Focus Strategies

COMPANY OVERVIEW 

Company Mission and Services 

Focus Strategies is a national consulting firm based on the West Coast dedicated to helping communities improve efforts to end homelessness through community-based planning, informed by local data and national best practices. For more than 20 years, we have provided consulting to jurisdictional and community leadership in communities across the country in their efforts to reduce homelessness. 

We are dedicated to partnering with communities through strategic consulting and technical assistance to design and implement housing-focused, equity-informed, and person-centered solutions that reduce homelessness. We are committed to working with our clients to understand their community’s needs, including the experience and dynamics of homelessness in the region as well as the unique strengths and challenges of existing strategies. Together, we partner with our clients to develop programs, map strategic action plans, identify policy solutions, and evaluate efforts to improve outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. 

POSITION SUMMARY  

Position: Senior Consultant / Senior Project Lead 

Location: Remote, United States 

Reports to: Principal Associate 

Direct reports: Consultants (not required) 

Status: Full-time, exempt. 
We may consider a part-time role for the right candidate with significant and relevant consulting experience. 

Compensation: $125,000-$145,000 (most candidates join us at the lower half of the range to leave room for growth, learning, and development; we negotiate actual salaries with final candidates based on experience in similar roles and expertise related to qualifications) 

Time off & benefits: Paid time off (vacation, sick time, and 10 holidays), 401(k) with 4% salary match and profit sharing, generous benefits (health, dental, and vision), flexible spending plans, short and long-term disability insurance, and $50 per month reimbursement for phone, internet, and office supplies 

Required: Must reside in the United States and provide proof of employment eligibility upon hire

SENIOR CONSULTANT RESPONSIBILITIES AND REQUIREMENTS 

Position Overview 

Focus Strategies Senior Consultants are responsible for coordinating and overseeing the management of projects, which may include supervising staff, stakeholder engagement, developing substantive analytical, interpretive, and policy content for deliverables, publications, reports, and other products on behalf of our clients. We have a passion for ending homelessness and use our critical thinking, analytical and interpersonal communication skills to provide timely and accurate analysis and develop valuable results on time and on budget.  

Senior consultants have spent at least eight years developing and implementing homelessness response programs and systems or housing/homelessness response policy development. Our calendars on Monday will look significantly different from the way things turn out by Friday, and we are comfortable with changing priorities and ambiguity. We may be leading project staff, working closely with internal and external stakeholders, or preparing draft and final deliverables on time and on budget – we are always striving for excellence. 

Position Responsibilities 

Knowledge 

• Maintain leading edge knowledge of current research, program and system design, and best practices in the field of ending homelessness. 

• Shape and conduct qualitative research on a variety of topics, including focus groups and other engagement approaches. 

• Interpret homeless and adjacent system data, including health, mental health, homelessness, and affordable housing. 

• With support from analytics team colleagues, synthesize research findings into recommendations for practice. 

Delivery 

• Ensure that deadlines are met and projects are delivered on time and on budget; and that staff work happens in the context of holding closely the mission and values of the company. 

• Exercise active project leadership in fast‑moving work, balancing strategic oversight with day‑to‑day decision‑making, revising plans as conditions change, and ensuring projects remain feasible and aligned with client needs, timeline, and budget. 

• Plan, oversee, and conduct research and analyses related to homelessness response systems and programs, identifying key findings, and proposing person-centered, data- and equity-informed solutions. 

• Author and edit complex Focus Strategies technical documents, publications, and reports and supervise others who author Focus Strategies technical documents, publications, and reports, including developing report outline and structure, drafting content, integrating feedback, and producing final content. 

• Design and deliver a range of planning and design activities to help communities develop systems and policies to end or reduce homelessness through an equity- and data-informed lens, including community input processes, data analysis, documentation of existing and proposed system processes and structures in both written and chart form, and best practices research. 

• Develop training and technical assistance materials for a range of audiences (e.g. providers, policy makers, funders, professional meetings), tailor materials to client needs, make presentations and deliver trainings, assess results, and modify over time to meet needs. 

• Make presentations to community stakeholders. 

Client Management 

• Serve as project manager for some projects; serve as resource and support for projects managed by peers. Lead a variety of projects with varying time commitments depending on the season, act as a thought partner (sometimes responding on the fly), and juggle competing priorities. 

• Engage with diverse communities of clients, partner organizations, and people experiencing homelessness to collect and accurately interpret information about existing systems and possible solutions; facilitate meetings using mindful and anti-racist strategies to promote participation and inclusion. 

• Build strong relationships with clients by assessing (in the moment), what role to play, e.g. thought partner, project manager, supportive consultant, and behave appropriately to move the work forward. 

• Identify and cultivate opportunities for new or expanded client engagements; represent Focus Strategies with prospective clients, funders, and partners as a credible, senior voice in the field. 

Teamwork 

• Supervise assigned staff, supporting professional development, acting as a thought partner, and delivering feedback. 

• Lead the candidate evaluation process when hiring direct reports. 

• Work closely with staff to set priorities; independently organize project workflow; communicate project plan and tasks to consultants; oversee and coordinate project progress and task completion. 

• Work closely and collaboratively with supervisor and company leadership to execute on priorities, including organizing project workflow, and providing timely updates. 

• Actively participate in continuous learning and process and product improvement efforts with the Focus team.  

• Engage in Focus Strategies collective processes (e.g., discussions, readings, committees) to advance equity-informed internal and client work approaches. 

• Contribute to team effort by accomplishing related tasks as needed. 

Position Requirements 

• A passion for ending homelessness with a commitment to data-informed public policy, including advancing equity for marginalized communities.  

• Recognized subject-matter expertise in the homelessness response field, evidenced by prior publications, conference presentations, policy testimony, or invitations to advise funders/government bodies. 

• A graduate degree in sociology, public policy, social work, or a related field (at least six years of experience in a management role in the homelessness response field may substitute for a graduate degree). 

• At least eight years of substantive/system-level experience in homelessness response. 

• At least eight years of experience developing high-quality written analyses of homelessness response programs, populations, and dynamics.  

• Demonstrated project management experience including skilled listening, using expertise to speak up in groups and be a thought-partner, active project portfolio management, developing appropriate plans and timelines for accomplishing tasks and projects, holding self and others accountable, developing short-term goals and alternatives; delegates work and assigns decision-making responsibilities appropriately. 

• Ability to work effectively with people of diverse races, ethnicities, nationalities, sexual orientations, gender identities, gender expression, socio-economic backgrounds, religions, ages, English-speaking abilities, immigration status, and physical abilities in a multicultural environment. 

• Leadership experience of building effective teams, delivering performance feedback, and developing others (acknowledging differences in privilege and power). 

• Understanding of racism, oppression, and the ways in which systems interplay to cause homelessness and housing instability and appropriately engages clients where they are to fluently advance equity throughout the work. 

• Successful track record of developing and executing workplans for complex projects. 

• Ability to assess and interpret quantitative and qualitative data about homelessness and homeless programs and systems. 

• Strong verbal and analytical skills including the ability to craft messaging (verbally and in writing) in a neutral or persuasive way; superior technical writing skills. 

• Must be highly self-directed, detail‐oriented, and proficient at generating and understanding budget data. 

• Ability to read and understand basic financial reports, and to prepare financial budgets and projections. 

• Proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. 

• Flexibility - must be able to work with shifts in priorities on a daily and weekly basis. 

• Able to travel occasionally throughout the United States, (most commonly the West Coast). 

Physical Requirements 

• Ability to operate a computer for 8 hours per day. 

• Ability to give and receive detailed information through verbal and written communication. 

• Ability to perform activities such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures, transcribing, and expansive reading. 

• Ability to set up and maintain a safe and ergonomic workspace in a home environment with minimal paper file management, including receiving occasional office supply shipments, rare shipping of equipment for repair, and carrying a laptop and files or occasional all-day travel. 

• Ability to give and receive detailed information through verbal and written communication.

Preferred skills and aptitudes 

• Deep knowledge of the homelessness landscape and common issues; general knowledge about homelessness funding streams; and system design and housing options for communities working to reduce homelessness. 

• Interpreting quantitative and qualitative data about homelessness and homeless programs and systems. 

• Demonstrated expertise in supportive housing, including familiarity with project financing. 

• Experience in managing complex projects with performance or outcomes measurement. 

• Spanish/English bilingual (written and oral) strongly preferred; candidates who speak, read, and write fluently in both languages are especially encouraged to apply. 

What the Senior Consultant will Gain from Position 

• Advanced experience with complex policy, technical, and community issues using a systems approach within the field of ending and reducing homelessness. 

• Ability to develop innovative solutions and analyses to common and emerging problems related to homelessness response systems of care. 

• Opportunity to deepen skills in program, systems, and policy analysis using data and information from multiple sources. 

• Be the lead support to communities working to reduce homelessness. 

• Opportunity to lead the development of complex plans, evaluations, and reports. 

• Experience with consult