Chief Program Officer

The Institute for Nonprofit Practice (INP) is pleased to invite nominations and applications for its Chief Program Officer position. INP transforms communities by equipping the most promising social impact leaders – nonprofit, public sector, and social enterprise – with the skills, networks, confidence, and resources they need to effectively lead, advance justice, and make their organizations more effective, innovative, and sustainable.

Since its founding in 2007, INP has sought to advance organizational effectiveness while closing historic racial and gender gaps in leadership, ensuring that the social impact sector reflects the strengths and diversity of communities served. Building on the social, knowledge, and financial capital of student leaders, INP seeks to create a transformed and thriving social impact sector, driven by effective nonprofits and community organizations with strong and diverse leadership across all levels—from staff and managers to executives and board members. Operating in nine cities across the country, INP trains hundreds of leaders annually through the Core Certificate Program, Community Fellows Program, and the Leadership Learning Series, all deeply rooted in the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. As a separate initiative, INP will be launching the Black Leadership Institute this year in an effort to strengthen Black leaders in the social sector and actively contribute to the building of Black power, influence, and wealth.

Now looking to grow and scale their well-established programs and impact to a national level, INP seeks a visionary and innovative Chief Program Officer to lead, strengthen, and expand INP’s highly regarded, transformational leadership programs. The Chief Program Officer will be a seasoned, entrepreneurial, results-driven nonprofit leader who will create and drive people-centered and equity-centered strategies to scale INP’s programs nationally, while centering INP’s vision and values in daily operations and management of current programs. They will bring a well-developed understanding and knowledge of multiple sectors within the nonprofit space, as well as deep familiarity with leadership training models. They will build strong, flourishing programs bolstered by clear, streamlined systems and processes, and a nimble, adaptive, high-performing and collaborative team. The Chief Program Officer will bring significant experience leading teams in highly matrixed organizations and will be skilled at managing multiple threads and initiatives.

The ideal candidate will be a visionary, strategic leader of leaders with deep knowledge of the social impact sector and the challenges its leaders face, with a keen ability to zoom in and work comfortably in the details. They will be experienced in managing change and leading teams through the process of scaling from a local to a national level. The ideal candidate will also be a bridge-builder, able to adapt to varying contexts and constituencies, backgrounds, and skillsets. They will possess a healthy dose of candor and operate with kindness, clarity, and grace. They will be someone who thrives in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial, high-impact setting, and they will work to embed the organization’s values in the programmatic operations and strategies they design. The Chief Program Officer will report directly to Yolanda Coentro, President and CEO of INP.

Success in this role will require someone who is:

• A seasoned leader able to conceptualize and drive a clear and compelling vision and direction for INP’s programmatic work at scale; engage, inspire, mobilize, and galvanize INP’s staff and faculty, and to ensure the long-term impact and sustainability of this growing organization.
• An exceptional relationship builder, skilled at increasing rapport, trust, and transparency across a diverse and growing community of passionate, talented stakeholders, including staff, faculty, alumni, funders, supporters, and partners.
• A skilled architect, builder, and refiner of transformational leadership training programs codified and structured in a unified way across a national, multi-site organization.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FACING THE CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER

The Chief Program Officer will join a close-knit, intentionally relational team of staff and faculty who are committed to transforming communities and equipping the most promising social impact leaders across the nation. INP is in a period of growth and is looking to its next Chief Program Officer to refine and build out the structures and systems needed to scale up successfully. Specifically, the Chief Program Officer will:

Develop and drive equity-centered program strategies for scaling from the local to national level.

The Chief Program Officer will engage in high-level visioning and goal-setting with the leadership team, staff, faculty, and other stakeholders, to design and implement strategies to take INP’s programs to the next level of growth. They will:

• Work closely with the President, Chief Strategy Officer, and programmatic senior leadership team to design and execute organizational program strategy.
• Lead on executing these strategies, guiding the organization to identify gaps in the field and ideate innovative solutions that drive impact.
• Design and adapt programmatic strategies as needed to integrate and scale the organization’s programs.
• Oversee and manage INP’s multiple program offerings and orchestrate the work of program teams, faculty, and alumni.
• Build on INP’s current well-established and highly regarded programs, and work to position INP as a world-class leader and advocate for social sector leadership development.
• Stay abreast of developments in relevant fields, spot emerging gaps and opportunities for impact in training and equipping social impact sector leaders.

Lead the Co-Creation of people-centered systems to support INP’s growth.

The Chief Program Officer will adeptly lead a team that will work across the organization to build systems that foster clarity and inspire confidence in the face of significant growth and expansion. In collaboration with the leadership team, they will assess current organizational needs and gaps and devise new or streamlined solutions that support INP’s culture and goals. They will develop robust, collaborative relationships built on trust and candor with existing and new stakeholders and will cultivate opportunities for staff, faculty, alumni, partners, and funders to engage and build together toward a new era of more equitable leadership across the social impact sector. They will:

• Leverage deep experience designing curricula and programs centered around organizational effectiveness and high performance, racial equity, and human connection to build the internal structures and systems that drive INP’s work.
• Collaborate with the Strategy Team to develop and refine efficient, user-friendly recruitment and admissions processes.
• Design relevant, innovative, transformational curricula for INP’s multiple program areas and develop an associated faculty training and design to maximize program impact and faculty experience in the work.

Build and nurture strong teams that are committed to Co-creating Maximal Impact.

The Chief Program Officer will cultivate and lead a nimble, fast-paced, high-impact team, articulating and driving a healthy, values-centered, results-oriented team culture across INP’s programmatic work. The Chief Program Officer will work to deliver results and reframe challenges as opportunities for organizational growth, model organizational values, and translate vision into action. They will support and build the leadership capacity of their team and ensure they have the tools they need to be successful. They will lead and support the program staff and the broader INP organization as outlined below:

• Ensure team leaders have the skills, tools, support, input, and feedback they need to effectively lead high performing, high impact teams.
• In partnership with the Executive leadership team, respond and attend to organizational challenges and work to support organizational values and culture.
• In partnership with leadership, ensure the availability, alignment, and good stewardship of INP resources in the long and short-term, setting priorities and designing programs that optimize the impact of INP resources.
• In partnership with the Finance leadership, regularly review organizational financial documents and identify areas for improvement and opportunities.
• Recruit, hire, assess, supervise program leaders.

Represent INP and Manage Effective External Relationships.

The Chief Program Officer must have a strong desire and interest to work and develop program strategies that help equip and empower leaders in the social impact sector. They will be deeply committed to advancing social sector effectiveness and to racial and gender equity within the organization. The Chief Program Officer will work to maintain, build, and extend partnerships in the service of INP’s work.

The ideal candidate will be first and foremost committed to INP’s mission and the visionary evolution of the organization and its work. They will be eager to step in and help INP leverage design thinking and collaborative organizational development to increase investment from staff and partners, resulting in more sustainable impact. They will be distinguished as a leader in racial and gender equity and organizational development, as well as a successful people-developer grounded in an asset-based approach.

The Chief Program Officer will cultivate, assemble, and lead a high impact team. They will be responsible for articulating and driving a healthy, results oriented team culture across INP’s programmatic work. The Chief Program Officer will be focused on delivering results and reframing challenges as opportunities for organizational growth. They will model organizational values and will translate a compelling vision into action. They will support and build the leadership capacity of their direct reports and ensure that they have the tools they need to be successful.

While no one person will embody all of the qualities enumerated below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:

• A hands-on strategic leader who balances a sense of urgency with empathy and humility when building and maintaining relationships with new and existing funding partners and faculty in the field.
• A strong people leader who leads for results and understands how to tailor their management style to create the conditions that allow for their team to successfully meet their desired outcomes.
• A skillful integrator of systems and processes that serve and bolster a diverse set of programs and leaders.
• Lived experience that promotes knowledge of and sensitivity to the challenges communities face, including appreciation for historical context, discernment of relationship nuances and power dynamics, and understanding of social, racial, and ethnic realities.
• Highly developed capacity for self-management and self-regulation, active listening skills, and the ability to use interpersonal and political skills in collaborative ways.
• Successful experience leading a multidisciplinary team and working effectively with persons from diverse cultural, social, and ethnic backgrounds.
• Strong relationship building and communication skills with the ability to have authentic dialogue around sensitive issues, including strategic priorities and ecosystem partner concerns.
• Excellent writing, editing, analytical, and oral communication skills, including the ability to collect, review, synthesize, and present information and findings.
• Ability to multitask and meet deadlines within designated timeframes as well as demonstrated resourcefulness in setting priorities; strong organizational skills and exceptional attention to detail with the ability to work both independently and on teams.
• Exemplary public communication skills and experience participating in national and regional convenings as a panelist or keynote speaker.
• An optimistic outlook and the humor, integrity, kindness, and enthusiasm necessary to work within a transformative environment.

Work Location:  Currently INP is operating according to state and federal health and safety guidelines. However, we anticipate staff to return to the office where applicable. This is a full-time position and will ideally be based in the Boston area. For the most highly qualified candidates, remote work locations with ability to travel will be considered.

Salary and Benefits:  The salary range for this position starts $190,000 and is negotiable depending on experience. INP has a generous benefits package which includes health, dental, and vision coverage and a retirement savings 401(k) plan. In addition, and at present, we offer 15 days of paid vacation for new team members, ten paid holidays, and a winter break for all employees.

For more information about the Institute for Nonprofit Practice, please visit: www.nonprofitpractice.org

This search is being led by Julian Jackson, Yuniya Khan, and Rachel Burgoyne of NPAG. Candidates may submit their cover letter, outlining their interest and qualifications, along with their resume via NPAG’s website.

The Institute for Nonprofit Practice is an equal opportunity employer fully committed to creating an environment and team that represents various backgrounds, perspectives, styles, and experiences. All are encouraged to apply because we believe a diversity of voices leads to better discussions, decisions, and outcomes for everyone.