DescriptionFamily Support Services Manager
Ronald McDonald House Washington, DC
Full-time | In-person
This role sits within the Family Support Services and House Operations function and is designed for leadership oversight, direct family support, Social Support Services, resource coordination, and continuity of care for families staying with Ronald McDonald House Washington, DC.
- The Family Support Services Manager leads day-to-day Family Support Services delivery, supports direct family needs, and provides guidance to assigned Family Support Services team members, interns, or related support roles.
- This role serves as a lead conduit between families, Family Support Services, House Operations, hospital social workers, care teams, referral partners, and community resources to support coordination, communication, and family-centered service delivery across the House.
This role is essential to the family experience, family stability, team coordination, and the overall mission of Ronald McDonald House Washington, DC.
The Role
This is a hands-on family support leadership and resource coordination role for a compassionate, organized, and emotionally grounded professional who can support families while leading day-to-day service delivery, team coordination, documentation standards, and partner communication.
The Manager oversees individualized family support, frequent family needs assessments, resource navigation, hospital and referral partner coordination, and documentation of services provided through family check-ins, discussions, and meetings.
This role provides supportive, non-clinical guidance and resource navigation; it does not provide counseling, therapy, or clinical case management services.
This is not passive hospitality support. This is not just administrative coordination. This role is best suited for someone who brings calm leadership, empathy, strong documentation habits, resource coordination skills, a family-centered advocacy mindset, and consistent follow-through.
Core Responsibilities
Family Support Leadership & Needs Assessment
- Oversee and conduct frequent family needs assessments and ensure individualized support is provided to families experiencing the stress and challenges associated with a child's serious illness
- Provide direct support to families while coaching team members on active listening, professional boundaries, compassionate communication, and timely follow-up
- Serve as an escalation point for complex family needs, Social Support Services concerns, housing-related questions, and continuity of support services
- Ensure families receive timely follow-up regarding identified needs, referrals, available resources, and ongoing support
- Promote consistent, family-centered service delivery while maintaining confidentiality, empathy, and sensitivity to families in crisis
Resource Coordination & Family Advocacy
- Lead resource coordination for transportation, food assistance, behavioral health resources, financial support, and other supportive services
- Advocate for families by helping identify barriers to care, housing, transportation, or other social determinants impacting family well-being
- Maintain updated community resource and referral options and support team use of available internal and external resources
- Identify trends in family needs and recommend resources, partnerships, or process improvements that strengthen family support
- Escalate urgent, complex, or sensitive family concerns to Family Support Services leadership, House Operations leadership, hospital social workers, or referral partners, as needed
Hospital & Referral Partner Coordination
- Serve as a lead point of contact for hospital social workers and referral partners regarding family needs, Social Support Services concerns, housing eligibility, resource coordination, and continuity of support services
- Collaborate with hospital social workers, care teams, and referral partners to support family stability and continuity of care during each family's stay
- Communicate with referral sources regarding family dynamics, extended housing needs, financial concerns, barriers to care, and other support needs, consistent with confidentiality expectations
- Develop and maintain relationships with community agencies, nonprofit partners, and service providers that support guest family needs
Documentation, Data & Reporting
- Oversee accurate documentation in GRMHIS of family interactions, referrals, resource utilization, support services, and follow-up from family check-ins, discussions, and meetings
- Ensure guest, referral, occupancy, and family support records are accurate, complete, and maintained in accordance with organizational expectations
- Monitor data related to family needs, resource referrals, service outcomes, and follow-up to support reporting, quality assurance, and service improvement
- Prepare or support family-related reports for internal review, operational planning, leadership updates, and service improvement
- Protect the confidentiality of guest family information and reinforce applicable organizational policies related to privacy, records, and documentation
Team, Operational & Cross-Functional Leadership
- Provide day-to-day guidance, coaching, workload support, onboarding input, and performance feedback for assigned Family Support Services team members, interns, or support roles
- Closely collaborate with House Operations to support a smooth, welcoming, and supportive experience for guest families
- Share appropriate, need-to-know updates with House Operations regarding anticipated length of stay and family support needs to support operational planning
- Coordinate donations of goods and services intended to support families and ensure donations are documented and processed according to charity policy
- Identify family needs that may be supported through volunteer assistance and communicate those needs to the Volunteer Manager or Community Engagement team
- Communicate and collaborate across departments and leadership levels to support family-centered service delivery
Success Metrics & Outcomes
Success in this role is measured by:
- Consistent, compassionate family support and strong guest family relationships, measured through surveys and direct feedback
- Timely completion of family needs assessments, resource referrals, escalations, and follow-up
- Effective leadership, coaching, and coordination of assigned Family Support Services team members or interns
- Strong collaboration with hospital social workers, care teams, referral partners, community agencies, House Operations, and leadership
- Accurate and timely documentation of family interactions, referrals, resource utilization, support services, and service outcomes
- Improved continuity of support for families during their stay and reduced gaps in communication or follow-through
Workload & Volume Expectations
This role supports guest families, assigned Family Support Services team members or interns, ongoing needs assessments, individualized support, communication with hospital social workers/care teams/referral partners, resource coordination, documentation, reporting, and periods of increased family need, emotional intensity, or operational demand. The Manager is expected to manage volume calmly and compassionately while helping the team prioritize work, maintain confidentiality, and follow through consistently.
Tools & Technical Stack
The Manager will work in and across guest management and occupancy databases, GRMHIS, family support and referral tracking systems, Microsoft Office Suite, shared documentation/reporting systems, and resource directories or referral platforms.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
This role works closely with Family Support Services leadership, House Operations, hospital social workers and care teams, referral partners, community agencies, Community Engagement, Volunteer Services, Development and Marketing when appropriate, and organizational leadership. Clear communication, confidentiality, documentation, judgment, and follow-through are essential.
Growth & Development Path
This role offers opportunities to deepen experience in family support operations, people leadership, Social Support Services, family advocacy, partner coordination, and broader nonprofit, healthcare support, or social services leadership.
What We're Looking For
Required Experience & Skills
- Bachelor's degree in social work, human services, psychology, family studies, counseling, public health, human development, child life, nonprofit leadership, or a related field preferred; equivalent education and relevant experience may be considered
- 3+ years of experience in family support, case management, social services, healthcare support, residential services, nonprofit services, child/family services, or a related field preferred
- 1+ years of supervisory, lead, coaching, or team coordination experience preferred
- Experience supporting families experiencing a child's serious illness, medical crisis, financial stress, caregiving challenges, grief, trauma, or other family stressors preferred
- Experience collaborating with hospital social workers, healthcare teams, community agencies, or referral partners preferred
- Strong interpersonal, written, verbal, coaching, documentation, confidentiality, reporting, and follow-through skills
- Reliable transportation
Personality & Mindset (Non-Negotiable)
- Compassionate, empathetic, emotionally steady, and calm under pressure
- Highly organized, detail-driven, and able to balance direct family support with team leadership and operational needs
- Strong listener, relationship-builder, coach, and collaborative problem-solver
- Service-oriented, family-centered, dependable, trustworthy, and committed to confidentiality
- Takes ownership of follow-through, documentation, team communication, and service quality
- Able to prioritize time and effort to maximize impact and effectiveness across families, staff, and partners
Reporting
- Reports to: Associate Director of Family Support Services
- Supervises: Family Support Services Coordinators, interns, and assigned Family Support Services support roles, as applicable
Equal Opportunity Employer
Ronald McDonald House Washington, DC is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable law.
Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the hiring process and during employment in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
QualificationsWhat We're Looking For
Required Experience & Skills
- Bachelor's degree in social work, human services, psychology, family studies, counseling, public health, human development, child life, nonprofit leadership, or a related field preferred; equivalent education and relevant experience may be considered
- 3+ years of experience in family support, case management, social services, healthcare support, residential services, nonprofit services, child/family services, or a related field preferred
- 1+ years of supervisory, lead, coaching, or team coordination experience preferred
- Experience supporting families experiencing a child's serious illness, medical crisis, financial stress, caregiving challenges, grief, trauma, or other family stressors preferred
- Experience collaborating with hospital social workers, healthcare teams, community agencies, or referral partners preferred
- Strong interpersonal, written, verbal, coaching, documentation, confidentiality, reporting, and follow-through skills
- Reliable transportation
Personality & Mindset (Non-Negotiable)
- Compassionate, empathetic, emotionally steady, and calm under pressure
- Highly organized, detail-driven, and able to balance direct family support with team leadership and operational needs
- Strong listener, relationship-builder, coach, and collaborative problem-solver
- Service-oriented, family-centered, dependable, trustworthy, and committed to confidentiality
- Takes ownership of follow-through, documentation, team communication, and service quality
- Able to prioritize time and effort to maximize impact and effectiveness across families, staff, and partners
