Chief Programs Officer

South San Francisco, CA | Turlock, CA

📍 Location: Hybrid– South San Francisco, CA

📅 Schedule: Full-Time / Exempt

💼 Department: HQ - Executive 

📈 Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

💰 Pay Range: $225,000.00 - $250,000.00/Annually

✨ Make a Meaningful Impact

Aspiranet, a leading California-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting children, youth, and families, is seeking a dedicated and detail-oriented Chief Programs Officer to join our team. If you thrive in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment and have a passion for providing excellent operational support while collaborating and working with the HQ team, we’d love to hear from you.

❤️ About Aspiranet

Aspiranet is a mission-driven social services agency with a proud legacy of supporting California communities since 1975. We are committed to ensuring that every child is loved, every family is supported, and every individual has the tools to succeed. Our services span the state and are delivered through six dedicated divisions: Foster Care and Adoption, providing support for children and families throughout the foster and adoption journey; Transitional Aged Youth (TAY), offering programs that guide young adults as they transition from foster care to independent living; Residential, delivering therapeutic care in structured, supportive environments to help youth thrive; Intensive Home-Based Services, focused on meeting individualized needs within the home, school, and community; Behavioral Health, delivering short-term, intensive mental health services for youth at risk; and Family and Community, emphasizing early intervention and family-strengthening supports. At Aspiranet, every role contributes to something greater—helping to create a future where opportunity, hope, and healing are within everyone’s reach.

📝️ Position Summary

The Chief Programs Officer (CPO) is responsible for leading the strategy, oversight, implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement of Aspiranet’s diverse portfolio of statewide programs and services. As a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, the CPO advances program excellence across service areas serving children, youth, young adults, and families, with a strong emphasis on trauma-informed, strengths-based, equitable, and outcomes-driven care. The CPO ensures programs are effective, scalable, sustainable, and responsive to community and system needs, using data, performance metrics, and continuous quality improvement practices to guide decision-making.

Aspiranet delivers a full continuum of care, including early intervention and family support, behavioral health services, residential treatment, foster care and adoption, transitional age youth services, and intensive home- and community-based supports. In this role, the CPO provides strategic leadership and operational oversight across all programs, leading change management initiatives, executing program strategy, ensuring efficient operations, maintaining high-quality service delivery, and prioritizing the wellbeing and support of staff.

🔍Key Responsibilities

Program Development and Leadership:

• Lead and oversee all program divisions, including but not limited to Behavioral Health, Residential Services, Family & Community Services, Intensive Home-based Services, Foster Care & Adoption, Transitional Age Youth supports, and related education and enrichment programs.
• Supervise senior program leaders and directors, guide professional learning, development, and performance accountability.
• Oversee programs’ operational workflow, staffing plans, staffing allocations, and professional development to meet strategic priorities and quality standards.
• Lead the development, implementation, integration, and evaluation of Aspiranet’s program portfolio, aligned with organizational strategic priorities.
• Establish annual performance goals and measurable objectives for each program area; monitor progress, quality, compliance, and outcomes.
• Champion trauma informed, culturally responsive, equitable models of care across all service lines, ensuring service delivery reflects best practices and meets regulatory and contractual requirements.
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders to ensure programs are responsive to client, county partner, funder, and community expectations.
• Collaborate closely with program directors to integrate into a seamless and coordinated continuum of care.
• Support and design high-impact pilot projects and program innovations informed by data, research evidence, and field trends relevant to foster care, child welfare, behavioral health, and family strengthening systems.

Internal Partnerships

• Build strong internal partnerships across departments to ensure sound financial stewardship, efficient resource allocation, and systems alignment.
• Serve as a coach, mentor, and strategic advisor to program leadership to elevate effectiveness, accountability, and operational excellence.
• Ensure compliance with state and federal program requirements, grant deliverables, and licensure standards.

External Partnerships and Representation

• Play a leading role in partnership development with public systems (e.g., child welfare agencies, county behavioral health systems), community-based organizations, education partners, and funders.
• Collaborate with the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Development Officer to advance resource development for existing and new program initiatives.
• Serve as a senior representative for Aspiranet on committees, coalitions, workgroups, conferences, and external events that advance program goals and influence child and family systems.

Organizational Leadership

• Contribute to organizational wide strategic planning, culture development, performance management, and mission integration as an Executive Leadership Team member.
• Provide leadership for organizational learning, professional development efforts, and culture building initiatives that strengthen equity, collaboration, and impact.
• Work with the Board of Directors and designated Board committees to provide insights on program performance, strategic opportunities, and policy implications.

✅ Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years in executive or senior program leadership roles, preferably in nonprofit human services, child welfare, behavioral health, or related sectors.
• Proven success advancing program impact, service integration, and organizational change.
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in social work, public administration, nonprofit management, psychology, or related field preferred.
• Experience with state systems (e.g., child welfare, mental/behavioral health, foster care services) and regulatory environments strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success in collaborating with key stakeholders to understand business needs and affect continuous improvement.
• Strong understanding of the California non-profit landscape, including knowledge of funding sources, compliance requirements, and community needs.
• Advanced written and oral communication skills.
• Deep program leadership experience and demonstrated success with large, complex, multi‑service nonprofit organizations.
• Strong strategic thinking, cross functional leadership, and systems change orientation.
• Exceptional communication and relationship management skills with internal leaders, staff, funders, and external partners.
• Expertise in quality improvement, data use for decision-making, and performance management.
• Commitment to trauma informed, culturally responsive, equitable practice and services.
• Ability to lead in fast-paced, dynamic environments with strong organizational and problem-solving skills.
• Experience with budget oversight, resource allocation, and financial stewardship related to program operations.
• A hands-on leader, willing to lead and execute the work required.
• Meets all state required conditions of employment as set forth by Community Care Licensing i.e. Fingerprint and Child Abuse Index clearance, TB/Health Physical, valid CDL, insurance, acceptable driving record and personal vehicle for business travel.

💻 Work Environment & Schedule

• Monday - Friday with Travel
• Program Oversight across 45 locations in CA
• Hybrid Flexibility.
• Use of standard office equipment  
• High volume meetings, typing and phone usage to perform essential job functions. 

❤️ Why Aspiranet? 

• Collaborate in a supportive, inclusive, and mission-aligned culture. 
• Competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits package, access to the free Aspiranet Employee Perks Program, and a 403(b) retirement plan with employer matching.  
• Flexible Hybrid Schedule. Enjoy the mix of remote and in-office work, supporting work-life balance 
• Flexible paid time off including holidays, birthday, diversity days, vacation and sick leave. 
• Access to our employee assistance program including 24/7 crisis line; up to 6 counseling sessions per issue.  
• Training opportunities are available to support your ongoing development and career aspirations.  
• Opportunity to lead meaningful initiatives that support employee wellbeing. 

🏋️‍♂️ Physical Demands: 

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions. 

This position typically operates in a standard office environment. The noise level is generally quiet and remains within OSHA’s established safety levels at all times. 

⚖️ Equal Employment Opportunity 

Aspiranet is an equal opportunity employer that recognizes the value of diversity. We believe a diverse workforce within a culture of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) increases creativity, innovation, problem-solving, and teamwork for the youth and families that we serve and the organization as a whole.  Aspiranet strives to provide our employees with a workplace that is welcoming, inclusive of differing world views, cultures, and lived experiences. 

📝 How to Apply 

Join us in building brighter futures. 
📝 Ready to Apply? 

Join us in building brighter futures. 
Apply today through our career portal: 
👉 Click here to apply: www.aspiranet.org/careers