Pittsburgh GPD (Transitional Housing) Program Manager

Pittsburgh GPD Program Manager

 

Department: Housing Services
Program: VA Grant and Per Diem (GPD)
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Reports To: Regional Director or Director of Housing Services
Supervises: Pittsburgh GPD case management (1) and support staff (5)
Classification: Full-Time, Exempt

 

Position Summary

The Pittsburgh GPD Program Manager is responsible for the daily operation, service coordination, and regulatory compliance of Veterans Leadership Program’s 25-bed transitional housing program for Veterans experiencing homelessness.

The Program Manager provides direct supervision and leadership to program staff while maintaining an active role in service delivery and participant engagement. This position ensures that Veterans receive timely, respectful, trauma-informed, and Veteran-centered services designed to promote housing stability, increased income, connection to benefits, recovery, and successful transition to permanent housing.

The Program Manager is responsible for maintaining a safe, structured, and supportive residential environment; ensuring compliance with program requirements; monitoring participant progress and program outcomes; coordinating admissions and discharges; addressing critical incidents; and promoting effective collaboration among VLP staff, the VA, community providers, landlords, and other partners.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Program Management and Operations

• Provide overall management of a 25-bed transitional housing program serving Veterans experiencing homelessness.
• Oversee daily program operations, including admissions, occupancy, participant services, staffing, safety, facility coordination, and discharge planning.
• Ensure the program operates in accordance with VLP policies, VA GPD requirements, grant conditions, applicable laws, and established standards of care.
• Maintain appropriate program coverage, including evening, overnight, weekend, and emergency response coverage.
• Participate in an on-call rotation and respond to urgent participant, staffing, facility, and safety matters as necessary.
• Develop, implement, and monitor program procedures, workflows, schedules, and staff assignments.
• Promote a residential environment that is safe, welcoming, respectful, structured, and responsive to the needs of Veterans.
• Coordinate with facilities, property management, vendors, and organizational leadership to address building maintenance, safety, security, and habitability concerns.
• Monitor program census, bed utilization, vacancies, length of stay, admissions, discharges, and occupancy trends.
• Identify operational risks or service gaps and implement timely corrective action.

Participant Services and Case Management

• Maintain an active role in direct participant service, including engagement, assessment, crisis intervention, case consultation, service planning, and problem-solving.
• Carry a limited caseload or provide temporary case management coverage when necessary to maintain continuity of services.
• Ensure each participant receives a comprehensive assessment and an individualized service plan that addresses housing, income, employment, healthcare, behavioral health, recovery, transportation, legal needs, benefits, and other barriers to stability.
• Meet directly with participants to address complex needs, behavioral concerns, grievances, program violations, or barriers to progress.
• Facilitate or support case conferences involving participants, staff, VA representatives, healthcare providers, and community partners.
• Ensure participants are connected to permanent housing resources as early as possible following enrollment.
• Promote participant choice, self-determination, personal responsibility, and active involvement in service planning.
• Ensure discharge planning begins at admission and includes appropriate housing, healthcare, benefits, treatment, and community-based supports.
• Review and approve planned, unplanned, successful, and unsuccessful program discharges.
• Ensure participants receive appropriate due process, written notice, grievance opportunities, and referrals when program discharge is being considered.
• Support a harm-reduction, recovery-oriented, trauma-informed, and person-centered approach to service delivery.

Staff Supervision and Development

• Recruit, onboard, train, supervise, and evaluate assigned program staff.
• Provide regular individual supervision, team meetings, case consultation, and performance feedback.
• Establish clear expectations for staff conduct, documentation, participant engagement, safety, communication, and accountability.
• Monitor employee schedules, attendance, timekeeping, leave requests, and adequate coverage for all shifts.
• Ensure staff are trained in VA GPD requirements, confidentiality, boundaries, crisis response, suicide prevention, overdose response, trauma-informed care, de-escalation, mandatory reporting, and emergency procedures.
• Provide coaching and corrective action when employee performance or conduct does not meet expectations.
• Promote teamwork, professional communication, cultural responsiveness, and consistent enforcement of program expectations.
• Ensure staff maintain appropriate professional boundaries while building supportive and trusting relationships with participants.
• Coordinate with Human Resources and senior leadership regarding hiring, employee relations, performance improvement, and disciplinary matters.
• Identify training needs and provide opportunities for continued staff development.

Compliance, Documentation, and Quality Assurance

• Maintain working knowledge of VA GPD regulations, directives, grant requirements, performance expectations, and inspection standards.
• Ensure participant records are complete, accurate, timely, and maintained in accordance with VA, VLP, HMIS, privacy, and record-retention requirements.
• Review participant files, assessments, service plans, progress notes, housing plans, income documentation, eligibility records, incident reports, and discharge documentation.
• Conduct routine file reviews and quality-assurance activities to identify missing, late, inconsistent, or insufficient documentation.
• Ensure accurate and timely entry of participant and service data into HMIS, VLP databases, VA systems, and other required platforms.
• Prepare for and participate in VA inspections, monitoring visits, audits, environmental reviews, and program assessments.
• Develop and implement corrective action plans in response to monitoring findings, compliance concerns, critical incidents, or performance deficiencies.
• Ensure participant confidentiality and compliance with HIPAA, applicable privacy requirements, and VLP policies.
• Monitor adherence to nondiscrimination, reasonable accommodation, accessibility, participant rights, and grievance requirements.
• Maintain organized records related to staffing, training, inspections, incidents, occupancy, service delivery, and program performance.

Safety, Crisis Response, and Residential Management

• Ensure compliance with fire safety, emergency preparedness, infection-control, medication-storage, environmental safety, and facility inspection requirements.
• Respond to participant crises, behavioral health emergencies, suspected overdoses, medical emergencies, threats, violence, missing persons, and other critical incidents.
• Ensure staff follow established emergency procedures and contact emergency responders when necessary.
• Review all incident reports and ensure timely notification to organizational leadership, the VA, law enforcement, protective services, or other entities when required.
• Conduct or coordinate regular safety inspections, emergency drills, and reviews of emergency equipment and supplies.
• Collaborate with staff and participants to address conflicts, disruptive behavior, safety concerns, and violations of program expectations.
• Ensure program rules are applied fairly, consistently, and with appropriate consideration of participant circumstances, disabilities, and service needs.
• Coordinate reasonable accommodations and engage appropriate organizational leadership when accommodation requests involve complex operational or safety considerations.
• Maintain readiness to respond onsite or remotely to significant after-hours incidents.

Performance Management and Reporting

• Monitor program performance against established VA, organizational, and grant-funded goals.
• Track outcomes related to permanent housing placement, income growth, employment, benefits access, healthcare connection, length of stay, successful discharge, and returns to homelessness.
• Use data to identify trends, service gaps, barriers, and opportunities for program improvement.
• Prepare accurate monthly, quarterly, annual, and ad hoc reports for VLP leadership, the VA, funders, and other stakeholders.
• Participate in program evaluation, strategic planning, quality-improvement, and organizational performance-management activities.
• Develop action plans when performance falls below established expectations.
• Communicate significant program developments, risks, incidents, staffing concerns, and compliance issues to senior leadership promptly.

Community and VA Coordination

• Maintain effective working relationships with the VA Medical Center, GPD liaison, Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team, Coordinated Entry, Continuum of Care, behavioral health providers, housing authorities, landlords, and community organizations.
• Represent VLP at relevant VA, community, housing, and homeless-services meetings.
• Coordinate referrals, admissions, services, and discharge planning with VA and community partners.
• Promote the program and maintain an effective referral network to support appropriate occupancy and timely access to services.
• Advocate for participant needs while maintaining professional and collaborative relationships with partner agencies.
• Coordinate with other VLP programs to ensure participants have access to housing assistance, employment services, benefits navigation, peer support, and other resources.

Fiscal and Administrative Responsibilities

• Assist in developing and monitoring the program budget.
• Review program expenditures and ensure costs are reasonable, allowable, properly documented, and aligned with grant and organizational requirements.
• Monitor supplies, equipment, transportation, participant assistance, food, and other program-related expenses.
• Review and approve staff time, mileage, purchase requests, invoices, and other administrative documentation within assigned authority.
• Support grant reporting, contract compliance, program renewals, and funding applications.
• Ensure organizational resources are used responsibly and in support of participant and program needs.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in social work, psychology, counseling, human services, public administration, nonprofit management, or a related field.
• A minimum of three years of experience providing housing, homeless services, behavioral health, case management, residential, or Veteran-focused services.
• A minimum of two years of supervisory or program-management experience.
• Demonstrated experience working with individuals experiencing homelessness, housing instability, behavioral health needs, substance use disorders, trauma, or other complex barriers.
• Experience providing crisis intervention, de-escalation, and participant-centered problem-solving.
• Strong organizational, communication, documentation, and staff-leadership skills.
• Ability to interpret and implement program regulations, grant requirements, organizational policies, and written procedures.
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities, and make sound decisions in urgent or complex situations.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, electronic records, databases, and web-based reporting systems.
• Valid driver’s license, access to reliable transportation, and ability to travel locally as required.
• Ability to participate in an on-call rotation and respond to emergencies outside regular business hours.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in social work, counseling, public administration, nonprofit management, or a related field.
• Professional licensure or eligibility for licensure in a behavioral health or social services discipline.
• Experience managing a VA Grant and Per Diem program or another federally funded residential or homeless-services program.
• Knowledge of VA homeless programs, Housing First, coordinated entry, HMIS, permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and Veteran benefits.
• Experience preparing for government monitoring visits, inspections, audits, or accreditation reviews.
• Military service, experience working with Veterans, or a strong understanding of military culture.
• Training in Mental Health First Aid, suicide prevention, overdose response, motivational interviewing, trauma-informed care, or crisis intervention.

 

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Commitment to serving Veterans with dignity, respect, compassion, and accountability.
• Ability to balance participant-centered services with residential safety, program structure, and regulatory compliance.
• Strong supervisory skills and the ability to develop, motivate, and hold staff accountable.
• Sound judgment and the ability to remain calm and decisive during emergencies.
• Ability to establish professional relationships with participants who may be experiencing significant stress, trauma, mental health symptoms, substance use, or housing crises.
• Strong written communication skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to analyze program data and use findings to improve performance.
• Ability to manage conflict, facilitate difficult conversations, and communicate expectations clearly.
• Knowledge of community resources and systems serving Veterans and individuals experiencing homelessness.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and appropriate professional boundaries.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and nondiscrimination.

Physical and Working Conditions

• Work is performed primarily in a transitional housing and office environment.
• The position requires regular movement throughout the residential facility and interaction with participants, staff, visitors, and service providers.
• Some local travel, evening work, weekend work, and after-hours emergency response may be required.
• The employee may occasionally need to lift or move program supplies and equipment.
• The position may involve exposure to stressful situations, behavioral health crises, and other conditions commonly encountered in a residential human-services setting.

Performance Expectations

 

Success in this position will be measured through:

• Safe, consistent, and compliant program operations.
• Achievement of occupancy and bed-utilization expectations.
• Timely participant engagement, assessment, service planning, and documentation.
• Progress toward permanent housing, income, employment, benefits, healthcare, and other participant goals.
• Quality and timeliness of staff supervision.
• Staff retention, development, accountability, and adherence to policies.
• Accurate data entry and complete participant records.
• Successful VA inspections, monitoring visits, and compliance reviews.
• Timely and appropriate response to incidents, grievances, and participant concerns.
• Effective collaboration with the VA and community partners.
• Responsible management of program funds and organizational resources.

Equal Employment Opportunity

 

Veterans Leadership Program is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, Veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. 

Criminal history, Act 33 & 34 clearances are required after hire.

Veterans and individuals with lived experience related to military service, homelessness, recovery, or housing instability are encouraged to apply.