The Chief Program Officer works as a member of the leadership team of Girls Leadership and oversees the Programs Department. The Chief Program Officer is responsible for all program services including the implementation of the Power Lab model across regions; the development of a culturally responsive, scaffolded K-12 SEL curriculum; the development and delivery of professional development trainings for educators, coaches and other girl-serving adults; direct programming to girls and caregivers, both in-person and online.
All programs use a gender and racial equity framework and are based on the principles of Liberatory Design Thinking, Educational Theatre, Social-emotional Learning and healing centered teaching practices. The Chief Program Director will participate in creating an organizational and program culture that embraces listening, experimenting, and ongoing learning at every level. They will oversee rigorous qualitative and quantitative program evaluation to ensure the highest levels of quality in every program.
The Chief Program Director will lead the process to define our long-term program strategy; and identify the priorities to bridge the gap between where we are and where we are going. The ideal candidate is:
- Self-motivated, resourceful, creative and strategic thinker, comfortable working independently with high personal accountability;
- Thrives in an dynamic and evolving role;
- Enjoys managing and coaching others and is experienced in middle management supervision;
- Experienced with the girl-serving network and has expertise in our mission;
- Possesses leadership experience and demonstrates strong leadership skills, including initiative, strategic vision, collaboration and understanding of what it takes to build and manage successful teams;
- Experience teaching Social Emotional Learning (SEL);
- Experienced in designing arts-integrated, SEL, youth development curriculum and content;
- Demonstrates social and emotional intelligence, and a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion;
- Loves to engage with, listen to, and work with girls, families and educators from a diversity of backgrounds;
- Demonstrates a strong skill-set in project management and creating systems and processes to ensure consistency and quality across regions and areas of work;
- Experienced in overseeing qualitative and quantitative program evaluation;
- Able to take organizational ambiguity and turn it into an action plan with desired outcomes, benchmarks, deadlines;
Responsibilities:
- Generate strategic programmatic plan and annual programmatic goals, with quarterly benchmarks;
- Oversee the annual program plan and monitor the progress and achievement of objectives;
- Work in partnership with C-Team members to support agency oversight and management;
- Build, manage, and coach an effective programs team across regions;
- Cultivate and maintain outside relationships with educational institutions, non-profit organizations, volunteers and consultants as needed;
- Establish systems of communication and collaboration across the staff teams, bringing a solutions-focused creative approach to challenges;
- Oversee program qualitative and quantitative evaluations and support research activities;
- Oversee program execution, including program innovation, curriculum edits/revisions, and consistently keeping all programs up to date with the fast-changing world of girls;
- Connect with the communities we serve to constantly listen to girls, parents, caregivers, and teachers from across the socio-economic spectrum;
- Oversee educator and trainer recruitment and retention across regions;
- Oversee program operations, including materials design and production;
- Oversee programs team budget;
- Breaks down budget expectations and alignment across programs including the rationale for the prioritization of spending; and
- Participate in inter-departmental coordination and communication to effectively collaborate with Operations and Marketing/Engagement and Fund Development teams.
Qualifications: The ideal candidate has
- A degree in education, social work or similar field preferred;
- Several years of experience in an administrative or director-level position;
- Experience with financial management of programs and overseeing program budgets;
- Several years of classroom or direct teaching experience, in at least two of the following areas: elementary, middle or secondary school education;
- Highly skilled with creating original arts-integrated, experiential lesson plans and spired curricula;
- Familiarity with culturally responsive curricula and trauma-informed teaching best practices;
- Experienced in the girl-serving field, and is familiar with the academics, research and books on girls social and emotional development;
- Demonstrated history of building communities committed to diversity, equity and inclusion;
- Experience as a skilled manager, able to build, coach and supervise a highly effective team;
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills;
- Experience working in online databases;
- Familiarity with Design Thinking and implementing experiments to generate ongoing learning;
- Highly relational, at ease initiating and stewarding relationship with a team, and with external partners and influencers;
- Confident leader, able to juggle the needs of a growing organization with the bold vision for national impact; and
- Bilingual/Spanish-speaking a plus.
Women of Color strongly encouraged to apply.
This position works out of the Girls Leadership Headquarters in Oakland, California. The position requires 50% in person work. Proof of Covid vaccination is required.
Compensation & Benefits: Compensation is commensurate with experience. Benefits include health insurance (99% coverage for employee), optional dental/vision, vacation time, separate sick time, 11 holidays per year, and a 401(k) plan available after one year of service.
Applications
Girls Leadership encourages individuals of all racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds to apply for this position. Girls Leadership is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.
To apply, please send a resume and a cover letter in Word or pdf format to hiring@girlsleadership.org. The subject line of the email should include your full name and “Chief Program Officer”.
