The posting
About Glide
GLIDE is a nationally recognized center for social justice, dedicated to fighting systemic injustices, creating pathways out of poverty and crisis, and transforming lives. Through its integrated comprehensive services, advocacy initiatives, and inclusive community, GLIDE empowers individuals, families, and children to achieve stability and to thrive. GLIDE is on the forefront of addressing some of society’s most pressing issues, including poverty, housing and homelessness, and racial and social justice. GLIDE’s mission is to create a radically inclusive, just, and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization.
Who We’re Looking For – Community and Crisis Officer
Bold thinkers. Fast movers. Smart collaborators. People who want to build, lead, and drive measurable change — and who care deeply about making an impact that matters. If you're ready to work in a high-performance, mission-driven environment — you strive to make life better for those who we serve — GLIDE is where you belong.
Position Summary
GLIDE is seeking a dynamic, strategic and senior leader to lead GLIDE’s Community and Crisis Response to scale GLIDE's street crisis response programs —including Journey Home, Cecil Williams Ambassadors, Glide Legacy Programs, and Single Room Occupancy (SRO) services—driving measurable impact and sustainable growth. This is a high-impact leadership opportunity for a proven senior leader who excels at building and scaling community networks, leading high-performing teams, and cultivating strategic partnerships. It presents a unique opportunity to shape how GLIDE expands reach, deepens impact, and ensures unhoused and housed residents feel supported wherever they are.
In this role, you will integrate the Community Ambassadors, Journey Home, and our Legacy Programs (meals and community safety), and SRO services into a coordinated neighborhood service and street response portfolio. The role connects street outreach, community safety, access to daily free meals and neighborhood and residential services with GLIDE’s broader services- integrating our targeted and comprehensive case management network- across 10 Life Domains for Whole Person Care. Neighborhood activation, resident participation, and collaborative stewardship of shared spaces will strengthen access, connection, and belonging.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
- Define and execute a scalable strategy for community engagement and externally facing clean and safe street programs, with integrated operating structures, policies, program frameworks, contracts, MOUs, and Sustainability Plans.
- Partner with the COO, CPO, Chief Compliance and Impact Officer to establish performance measures for
- impact, growth, and engagement; oversee program analyses, executive briefings, and decision-support materials.
- Lead coordination, information-sharing, and reporting across governance committees, working groups, disciplines, and partner agencies; ensure effective agendas, meeting materials, documented decisions, and action follow-through while elevating community risks, gaps, and priorities.
- Identify and prioritize new opportunities based on mission impact and sustainability; expand GLIDE’s reach, visibility, and engagement through outreach, strategic partnerships, and community infrastructure built for long-term success.
- Translate strategic priorities into annual plans and actionable workplans with clear owners, dates, dollars, deliverables, milestones, and performance measures; lead through directors and managers while strengthening their decision-making and operational oversight.
- Oversee Cecil Williams Ambassadors, Journey Home, SRO, and Legacy programming strategy and execution, including contract compliance, community outreach, city and community coordination, and all aspects of program operations.
- Advance health, wellness, engagement, and development services and pathways in all life domains, promoting stability and mobility through supportive relationships; build partnerships and site-based services supporting resident engagement, stability, health, case management connections, mobility, and resident leadership.
- Integrate referrals and handoffs across GLIDE and partners with clear follow-up and information-sharing responsibilities; engage housed and unhoused residents, youth, SRO residents, businesses, and neighborhood partners in shaping service and public-space priorities, resolving concerns, and evaluating participation, resident feedback, accessibility, service connections, perceived safety, and sustained use of spaces.
- Ensure contract performance, alignment, and sustainability; oversee grant-funded Journey Home, Cecil Williams Ambassadors, and SRO services to meet compliance and performance requirements.
- Support local partnerships and funding strategies; advance ideas that enhance neighborhood services and programs, project development, stakeholder coordination, and contractor performance for major initiatives.
- Coordinate with Finance and Accounting on procurement for city, state, and federal community and public safety programs and grant-funded initiatives, including RFPs, RFIs, contracts, purchase orders, and consortium opportunities.
- Oversee budget development, forecasting, and financial tracking; monitor expenditures, revenue, and funding allocations to ensure fiscal accountability and return on investment.
- Develop mid- and long-range budget projections with program directors, managers, and Finance; ensure compliance and performance across the Ambassadors, Journey Home, Legacy Programs, and SRO grant-funded portfolio.
- Coordinate with Finance and Accounting on community and public safety procurement, including RFPs, RFIs, contracts, purchase orders, and consortium opportunities; support project development, stakeholder coordination, and contractor performance for major initiatives.
- Partner with all Senior Leadership, including but not limited to Advancement, Programs, the Center for Social Justice, and GLIDE Memorial Church; build strong community alliances to ensure program
- sustainability, strategic alignment, partnerships, and data-informed continuous improvement.
- Work as a thought partner alongside the CEO on organizational strategy, culture, and design.
- Lead and develop senior leaders; ensure programs are fully staffed and functioning at a high level and that all city, state, and federal contractual requirements are met. Oversee direct reports, delegate appropriately, monitor performance, conduct evaluations, and ensure accountability.
- Lead reporting up, down, and across the organization on community-impacting gaps; ensure cross-disciplinary communication and collaboration; and maintain alignment with Executive Leadership Team priorities and programs.
Required Experience, Skills & Qualifications:
- Graduate degree in social services, non-profit management, public health, or business administration preferred.
- Minimum 10+ years senior level management and supervisory experience in a multi-faceted service delivery organization developing and leading effective management teams.
- Experience with street teams, safety protocols and good neighbor policies.
- Experience with managing and implementing programs to high-risk and vulnerable communities using trauma-informed, harm reduction, stages of change, and other asset-based approaches.
- Extensive knowledge and experience managing social services, family services, social work, program design and development, or related fields.
- Outstanding communication/interpersonal skills; ability to develop partnerships with a wide variety of people (colleagues, Board members, funders, clients, and people of diverse backgrounds).
- Strategic thinker with strong analytical skills, ability to make decisions drive by data analysis, possesses financial acumen, and exercises critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
- Demonstrated experience overseeing field deployment, incident escalation, neighborhood service coordination, and operational follow-through.
- Strong background in staff supervision including coaching Senior Directors and Directors to lead large teams and portfolios
- Strategic and systems mindset; strong analytic abilities; strong meeting planning/facilitation skills
- Experience managing or administering government-funded programs or working with government funders.
- Strong financial oversight, grant and contract compliance, project management, and performance management skills.
- Sound judgment in situations involving service refusal, behavioral health needs, neighborhood concerns, and emergency response.
- Demonstrated success with proposal/grant-writing and reporting and stakeholder engagement.
- Demonstrated ability to manage operating budgets of $8 million or more consisting of diverse funding streams.
- Expertise in program design, project management, and program implementation. Contract negotiation skills with demonstrated ability to effectively manage multiple processes and projects. Ability to develop project budgets for proposals, contract negotiations, and partnerships.
- Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite; adept at learning project management and data systems (i.e. Salesforce, Asana, Concur, Adaptive, etc.)
- Willingness and ability to work nights, weekends, or holidays as required.
Preferred Experience, Skills & Qualifications
- Familiarity with the Tenderloin community; and broader SF community
- Familiarity with community-driven or volunteer-powered organizations.
- Experience with community ambassador programs, voluntary reunification, youth services, SRO-based
- services, or coordinated case management.
- Housing Policy, Case management, and medical billing experience and knowledge a plus.
- Familiarity with motivational interviewing, de-escalation, overdose response, and coaching staff in field settings.
Work Environment
GLIDE’s buildings are located in the Tenderloin neighborhood. GLIDE maintains an "open door" policy to the community and its clients, who frequently enter and leave the building.
