Neighbor Advocacy Director

Neighbor Advocacy Director

Company: SENT

Position: Neighbor Advocacy Director

Job Classification: Exempt (salary), Full-time

Pay Range: $55,000-$60,000/year, based on experience

Hours: 40 hours/week

Reporting Relationship: Operations Director

Location: Onsite, Hi-Crest area

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

SENT's Vision: Wholistic transformation of neighborhoods in Shawnee County, with an emphasis in Hi-Crest.

SENT's 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 SENT's 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 SENT's 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 SENT's 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 SENT's 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

• 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 SENT's 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 driver's 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:

• 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