Children Program Director Jobs in Arkansas (NOW HIRING)

Department: Housing
Reports to: Director of Programs
Employment Type: In-Person, Full-Time, Salary, Exempt
Schedule: Monday-Friday 8am-5pm with some weekends, evenings, and overnights as needed and on-call for one month every quarter

About Our House

Our House empowers homeless and near-homeless families and individuals to succeed in the workforce, in school, and in life through hard work, wise decision-making, and active participation in the community. The Our House team has defined a set of seven Guiding Principles that characterize our culture and that we intentionally seek to uphold: Hard Work, Wise Decision-Making, Community, Initiative, Integrity, Safety, and Heart.

About the Role

You will be responsible for the overall strategic and operational success of Our House’s Housing Programs, including the Shelter, the Hasbro House, the Mabee House, and the new family housing building set to open in summer 2026.  You will work closely with the Housing Team and case management team to ensure that residents receive the services they need to successfully work the program, find employment, save money, and prepare for transition into permanent housing. 

What You’ll Do

• Provide overall vision and leadership of the Housing Program at Our House, including the Shelter and Family House Programs. Together, these facilities are home to over 150 homeless men, women, and children each night. 
• Support growth and expansion of the Housing Program at Our House
  • Actively engage in campus expansion projects, including new residential buildings and renovations of existing infrastructure.
  • Increase staff capacity of the Housing Team by helping with recruitment, screening, onboarding, training, and ongoing coaching to ensure frontline staff have the skills to perform at a high level of impact.
• Make strategic decisions about Housing Program policies, procedures and rules, and make improvements based on best practices, data and client feedback, and seek input and guidance from the Our House team. 
• Collaborate and communicate closely with all other Our House programs—Career Center, Mental Health, Stability Program and Children’s Programs—to provide holistic, wrap-around and coordinated services to residents of the Housing program.
• Lead the Housing Program team to achieve programmatic goals related to resident success—employment, savings, planned exits, and transition to permanent housing.

• Ensure the Housing program is adequately staffed at all times — the Housing Program uniquely operates 24/7 every day of the year and requires a careful staffing plan. This may include occasionally filling in for night or weekends shifts at the Intake Desk and being on-call for one month every quarter. 

• Prioritize the safety of Housing residents, staff and volunteers through procedures related to structure, security, physical/mental health, hygiene, and crisis management
• Uphold an environment of respect and professionalism in the Housing Program. Make sure that all residents are treated fairly, respectfully, and that the Housing Program is trauma-informed, inclusive, and safe for all people. 
• Maintain a well-stocked inventory of food, clothing, linens, and hygiene items that meet the basic needs of residents of the Housing Program.
• Support a quality Meal Service program and nurture relationships with feeding program partners, in-kind donors, and volunteers.
• Use wise decision making and integrity to evaluate resident grievances, coach residents through conflict, regularly meet with residents of the program, and assess appeals to write-ups and appeals to evictions from the Housing Program. 
• Build a sense of community and positivity in the Housing Program through regular resident meetings and special events and through celebrating resident success.
• Ensure that all red flag incidents or concerns in the Housing Program are reported and documented to the appropriate authority as well as the Director of Programs, Director of Operations, or Executive Director.  
• Ensure compliance with regulatory agencies of the Housing Program, including relevant standards of the Fair Housing Act, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and the Arkansas Department of Health.
• Work with the Development Team on compliance with all grant requirements, including reporting, maintaining files, data tracking, and performance measures.
• Attend training, professional development, and community meetings relating to homelessness and social services, and create and find training opportunities for the Housing team that improve the quality of programming.
• Serve as representative of the Housing Program and participate in fundraising events, tours, meetings with current or potential funders, thank you letters to supporters, assistance with grants, identification of needs, and communication of relevant stories.
• Actively engage and energize Our House staff members, volunteers, partnering organizations, donors, and grant funders at Our House.
• Conduct other duties as assigned to fulfill Our House’s mission.

What You’ll Bring

• At least three years’ experience working in a leadership position in a program or organization serving high risk individuals
• Ability to work effectively with diverse staff, clients, and community members
• Ability to implement and supervise a positive learning environment while incorporating academic enrichment programming
• Experience with conflict resolution and/or crisis management
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; a persuasive and passionate communicator with excellent interpersonal and multidisciplinary project skills
• Action-oriented, entrepreneurial, adaptable, and innovative approach to planning
• Ability to work effectively in collaboration with diverse groups of people
• Passion, idealism, integrity, positive attitude, mission-driven, and self-directed
• Must be able to lift 30lbs

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required
• Must possess a valid driver’s license and vehicle to use in performance of job. The position requires some travel within Central Arkansas.
• CPR / First Aid certification within 90 days of employment
• Must be able to pass criminal background checks, child and adult maltreatment registry checks, sex offender registry checks, and a pre-employment drug screen

Benefits & Perks

Visit our careers page for more information on benefits and perks!

Our House is a drug-free workplace. 

Our House is an equal opportunity employer. We value diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all team members. People of color and members of the LGBTQ community are encouraged to apply.