Chief Program Officer

ABOUT FRIENDS OF THE CHILDREN COLORADO
Friends of the Children – Colorado (Friends – Colorado) is part of a national network dedicated to breaking cycles of generational poverty and foster care by pairing youth facing the greatest obstacles with salaried, professional mentors (“Friends”) from kindergarten through high school — 12+ years, no matter what. Our mentors provide weekly 1:1 support in homes, schools, and communities to ensure healthy social-emotional development, educational success, and overall well-being.
Through a two-generation (2Gen) model, we empower caregivers to pursue their own goals and secure family stability. More than 80% of the families we serve are parents who themselves experienced foster care, with the remaining caregivers often being grandparents or extended family stepping in to care for children.
Position Overview:
The Chief Program Officer (CPO) is a critical member of the Executive Team, responsible for designing, scaling, and delivering high-impact programming that drives Friends Colorado’s mission forward. Overseeing two program sites (Denver and Colorado Springs) and directly supervising Program Staff, the CPO ensures fidelity to the Friends model while adapting and innovating services to meet evolving needs.
The CPO is a strategic leader who drives programmatic vision, builds data-driven systems for continuous improvement, fosters cross-departmental collaboration, and strengthens partnerships with government agencies, school districts, funders, and community-based organizations. They serve as a key bridge between program delivery and organizational sustainability, ensuring that program outcomes inform strategy, fundraising, and policy advocacy.

Key Responsibilities
Organizational Leadership & Strategic Direction

• Partner with the Executive Director and Executive Team to shape and implement Friends Colorado’s strategic plan, aligning program strategy with organizational priorities and growth goals.
• Lead the evolution of programs toward long-term sustainability and systems that support reimbursement and outcomes measurement.
• Integrate a culture of continuous improvement by using data to identify trends, design interventions, and guide decision-making.
•  Demonstrate and support the ability to work in diverse work environments. Serve as a visible representative of Friends Colorado in the community, on coalitions, panels, and strategic working groups.
• Work with Executive Director to ensure compliance with budgets and program guidelines. 

Program Oversight & Innovation

• Provide leadership and oversight across two program sites, ensuring consistency, quality, and alignment with organizational goals.
• Hire, supervise, inspire, develop, and evaluate efforts of Friends and other Program staff.  Serve as role model and mentor for Program staff, ensure that they have resources necessary to perform their jobs, act as team facilitator and organizational motivator, and facilitate effective communication in all directions.    
• Standardize practices across sites while tailoring strategies to meet the unique needs of each community.
• Work with National program staff to implement initial Friends training, as well as ongoing training and other required professional development and performance improvement activities.  
• Oversee the design, implementation, and evaluation of all programmatic services to ensure they meet high standards of quality, fidelity, and impact.
• Lead strategy for caregiver engagement, well-being, and generational outcomes, ensuring 2Gen practices are embedded throughout service delivery.
• Lead quarterly program deep dives and dashboard reviews to assess performance, address gaps, and share recommendations with the Executive Team and Board.
• Manage the child identification and selection process; including developing and sustaining a robust, formalized process, and training and supervising process participants. 
• Oversee the coordination of critical issues that arise with youth. 

Data, Evaluation & Accountability

• Oversee the development and implementation of data systems (STATS) and dashboards to measure program performance, outcomes, and organizational impact.
• Ensure data quality, accuracy, and timely reporting across all sites, leveraging analytics for strategic decision-making and grant reporting.
• Use evaluation results to strengthen program design, inform fundraising narratives, and communicate impact to partners, caregivers, and the community.
• Develop, implement, and oversee other projects as required. 
• Ensure compliance with and accountability to organization’s policies, procedures, and practices as outlined in the Employee Manual and Program Handbook.  Contribute to the development of any of these as required.  Help move the organization to one of increased accountability and zero tolerance.   

  Partnerships, Advocacy & Systems Alignment

• Serve as secondary liaison with government agencies, and other key public partners, ensuring compliance, reporting, and alignment with program grant priorities.
• Build and sustain strategic partnerships with school districts, social services, public agencies, and employers to expand services and opportunities for youth and families.
• Collaborate with the Advancement team on program design elements that strengthen funding proposals and steward funder relationships.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and inspire a diverse team of program leaders to excel in their roles, ensuring they have the tools, training, and support needed to succeed.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Partner with Human Resources to recruit, retain, and develop top talent.
• Develop leadership pipelines within the program team to support organizational growth and succession planning.
• Participate in regular conference calls with Program Directors in the network, and otherwise communicate with personnel at the National office and other chapters about the program. Research, develop, implement, and sustain best practice programming to serve current and future needs of the organization as required. 

Key Qualifications

• Passion for Friends Colorado’s mission and commitment to youth, caregiver, and community empowerment.
• Proven success leading complex, multi-site programs and large teams.
• Deep understanding of 2Gen approaches, trauma-informed practices, and outcomes-based program design.
• Strong strategic thinking, analytical, and data-driven decision-making skills.
• Exceptional communication and partnership-building skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial, and mission-driven environment.

Required Education, Experience, and Abilities:

• Bachelor’s degree in social work or related field; Master’s degree preferred. 
• Bi-lingual in Spanish a plus.
• Minimum 8–10 years of progressive executive leadership experience in youth development, child welfare, education, or a related field.
• Three to five years in leadership or management role with significant supervisory duties and          responsibilities.

Additional Information

• This position is full-time, exempt, and based in Colorado Springs with regular travel to Denver.
• Occasional evening and weekend work required.
• Travel between Colorado Springs and Denver and to national network convenings required.

Friends of the Children is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to addressing discriminatory practices. The equal employment opportunity policy of Friends of the Children provides fair and equal opportunities for all employees and job applicants. Friends of the Children hires and promotes individuals solely on the basis of their qualifications for the job to be filled.