Public Affairs & Community Engagement Manager

About St. Anthony’s

Founded in 1950, St. Anthony's is the most comprehensive safety net service center in San Francisco, directly providing food, clothing, medical care, addiction recovery services, access to technology, job training, and other critical resources to the community. Every day we support and are supported by thousands of San Franciscans. Everyone who comes through our doors joins the St. Anthony's team and helps us create a future where all people flourish.

Principal Responsibility

The Public Affairs & Community Engagement Manager leads St. Anthony’s public affairs and community engagement strategy and on-the-ground execution. This role advances neighborhood priorities, civic partnerships, and public positioning related to homelessness, public safety, and quality of life in the Tenderloin.
This role requires deep working knowledge of San Francisco government, including city agencies, elected offices, commissions, and interdepartmental processes. The Manager operates as a trusted institutional representative who navigates city systems with credibility, judgment, and clarity.

The Manager builds and manages relationships with community partners, city agencies, and elected officials. The role plans and executes public forums, town halls, and coalition activities that position St. Anthony’s as a trusted convener and thought partner. The Manager translates organizational priorities into clear engagement strategies, coordinated action, and aligned messaging.

The Public Affairs & Community Engagement Manager currently reports to the Chief Advancement Officer and works closely with Communications, Events, Development, Volunteer Services, Service Leadership, and external public affairs consultants.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Public Affairs and Government Relations
• Lead and implement St. Anthony’s public affairs and community engagement strategy in alignment with organizational and departmental priorities, Franciscan values, and nonprofit compliance requirements.
• Cultivate and manage relationships with community coalitions and neighbors, San Francisco elected officials, and city leadership to advance St. Anthony’s mission and neighborhood priorities.
• Communicate with neighbors informing them of events, street closure status, street activities, matters of the church that may require altered street activity, on site activities that may require changes in street activity or traffic, on site forums, town hall events or city attended gatherings.
• Schedule and prepare meetings with elected officials and agency staff, including drafting agendas, talking points, briefing materials, and follow-up correspondence.
• Represent St. Anthony’s at civic meetings, neighborhood forums, hearings, and partner events as an informed and credible institutional representative.
• Partner with the Chief Advancement Officer and public affairs consultants to plan and support productive engagement with city, state, and federal leadership.

Convening, Community Engagement, and Coalition Leadership
• Plan and execute public forums, town halls, briefings, and community events in collaboration with the Events and Communications teams; regularly attend neighborhood, civic, and partner events to maintain situational awareness and represent St. Anthony’s as an engaged and informed community anchor.
• Develop event objectives, stakeholder lists, talking points, internal briefs, and follow-up actions.
• Lead St. Anthony’s participation in community coalitions and cross-sector initiatives aligned with organizational strategy.
• Advance greenspace, public realm, and neighborhood improvement efforts in and around the 100 block of Golden Gate Avenue in coordination with community partners and city agencies.
• Create opportunities for St. Anthony’s leadership to contribute thoughtfully to public dialogue while maintaining focus on mission and organizational capacity.
Policy Awareness and Strategic Translation
• Monitor San Francisco media coverage, policy activity, agency actions, and neighborhood-level developments that affect St. Anthony’s guests, programs, and surrounding community.
• Assess the implications of city decisions and translate impact into clear internal guidance for leadership and cross-functional partners.
• Prepare internal briefs, summaries, and talking points to support informed decision-making and consistent external engagement.
• Coordinate closely with the Communications team on media-sensitive or high-visibility issues to ensure aligned messaging, sound judgment, and appropriate organizational response.

Internal Coordination and Messaging
• Coordinate across departments to align external engagement with program realities and organizational priorities.
• Partner with Communications to develop advocacy, educational, and engagement materials for external audiences.
• Ensure consistent, values-aligned messaging across public settings and stakeholder interactions.

Operations and Team Collaboration
• Maintain accurate documentation, reports, and records related to community, government, and partner engagement, including contacts, meetings, and outreach activity notes.
• Enter and manage data and information as required using organizational systems.
• Participate actively in cross-functional meetings and planning processes.
• Maintain composure and sound judgment in high-pressure or sensitive situations.

Minimum Qualifications
• Minimum of 3 to 5 years of experience working with San Francisco community partners and coalitions, with demonstrated ability to engage and navigate city agencies, elected offices, commissions, and municipal processes.
• Deep understanding of homelessness, poverty, addiction, public safety, and neighborhood dynamics in San Francisco.
• Excellent and effective, written, verbal, relationship building, public speaking, and facilitation skills.
• Proven ability to build trust and credibility with community partners, government officials, and internal stakeholders.
• Experience planning strategic public events, forums, or community initiatives.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, adapt to changing conditions, and exercise sound judgment.
• Experience working in a nonprofit, community-based, or public sector environment preferred.
• Commitment to St. Anthony’s mission, Franciscan values, and service to people experiencing poverty or homelessness.

Core Competencies
• Public affairs judgment and discretion
• San Francisco government fluency
• Knowledge of the Tenderloin community
• Relationship building and stakeholder management
• Clear and disciplined communication
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Calm, grounded presence under pressure
• Integrity, accountability, and professionalism

St. Anthony’s has a diverse workforce, welcoming all ethnicities, faith backgrounds and worldviews. We are also proudly Catholic. Our Franciscan identity is at the core of our mission, namely to uphold the dignity and value of the human person and lift the spirits of those in need to help create a society in which all person's flourish.
People of color, differently-abled people, LGBT, and folks with lived experience are strongly encouraged to apply.
St. Anthony's is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. We value diversity of culture, thought, and lived experiences. We seek talented, qualified individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, marital status, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, conviction history, uniform service membership/veteran status, physical or mental disability, protected medical conditions, genetic characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression regardless of physical gender, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws.
St. Anthony's uses E-Verify to validate our new employees' eligibility to work legally in the United States.