.
SVCF is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, we will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions, of employment, please contact humanresources@siliconvalleycf.org. Examples of reasonable accommodation include making a change to the application process or work procedures, providing documents in an alternate format and/or using specialized equipment.