Neighbor Advocacy Director

Company: SENT
Position: Neighbor Advocacy Director
Job Classification: Exempt (salary) Full-time
Pay Range: $55000-$60000/year based on experience
Hours: 40 hours/week
Reporting Relationship: Operations Director
Location: Onsite Hi-Crest area

SENTs Mission:
Intentionally walking beside neighbors through loving relationships and strategic development to accomplish the holistic transformation of neighborhoods in Shawnee County.

SENTs Vision:
Wholistic transformation of neighborhoods in Shawnee County with an emphasis in Hi-Crest.

SENTs Core Values:
Relocation Redistribution Reconciliation Wholistic Approach Empowerment Listening to the Community and Leadership Development.

Position mission: The Director of Neighbor Advocacy provides strategic leadership supervision and quality assurance across all neighbor-facing services at SENT. This role ensures that person-centered trauma-informed and dignity-based practices are consistently implemented across programs while supporting developing and leading a diverse team of staff and contractors who walk alongside neighbors as they work toward stability and long-term goals.

Essential Functions:
Department Leadership & Supervision (40%)

• Provide direct supervision coaching and performance management for approximately 5 staff members and 5 contractors across Neighbor Advocacy Southside Filling Station Food Pantry Community Health and Wellness Initiatives Community Health Workers and SER-related services.
• Establish clear expectations workflows and accountability structures for all neighbor-facing roles.
• Conduct regular one-on-one supervision team meetings and performance evaluations.
• Support staff well-being healthy boundaries and sustainable workloads in high-relational work.
• Lead onboarding training and ongoing professional development for department staff and contractors.

Person-Centered Case Management & Food Pantry Oversight (30%)

• Ensure all neighbor-facing services are grounded in person-centered case management principles strengths-based approaches and trauma-informed care.
• Ensure pantry operations align with SENTs mission values and dignity-centered approach to food access.
• Provide strategic guidance and oversight for the development and implementation of community health and wellness classes including nutrition education and food-as-medicine programming.
• Ensure health and wellness classes are coordinated with other neighbor-facing services (Neighbor Advocacy CHWs Wellness Clinic Community Garden etc.).
• Provide guidance and oversight on complex cases boundary challenges crisis situations and ethical decision-making.
• Ensure appropriate documentation confidentiality and compliance with applicable policies (including HIPAA where relevant).
• Support consistent use of assessments goal-setting frameworks and referral pathways across programs.
• Monitor quality consistency and outcomes of services provided by staff and contractors.

Program Quality Systems & Compliance (20%)

• Develop implement and maintain department policies procedures and best practices for neighbor-facing work.
• Ensure alignment and consistency across Community Liaison services Pantry Services Health and Wellness Classes CHW work SER placements volunteers and contractor-led advocacy services.
• Collaborate with Operations and Finance to ensure programs operate within approved budgets.
• Support data collection reporting and evaluation for grants internal tracking and organizational learning.
• Identify gaps trends and opportunities for improvement in neighbor-facing services.

Collaboration & Organizational Leadership (10%)

• Serve as a key member of SENTs leadership team collaborating closely with Operations Programs Finance and Development.
• Partner with internal teams to align neighbor advocacy with food access wellness housing workforce and education initiatives.
• Cultivate strong relationships with community partners service providers and referral agencies.
• Represent SENT professionally in community meetings collaborations and partner settings related to neighbor advocacy work.
• Serve as SENTs primary point of contact at Highland Park High School and Avondale Academy.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with school administrators teachers counselors and support staff.
• Coordinate regular communication with school staff regarding available SENT supports programs and referral pathways.
• Attend relevant school meetings events and student support conversations as appropriate.

General Responsibilities

• Support SENTs strong relationship culture through quality leadership collaboration and communication.
• Maintain professionalism while representing SENT onsite and in the community.
• Implement and audit policies and procedures for compliance within the department.
• Provide timely responses to staff partners and leadership.
• Contribute to reports for leadership Board donors and grants as needed.

Performance Measurements and Accountability
Success in this role will be evaluated based on:

• Effective supervision and retention of staff and contractors.
• Consistent implementation of person-centered case management practices across programs.
• Quality and timeliness of documentation reporting and program outcomes.
• Strong internal collaboration and external partnerships.
• Achievement of departmental goals as outlined by leadership.
• Strong connection between the number of pantry shoppers participating in other SENT services/programs and Avondale East services.
• Program participants have access to transportation to and from SENT appointments
• Hi-Crest transient numbers decrease
• Increase in the number of Shawnee County residents are participating in community events
• Maintenance of confidentiality and ethical standards.

Qualifications: (Knowledge Skill and Ability)

• Demonstrated experience in person-centered case management social services community health or related fields.
• Proven experience leading and supervising teams in relational community-based work.
• Strong understanding of trauma-informed care healthy boundaries and ethical service delivery.
• Ability to coach support and develop staff working with complex needs and barriers.
• Excellent leadership communication and organizational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple programs staff roles and priorities simultaneously.
• Technologically proficient; able to learn and implement new systems and reporting tools.
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills; familiarity with Google Workspace preferred.
• Knowledge of and commitment to SENTs mission vision and values.
• Knowledge of and agreement with CCDA principles as applied to community development.
• Ability to work effectively within approved budgets.
• Valid Kansas drivers license.
• Resident of or willing to relocate to Topeka KS preferred.
• Demonstrated emotional maturity sound judgment and ability to navigate crisis situations..

Physical Demands:

• Lift and move items up to 50 pounds
• Sit stand and walk for extended periods of time
• Ability to concentrate on detailed information
• Ability to work on the computer for several hours at a time
• Ability to bend kneel and reach items
• Frequent use of hands to finger handle or feel objects tools or controls
• Must be able to speak and listen effectively
• Vision abilities for close vision color vision peripheral vision and depth perception

Work Environment:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a team member encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

• Office environment: majority of time spent in a pleasant indoor environment with good lighting and temperature control.
• This is a non-smoking work environment including all premises and other such areas
• Travel may be required along with that entails standard travel risks

Additional Duties:
Additional duties and responsibilities may be added to this job description at any time. The job description does not state or imply that these are the only activities to be performed by the employee(s) holding this position. Employees are required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related responsibilities as requested by their supervisor.