Chief Program Officer

Job Description

Reports To: Chief Operating Officer

Department: Admin

Supervises Others: Yes

Hours: 36+

Description:

The Chief Program Officer (CPO) is a senior leadership position responsible for the strategic direction, development, implementation, and evaluation of Georgia Wellness Group's non-medical programs serving mothers, fathers, children, and families.Providing executive oversight of Georgia Wellness Group's Motherhood (Thrive) and Fatherhood (Summit) programs and will lead the planning and development of future programmatic initiatives, including the organization's anticipated maternity home. This position ensures that programs are mission-aligned, effectively managed, financially responsible, measurable, and responsive to the needs of the families and communities Georgia Wellness serves.

Working closely with the CEO, COO and other members of the leadership team, the CPO translates organizational vision into sustainable programs, establishes systems for accountability and measurable impact, develops strong program leaders, and identifies opportunities to expand Georgia Wellness Group's reach. The ideal candidate is a strategic and relational leader who can both envision future opportunities and build the operational infrastructure necessary to execute them successfully.

Responsibilities:

Executive & Strategic Leadership

• Serve as a member of Georgia Wellness Group's executive leadership team and contribute to organizational strategy, planning, budgeting, and decision-making.
• Provide strategic leadership for all assigned programs, ensuring alignment with the organization's mission, vision, values, and long-term strategic priorities.
• Translate organizational goals into clear program strategies, annual objectives, measurable outcomes, and implementation plans.
• Advise the COO regarding program opportunities, challenges, staffing needs, community needs, and opportunities for expansion.
• Develop scalable program models and systems that support responsible organizational growth.
• Maintain a strong understanding of community needs and identify opportunities for Georgia Wellness Group to strengthen or expand services for families.
• Foster collaboration between programs and other organizational departments, including clinical services, development, marketing, finance, and operations.

Program Oversight & Management

• Provide executive oversight of Georgia Wellness Group's Motherhood and Fatherhood programs and additional family-support programs as assigned.
• Ensure each program has clearly defined goals, eligibility criteria, participant pathways, policies, procedures, staffing structures, and measures of success.
• Establish consistent expectations and accountability systems across programs while allowing individual programs to respond appropriately to the populations they serve.
• Regularly review program participation, engagement, completion, outcomes, and other key performance indicators.
• Identify barriers to participation or program effectiveness and work with program leaders to implement solutions.
• Ensure programs provide a consistent, respectful, compassionate, and mission-aligned experience for participants.
• Evaluate existing programs for effectiveness, sustainability, opportunities for improvement, and potential growth.
• Promote collaboration and appropriate referrals between Georgia Wellness Group programs and clinical services to provide coordinated support for families.

Existing Program Oversight

• Provide strategic oversight of programs designed to educate, encourage, and support mothers and families.
• Work with program staff to continually evaluate curriculum, resources, participant engagement, incentives, case management, and supportive services.
• Develop strategies to increase participation, retention, and successful completion of program activities.
• Ensure services are responsive to the practical, educational, relational, and social needs of mothers served by the organization.
• Develop appropriate community partnerships and referral pathways that expand the resources available to mothers and families.
• Evaluate program outcomes and use participant data and feedback to continually strengthen program effectiveness.

Future Program Expansion

• Lead the programmatic planning and development of Georgia Wellness Group's future maternity home in partnership with the CEO, Board, leadership team, and appropriate professional advisors.
• Research and help establish an effective, sustainable model for residential services for pregnant women and mothers experiencing housing instability or homelessness.
• Develop the program model, participant eligibility requirements, service structure, staffing recommendations, policies, procedures, participant expectations, and outcome measures for the maternity home.
• Identify regulatory, licensing, insurance, safety, risk-management, and compliance considerations associated with residential programming and coordinate with qualified legal, regulatory, and professional advisors as appropriate.
• Develop partnerships with community organizations that can provide complementary services such as housing assistance, employment, education, transportation, childcare, counseling, financial literacy, and other supportive resources.
• Establish a model that promotes long-term stability and independence rather than solely addressing immediate housing needs.
• Develop systems for evaluating participant progress and outcomes related to housing stability, employment, education, parenting, financial stability, and other identified goals.
• Create implementation plans and operational timelines for launching new programs.
• Evaluate future program opportunities based on community needs assessments and make recommendations to executive leadership regarding feasibility, mission alignment, community need, financial sustainability, and organizational capacity. monitor compliance education and ongoing staff development for clinical staff.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, supervise, coach, and develop program directors, managers, coordinators, and other assigned staff.
• Establish clear expectations, performance goals, and accountability for program leadership.
• Build a healthy team culture characterized by communication, collaboration, professionalism, accountability, and respect.
• Identify staffing needs and participate in recruiting, interviewing, onboarding, training, and evaluating program personnel.
• Develop leadership capacity within the program team and create appropriate opportunities for staff growth and advancement.
• Ensure staff members understand how their individual responsibilities contribute to broader organizational goals and participant outcomes.
• Address performance or operational concerns promptly and appropriately.

Financial & Operational Management

• Develop and manage program operating budgets in collaboration with executive leadership.
• Monitor departmental financial performance and identify opportunities for cost-effective operations.
• Evaluate staffing needs and resource utilization.
• Collaborate with finance and operations leaders on forecasting and strategic investments.
• Support revenue cycle optimization through improved documentation, workflow, and operational processes.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Master's Degree; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Significant leadership experience overseeing programs, teams, or community-based services.
• Demonstrated experience developing, implementing, and evaluating programs.
• Experience supervising and developing staff.
• Communicates effectively, respectfully, and courteously with all contacts - internal and external
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Ability to develop systems, policies, procedures, goals, and performance measures.
• Works productively, effectively, and respectfully with diverse people
• Maintains current knowledge of, and complies with organizational and departmental policies and procedures
• Meets all applicable safety requirements for the position and work environment, including prompt incident reporting, according to GWG's policy
• Uses skill and best judgment to ensure written or verbal outputs are clear, accurate, grammatical, and of appropriate tone
• Meets personal attendance and punctuality requirements, including but not limited to, organizing workload throughout the day to meet schedules and deadlines, meeting time use policies, minimizing time spent on personal calls, personal email, and personal matters, and accurately reporting time and attendance
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities and lead complex initiatives.
• Strong judgment, discretion, and ability to handle confidential information.

Other:

• Maintains professional behavior and appearance at all times
• Attends meetings and trainings as requested
• Assists with other duties as requested or assigned as needed

Salary & Benefit Information:

Compensation will be based on experience and skill set. GWG participates in a QSEHRA plan providing nontaxable funds in the amount of $250/mo towards medical expenses. GWG provides a competitive PTO schedule. Georgia Wellness also participates in a 401(k) retirement savings plan available to all employees after 3 months of employment. Employees are eligible to receive a 3% employer match, with employer contributions becoming fully vested after 3 years of service.