Friendly House Seeks a Chief Program Officer

About Us

Founded in 1920, Friendly House's mission is to provide for the "Educational, social and family betterment of the residents of the City of Worcester.' Begun as a small three-room Settlement House, it continues to respond immediately to the needs of community residents, providing a safety net in their lives. The Settlement House, an approach to social reform with roots in the late 19th century and the Progressive Movement, was a method for serving immigrants and the poor in urban areas by living among them and serving them directly. This philosophy remains the core of Friendly House's programming approach and culture.

Friendly House today has eight locations across Worcester where it provides a multitude of services for the entire family, nuclear and extended, to meet the need for immediate crisis stabilization, food, housing, and other social services. Youth programs include after-school, teen, basketball, and summer day camp. State and federal funding support housing for over 100 homeless families at a time, including emergency shelter, transitional, and permanent supportive housing. Lunch meals and snacks are prepared for children and for many other youth serving agencies in the community.

Position Overview

The Chief Program Officer (CPO) is a senior leadership and management position with important internal and external facing responsibilities. She/He/They will serve as a critical thinking partner to the Executive Director (ED) in shaping the vision, strategic direction, and the organization's priority activities and programming.

The CPO oversees the management of all program activities of the organization, ensuring that our programs operate at a high level of responsiveness, quality, and efficiency. The CPO will help develop and oversee program and organizational evaluations to measure results and ensure fidelity. She/He/They will support the ED by researching and gathering information across the organization and with external stakeholders and provide feedback to ensure that the ED has the information needed to respond to inquiries quickly and make sound decisions.

CPO Responsibilities:

Leadership and Management

• Directly supervise five program department heads and oversee and manage of all program supervisors, direct care staff, and program administrative/support staff
• Attract, retain, train, and coach staff, and assure their professional development
• Monitor scope of services requirements of Federal, State and local government contracts, and ensure compliance with targets and expected deliverables
• Prepare grant reports for review by ED so that timely and accurate reporting occurs
• Build and maintain external relationships, collaborations, funders, and partnerships to broaden services for families.
• Support fund development efforts through site visits, program presentations, events, and participation in grant writing

Program Quality Oversight:

• Assess strengths and needs of all programs
• Develop and implement procedures for monitoring the quality and quantity of the services being delivered for adherence to outputs, outcomes, goals, expected standards of care, and grant deliverables
• Monitor and report monthly on program outcomes and analyze and modify operations as necessary

Financial and Contract Management:

• Develop and monitor program budgets
• Review contract expenditures and ensure appropriate allocation of resources with the Chief Financial Officer and ED
• Provide the business office with the information necessary to ensure timely billing of all contracts and interactions with contractors
• Develop and implement policies that ensure clients receive services as defined by the scope of services in government contracts and other grants, and as otherwise required by the organization

Desired Candidate Qualifications

Program experience:

• 5+ years of program management experience in community-based anti-poverty work or equivalent
• Experience designing, overseeing, and growing nonprofit programs and services, including doing so in collaboration with others
• Experience with using data and analytics for assessing program quality
• Housing program experience is a plus

Management experience:

• Professional experience in nonprofit operations and management; 7-10 years is preferred
• Depth of experience in managing teams, supporting cross-functional collaboration, developing staff, and setting clear goals
• Proven organizational skills
• Strong project reporting skills
• Writes and speaks in a clear, concise, and organized manner, with proven success with interdepartmental communications

Financial and development acumen:

• Experience managing budgets
• Knowledge of federal, state and local funding systems
• Experience with grant writing

Leadership attributes:

• Holds an attitude of strength-based, person-centered services
• Promotes accountability for self and others
• Embraces diversity in all aspects of organizational life
• Possesses problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills
• Able and eager to promote continual learning
• Adaptable and open to change, new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles

Desired Credentials and Other Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, human services, social work, sociology, communications, public policy, political science, or related field, or equivalent experience required
• Must be technologically proficient
• Multi-lingual capability is a strong plus, but not required

Position Specifics

• Locations: 36 Wall Street/ 70 James Street, Worcester
• Full-time, on-site
• Hours: M-F, 9am - 5pm (may require additional hours as needed)
• Salary: $115,000 - 130,000 annually
• Exempt position
• Benefits available: Medical; Paid Time Off; Sick pay; Paid holidays; Insurance: Dental, Life, and Vision; and 403B plan

Application Process

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Candidates must include a resume and a cover letter, both in PDF format, which describe how qualifications and experience match this position and the mission of Friendly House. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Upload required documents to: https://eostransitions.applicantpool.com/jobs/.

This executive search is being conducted by Nancy Jackson, Eos Transition Partners consultant. All submissions will be acknowledged and are confidential, and any questions can be submitted to Nancy at: njackson@eostransitions.com.