Director of Homeownership & Financial Success
Director of Homeownership & Financial Success
NeighborWorks® Umpqua seeks a visionary and operationally strong leader for the Director of Homeownership & Financial Success role. This position provides strategic and operational leadership over a portfolio of programs that support housing stability, homeownership, and financial well-being for residents across NeighborWorks Umpqua’s rural service region.
This position is responsible for the oversight, integration, and continuous improvement of services including housing counseling, financial education, rental and utility assistance, and innovative housing solutions such as home sharing. The Director ensures effective program design, delivery, staffing, compliance, funding utilization, and performance outcomes, while fostering collaboration across teams and with community partners to ensure services are accessible, coordinated, and responsive to community needs.
This is a key leadership position that advances NeighborWorks Umpqua’s mission by supporting access to financial opportunity in rural communities, with a focus on reaching individuals and families facing economic, geographic, or access-related barriers to stability
The essential functions include, but are not limited to the following:
Organizational Leadership
- Serve as a member of NWU’s senior leadership team, contributing to organization-wide strategy, planning, and cross-departmental alignment.
- Participate in cross-functional strategic initiatives that support NWU’s integrated service model, goals, and long-term sustainability, in alignment with our Strategic Plan.
- Collaborate with fellow directors and executive leadership to steward NWU’s mission, model the organization’s values, and advance shared goals.
- Actively support a “first team” culture -prioritizing organization-level outcomes alongside departmental responsibilities.
- Provide strategic and operational oversight of the following service lines (including but not limited to):
- HUD-approved housing counseling (pre-purchase, post-purchase, rental, foreclosure mitigation).
- Homeownership and rental education.
- Financial capability coaching and education.
- Down payment assistance programs.
- Rental and utility assistance.
- Matched Savings programs.
- Home sharing and other housing stability initiatives
- Ensure each program meets annual performance targets aligned with funder requirements and organizational goals, and that staff are tracking progress toward client outcomes, ensuring high quality service.
- Evaluate and strengthen programs and service models to improve reach, effectiveness, and client outcomes.
- Promote integration across program areas to support holistic, client-centered service delivery.
- Provide supervision and active people management for program managers, coordinators, and frontline staff, including responsibility for day-to-day coaching, performance evaluations, addressing conduct or performance concerns, and supporting staff growth in partnership with the Director of People & Culture.
- Foster a team culture rooted in accountability, continuous learning, collaboration, and high-quality service delivery. Ensuring staff have the structure, feedback, and support needed to meet individual and program goals.
- Clarify team roles, build staff capacity, and ensure each position has the tools, training, and operational systems necessary to deliver effective, client-centered services.
- Model leadership grounded in NWU’s values of integrity, dignity, empowerment, empathy, inclusion, collaboration.
- Ensure compliance with all relevant funder, regulatory, and industry standards (including HUD, OHCS, and NeighborWorks America).
- Work closely with the Finance and Resource Development teams to monitor budgets, spending, and drawdown timelines for grants and contracts.
- Support grant writing efforts and take primary responsibility for timely, accurate program performance reporting in alignment with funder requirements.
- Collaborate with the Resource Development, CEO, and other leadership on funder and partner engagement to sustain and grow resources for core programs.
- Collaborate with the Accounting team to ensure accurate tracking, coding, and reconciliation of project revenue and expenses by program, vendor, and funder. Support timely re-porting, budget alignment, and financial transparency across all funding sources.
- Represent the organization in community coalitions, statewide working groups, and national networks related to housing counseling, homeownership, and financial capability.
- In coordination with CEO and leadership, Cultivate partnerships with local and regional organizations to strengthen service coordination and referral systems.
- Serve as a subject matter expert on rural housing stability and financial empowerment in public and stakeholder forums
- At least 5 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in nonprofit or public-sector program management.
- Strong track record of supervising staff, managing accountability, setting performance goals, conducting evaluations, and managing corrective action in alignment with organizational policies.
- Strong track record of managing budgets, and ensuring compliance with complex funding requirements.
- Excellent communication, organizational, and strategic thinking skills.
- Ability to work effectively in rural, multicultural, and economically diverse communities.
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams, contribute to organizational strategy, and align departmental goals with broader mission-driven priorities.
- Completion of HO360 Homeownership Counseling Certification for Program Managers and Directors within the first six months of hire.
- Ability and willingness to travel Approximately 1-3 weeks per year for training and conferences
- Familiarity with Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS), HUD, and NeighborWorks America programs and standards.
- Demonstrated experience managing programs in one or more of the following areas: housing counseling, financial education, rental assistance, or housing stability services.
- Experience in launching or scaling innovative programs (e.g., shared housing, mobile outreach).
- Bilingual (Spanish or other relevant language) and/or experience working with Bilingual communities
- Experience working with Tribes, within Tribal culture, or relevant experience
- Experience in Mortgage lending and/or real estate transactions
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
Benefits Package includes: Company contribution to Medical, Dental & Vision insurance; Company Retirement Contribution, Company Covered life insurance, Long-term Disability, Accidental death and Dismemberment Insurance, Identity theft insurance; Vacation & Sick Leave, Federal Paid Holidays + one Floating Holiday, Employee Assistance Program;/ Access to: Voluntary Life & Disability Insurance, Health Savings Accounts, Health Care Flexible Spending Account, Dependent Care FSA, Dependent Care Flex Spending Account, Hospital Indemnity, Group Accident Insurance, Legal Plan, Critical Illness, Short and Long Term Disability.
Who We Are:
For over 30 years, NeighborWorks Umpqua has successfully met its housing and economic goals by providing comprehensive client services, including Affordable Housing Development, Education & Homeownership Assistance, Financial Services, Economic Development, Community Development, and Property Management.
Our services are open to all individuals, and we are committed to ethical and responsible practices that support financial and housing stability. As a community partner, we remain dedicated to collaboration, transparency, and continuous learning to best serve the needs of those we support.
As an organization, we:
- Foster a culture that values respect, fairness, and opportunity for all individuals.
- Ensure our practices and processes support fair and transparent opportunities.
- Cultivate a staff, management team, and board that bring a broad range of skills, perspectives, and experiences to our mission.
- Engage individuals and communities in areas that are core to our mission—housing, community development, and financial sustainability.
- Identify and address challenges that impact housing and economic opportunities in the communities we serve.
We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.