About the Department

Work. Serve. Thrive. With the City of Durham
Advance in your career while making a real difference in the community you serve

HIRING RANGE: $71,302.40 – $85,562   (Salaries are determined based upon your education and/or relevant certifications and work experience.)
SCHEDULE: Temporary, 40 hours per week, Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm  

*** Temporary Position may become eligible for Full-time hire in July 2026.


In 2022, the Durham Community Safety Department (DCSD) launched four 911 crisis response programs—collectively known as HEART (Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Teams). Please visit our website and dashboard, watch this CNN clip, listen to this NPR segment, or read this piece from The Assembly. In 2025, DCSD has added a new division focused on Stabilization Services. This expansion represents an exciting new phase in DCSD’s development—and a thrilling opportunity to pair alternative response programs with stabilization services that can better support Neighbors.

In 2025, DCSD’s scope of work grew to include several other dimensions of community safety. Importantly, DCSD became the lead agency of Durham’s Continuum of Care and incorporated the City’s homelessness system team into its department. That team, now known as the HOPE Team (Housing Opportunities and Pathways Engagement Team), supports the local continuum of care, homelessness providers, and neighbors experiencing homelessness. Its purpose is to make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in Durham. In data terms: to reach functional zero across populations experiencing homelessness.

ABOUT THE ROLE
Fundamentally, the Unsheltered Approach Lead will be at the center of ending unsheltered homelessness in Durham. In other words: they will lead the charge to achieve Functional Zero on unsheltered homelessness. They will play the key project management and coordination role on the unsheltered approach outlined in the Strategic Framework to Prevent and End Homelessness. The Lead will ensure that resources and units are aligned with case
conferencing needs; gather and coordinate between partner agencies, project manage periods of preparation or resolution, and work with partners to ensure that resolved encampments remain resolved.

Resources: Built for Zero---Case Conferencing 

Position Duties

• Implement the envisioned unsheltered approach as outlined in the Strategic Framework, an approach that ultimately aims to achieve Functional Zero for unsheltered neighbors in Durham
• Work closely with the team members, homelessness providers, and other agencies to develop a consistent and practical application of the approach.
• Leverage national learning and experts from other cities to surface and implement best practices on unsheltered approaches.
  • Project manage the unsheltered approach, inclusive of each phase. The unsheltered approach includes three phases:
    The first phase includes resource preparation. This means working with landlord engagement services, homelessness providers, DCSD leadership, and others to identify financial resources and units available for neighbors. It also includes matching individual neighbors to the resources and units that could work for them.
  • The second phase includes a housing sprint. This means working with street outreach teams and homelessness providers to rapidly (e.g. in 30 to 45 days) assist neighbors living in encampments through the housing process. This includes each stage of the process—from documentation to application to move-in.
  • The third phase includes encampment resolution and monitoring. This means working with public safety agencies and other organizations to ensure that resolved encampments remain resolved.
    

• Facilitate encampment-specific case conferencing with providers.
• Work with homelessness providers and outreach teams to build By Name Lists (BNL) to ensure that those in encampments and unsheltered are accurately reflected in Coordinated Entry.
• Identify and advocate for solutions needed on an individual level for those experiencing unsheltered.
• Monitor the effectiveness of resolution work to ensure those in interim housing are gathering documents needed for permanent housing.
• Produce weekly reporting of encampment monitoring and pre-post resolution monthly summaries.
• Develop training curriculums, procedures, and best-practice briefs for service providers around encampment resolution.
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in public health, public policy, social work, or another related field.
• Two years of professional program administration and/or analytical experience in area of assignment.
• Significant experience and training in project management.
• Experience in case conferencing, case management, homelessness systems, or a related field.
• A track record of demonstrating initiative and sound judgment when handling ambiguity.
• A commitment to and interest in the core mission of the HOPE team: to end homelessness in Durham.
• A commitment to equity, which could include cultural sensitivity and equity trainings.
• Flexibility and openness to programmatic changes in a rapidly scaling department.
• Knowledge and experience with service delivery documentation, like HUD standards, HIPAA/Confidentiality standards, utilization review, and data management.
  

Other Qualifications

• Significant experience with case conferencing in the context of homelessness systems.
• Deep familiarity with the Built for Zero case conferencing process.
• Expertise in principles and practices of program development, administration, and policy development.
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to analyze problems, identify alternative solutions, project consequences of proposed actions, and implement recommendations in support of goals.
• Experience preparing concise administrative and financial reports.
• Familiarity with Durham health systems and community resources/services for physical health behavioral health, substance use, Intellectual Developmental Disability, family dynamics, sexual/physical abuse, Veterans' Services, vocational rehabilitation, housing, justice involvement, and other services.
• Advanced collaboration and interpersonal skills with the ability to build consensus and promote the exchange of information among team members and partners.
• A commitment to, knowledge of, and affection for Durham and its communities, which could include living in Durham.
• Relevant lived experience in addition to professional experience.