Director, Programs

Are you a strategic leader passionate about driving impactful community programs and reducing homelessness in Nova Scotia?

On behalf of the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia (AHANS), we are seeking an experienced and dedicated Director, Programs to join their senior management team.

AHANS is a non-profit housing provider committed to prompting access to affordable, accessible, and sustainable housing across Nova Scotia. Their work spans new construction, major renovations, and housing conversions to support communities in need.

AHANS serves as the community entity for Reaching Home, the Government of Canada’s initiative aimed at reducing homelessness. This community-led program collaborates with advisory boards to identify and fund impactful housing solutions through both the Rural & Remote Stream (serving rural Nova Scotia) and the Designated Community Stream (serving HRM).

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director, Programs plays a pivotal role in overseeing the coordination, administration, and delivery of AHANS’ agreement with housing infrastructure Communities Canada as a Community Entity for Reaching Home. This role requires strong leadership in program execution, finance oversight, and strategic relationship management with government and community partners.

Key Responsibilities:

• Ensure full delivery of AHANS’ obligations under the Reaching Home program.
• Support and guide the Community Advisory Board (CAB), Funder Panel (FP), and Rural and Remote Advisory Board (RRAB) in identifying and funding impactful projects.
• Provide oversight of Programs Team staff, including CAS, HIFIS, Capacity Building, and Reaching Home delivery.
• Strengthen relationships with municipal, provincial, and federal government partners to advance homelessness solutions.
• Promote system-wide initiatives such as Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS – HIFIS), Coordinated Access, and Capacity building.
• Work with AHANS’ Finance Department to oversee project funding and ensure financial accountability.
• Conduct financial and activity monitoring of funded projects.
• Support project alignment with evidence-based strategies to enhance program outcomes.
• Assess and mitigate risks that could impact Reaching Home’s administration and funding.
• Lead and mentor a team of approximately nine employees.
• Support AHANS’ strategic plan and operational goals.
• Ensure effective governance and high-performance daily operations.
• Maintain strong fiscal stewardship of public funds from both federal and provincial governments.

What You Bring:

• Post-secondary degree/diploma in Accounting, Finance, or a related field (or equivalent operational work experience).
• 3+ years of experience in programs or operations leadership.
• People management experience with a track record of leading high-performance teams.
• Proficiency in MS Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel) at an intermediate level.
• Strong understanding of homelessness and housing support initiatives in Nova Scotia (considered an asset).
• Exceptional judgment, initiative and organizational skills.
• Commitment to continuous learning and development.
• High level of discretion and confidentiality.

If you are a strategic leader passionate about delivering impactful programs and fostering strong community partnerships, we want to hear from you. Interested candidates can send their resumes to Shardeigh McGillivray at shardeigh@venor.ca & Bryanna McVicar at bmcvicar@venor.ca.

At AHANS, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We welcome applications from women, Indigenous persons, racialized individuals, persons with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ2+ community, and others who can contribute to a diverse and representative team.