Systems Improvement Advisor, Large Scale-Change

About Community Solutions:

Community Solutions is a non-profit organization that works to achieve a lasting end to homelessness that leaves no one behind. We envision a more equitable future where homelessness is never inevitable or a way of life, for anyone. Since 2015, we have led Built for Zero, a movement of more than 70 cities and counties using data to radically change how they work and the impact they can achieve — and proving that it is possible to make homelessness rare and brief. Nearly half of those communities have reduced homelessness in their communities, and 14 have ended veteran or chronic homelessness. In order to help communities equitably and sustainably end homelessness, we are also working to identify solutions that can address gaps in housing, disrupt inflow into homelessness, and produce more racially equitable systems.

Community Solutions seeks leaders at every level: extraordinary, mission-oriented people not satisfied with the status quo. We are a team of values-driven innovators motivated by results. We eagerly seek and support diverse applicants. We provide generous benefits and opportunities for inspiring and transformational professional growth. We pride ourselves in developing an inclusive workplace culture that encourages staff to bring their whole selves to work every day.

Position Overview:

Community Solutions (CS) is seeking an experienced, self-motivated, and organized individual to join the energetic, Built for Zero (BfZ) team as a Systems Improvement Advisor, Large Scale Change (SIA-LSC). This position will support the formation and sustainability of state and regional level backbone teams and strategies. Our experience demonstrates that, with coaching and support, leaders can act as a place-based backbone team, to vertically align efforts to end homelessness, local-to-regional, and prove that homelessness is solvable. The core of this work is building a backbone partner’s staff capability in BfZ core competencies, leading systems change, and activating state and regional leaders to clear the path for local communities in their work to achieve racially equitable, population-level reductions in homelessness. Quality improvement (also called Improvement Science) is the primary organizing framework for this work.

This position will be on CS’s Large-Scale Change team (LSC) and will work specifically on Built for Zero’s growing portfolio of backbone partnerships. In addition to supporting individual backbone teams, the SIA-LSC will provide targeted support to local community teams, alongside state and regional partners.

A successful SIA-LSC will work closely with the LSC State/Regional Strategy Lead to maintain effective coordination between state and regional intermediaries and local communities; refine and improve the LSC backbone model; and support the State/Regional Strategy Lead in planning and management of regular backbone team coaching, project management, virtual and in-person convenings. For state backbone partners, this includes support for convening a cross-agency state team dedicated to aligning state resources and policies in order to clear barriers identified by local teams.

The successful SIA-LSC will regularly gather, analyze, and harvest insights from a cohort of local community teams within BfZ backbone partner geographies. In coordination with CI colleagues, the SIA-LSC will support our backbone partner’s staff to convene local teams as a learning cohort, to identify barriers, share solutions, and make strategic connections between community needs and state and regional level actions. In response to this data, by co-leading and cross-training, the SIA-LSC will support staff at backbone partner agencies to step into the lead coaching role for execution of any of the following strategies in communities, as appropriate:

Will building and relationship management

Training and capacity building

Focused improvement coaching

Surface and clarification of key policy, resource, or coordination barriers and levers, to inform and integrate with a backbone team’s work to clear the path for local teams

All of these strategies are critical tools for ending homelessness measurably and equitably. The successful Systems Improvement Advisor - LSC will be skilled in identifying when each strategy is needed and in drawing on the full resources and capacity of the Community Solutions team to deploy it.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Build the will for sustainable participation and change in communities:

Clearly and compellingly present on Built for Zero learning, methods, outcomes, and/or offerings

Support, leverage, and strengthen existing leadership structures and engage new partners where necessary, including engagement and support of BIPOC partners and those with lived experience of homelessness

Results-oriented facilitation of teams with multi-sector stakeholders

Support vertical integration and coordination between BfZ state and regional backbone and local team goals, actions, and priorities

Support backbone team’s staff in convening local BfZ teams as a unique learning cohort, with a goal of enabling sustained work, led by state/regional backbone partners, after CS’s direct coaching ends

Building upon, and in close coordination with, the work of other CS community-facing teams (e.g. BfZ Community Impact), build sustainable capacity in critical problem-solving areas:

Assess the need for and deliver (or make available) appropriate training to communities and backbone partners, ensuring training is both cross-culturally relevant and culturally sensitive

Deliver data quality, improvement science, and other core training support to backbone partners and local communities to support scaling quality data and the BfZ model

Identify critical local capacity gaps and propose ways to fill them, (policy change, pass-through funding, partner engagement, etc.)

Advance equitable access to training opportunities in communities

Building upon, and in close coordination with, the work of other community-facing teams at CS (e.g. BfZ Community Impact), leverage the quality improvement process to help state and regional backbone partners:

Assess the design and current performance of state, regional and local systems and identify key leverage points, with special attention to racially inequitable outcomes

Set measurable, equitable and inclusive improvement aims

Design workable, well organized measurement plans and build regularly updated datasets

Design and implement tightly scoped improvement projects to drive rapid learning

Interpret the results of improvement projects and make decisions about the abandonment, adaptation, or adoption of proposed changes at scale

Surface and clarify specific policy barriers and levers that fall within regional and/or state jurisdiction, control, or influence:

Leverage community data to determine resource and capacity gaps

Identify the ways in which local, state, federal or institutional policy may be impeding reductions in homelessness and/or contributing to racially inequitable outcomes in local systems

Support CS Communications, Partnerships and Policy teams with relevant, community-specific information to support implementation of broader CS policy agenda

Support excellent strategy, execution and culture across the Built for Zero team:

Participate in regular strategic planning and implementation meetings for the Large-Scale Change and Built for Zero initiatives

Ensure project scopes, timelines and work plans are always up to date for relevant projects and assignments

Participate in team-wide system for learning, iteration, knowledge capture and spread

Proactively apply an equity lens in all circumstances, seeking to keep both equity and results at the center of team culture and work

Professional Experience and Qualifications:

Ideal Qualifications

A demonstrated ability to achieve results using at least two critical problem-solving competencies

Facilitation of teams toward shared goals

Quality improvement (QI), improvement science, or continuous improvement

Deep content knowledge in at least some of the following areas:

Housing and homelessness policy;

Common state and regional (e.g., multi-county metro areas), jurisdictional policy, funding, and/or legislative levers that impact housing and homelessness (e.g., Medicaid, Zoning)

Race equity policy and/or problem-solving;

HUD Continuum of Care funding and governance structures;

Evidence-based outreach, housing and service delivery models

Upstream systems and funding structures

Minimum Qualifications

Three to five years of previous work experience in a professional environment

Strong critical thinking and the ability to engage with complex challenges

Ability to handle multiple tasks in a fast-paced, dynamic team environment and demonstrate a willingness to shift easily between various responsibilities with diverse stakeholders

Strong project management skills, as evidenced by leading projects to successful and measurable completion

Experience with facilitation, public speaking, and coaching for improvement.

Passion for justice, equity, ending homelessness, and the belief it is possible.

Demonstrated understanding of structural racism and its impact on communities of color

Collaborative work ethic and a high tolerance for feedback, direct communication, and proactive conflict resolution

These qualifications are critical. However, additional training and support will be available to the hired applicant to ensure success.

Non-traditional candidates are welcome. Community Solutions strives for representation and authentic inclusion of applicants and employees who have direct, first-hand experience with poverty, homelessness, and their root causes (including racism, marginalization, discrimination, and all forms of inequity).

Supervisory Responsibilities:

None.

Software/Apps Used:

Microsoft Office

Google Business Apps

Asana

Zoom

Social media software and applications

Work Environment:

This position can be located anywhere in the continental United States. The Built for Zero team has office space in Los Angeles, and New York City, but the position provides for the flexibility to work from a remote location without the standard support available at an office if such an arrangement meets the needs of Community Solutions.

Salary:

This position is grant-funded for two years with potential for renewal.

The salary range for this position is $76,634 to $97,921 depending on experience, proficiency, and qualifications.

Note that our salary structure is transparent and ensures that salary advancement is attainable with increased tenure, performance, independence, responsibility and embodiment of our organizational values. It is extremely rare and should not be expected that any applicant’s starting salary at Community Solutions would fall above the midpoint of the salary range for their position.

Travel Requirements:

Regular Travel will be required to attend semi-annual team retreats, community or partner visits, and other on-site trainings or convenings. Travel will be negotiated with staff on an individual basis pending availability.

Diversity and Inclusion:

We strive for inclusivity and diversity by attracting extraordinary people from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. We seek to employ an all-star team of people who vary by their race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, age, culture, religion, veteran status, physical and mental abilities. We promote equal opportunity in the recruitment, selection, training, compensation, promotion, and benefits of all employees. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate:

COVID-19 vaccination is mandatory for all Community Solutions staff—full-time, part-time, and contracted. Vaccination documentation must be provided to Community Solutions. Vaccination information is completely confidential between the staff member and HR.