Chief Program Officer Jobs

Chief Programs Officer

Program and Services Department

Full Time Permanent

1 Vacancy

Covenant House Toronto is part of a 31-city network across North and Central America and headquartered in New York City. With principles of Immediacy, Sanctuary, Values Communication, Structure, and Choice, it offers a covenant: it promises to care for and support every youth with respect and unconditional love; in return, each youth commits to working on a plan towards their goals.

Covenant House Toronto is Canada’s largest agency serving youth who are homeless, trafficked or at risk, offering the widest range of services to hundreds of young people every day. More than a place to stay, we provide 24/7 crisis shelter and transitional housing on-site and, in the community, along with comprehensive services including education, counselling, health care, employment assistance, job training and support to young people living in the community. Since 1982, Covenant House has supported more than 100,000 young people.

As a national leader, we educate and advocate for long-term change to improve the lives of vulnerable youth. This includes influencing public policy, leading awareness and prevention programs and continually building and sharing our knowledge. As a learning organization, we strive for excellence and programs with impact.

Overview:

The Chief of Programs Officer plays a pivotal role in the delivery of our 5-year plans.If you are motivated by the opportunity to significantly change the landscape for youth experiencing or are at-risk of homelessness and sex trafficking and you are passionate about helping young people deal with the challenges of growing up in today’s complex, ever-changing world then this leadership opportunity may be for you.

Not only will you be leading of team of professional staff, you will be working with an international, progressive and growing organization that continues to lead and develop new and promising approaches to service delivery for young people experiencing homelessness and trafficking.

The successful candidate will bring a combination of deep knowledge and experience in social services and with youth.They will have a passion for youth services and a desire to make a difference and to strive for excellence, and an ability and interest to inspire, support and motivate.The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of building joyful and high performing teams, and a career of significant program and service accomplishments.

Responsibilities:

• Is sufficiently present and visible in program areas to provide high level support and to enable effective leadership and decision-making.
• Establishes and maintains effective communication and coordination with internal and external stakeholders including Covenant House International and other Covenant House sites, community agencies, service providers and government.
• Ensures that all service planning is consistent with the mission and strategic direction of the organization.
• Maintain a strong work culture that attracts and retains people while adhering to the organization’s mission.
• Highly knowledgeable about and sensitive to issues related to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Ensure that all service delivery is compliant with appropriate jurisdictional regulations and legislation.
• Provide effective leadership and direction to management staff in the delivery of program supports and services.
• Monitors departmental culture and productivity and intervenes when necessary.
• Works with the Research and Evaluation Department to support Quality Improvement activities in all program and service areas and selected research projects.
• Supports the work of the Executive Team, the Board of Directors and Board committees.
• Analyzes financial data to inform decisions around viability, expansion, reduction, and restructuring of programs and services.
• Manages specific program financial allocations.
• Provides general and high-level clinical oversight and guidance.
• Uses mission, vision, and values to lead and inspire.Models the mission and values in daily work and supports staff to do the same.
• Develops, monitors and updates annual budgets, tracks variances, and balances expenditures within program and services allotments.
• Is youth focused and centred in decision making and consistently brings this perspective forward with program and service staff.

Qualification, Experience:

• Considerable experience embedding equity, reconciliation, accessibility and inclusion lens into workforce planning, budgeting, programs and processes.
• Post-secondary education in a discipline pertinent to the job function (e.g. Bachelor’s of Social Work, Master’s of Social Work etc.), combined with relevant senior-level management training experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• First Aid, CPR and basic computer skills an asset.
• Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to negotiate, resolve conflict, problem solve and interact with all levels of the organization to forge effective internal and external relationships.
• Ability to lead change within a complex organization while managing stakeholder's needs and interests.
• Minimum 15 year’s experience in a social services setting.
• Familiarity with relevant government legislation in the area of governance, budgeting, financial reporting, service delivery, employee relations and occupational health and safety.
• Minimum 7 to 10 year’s senior managerial experience in leading, managing and motivating a diverse workforce, ensuring effective teamwork, providing resolution to issues, ensuring high standards of work quality and organizational performance, continuous learning and encouraging innovation in others.
• Registered Social Worker or Registered clinician.
• Ability to establish effective working relationships with all stakeholders, employees, client divisions, outside agencies and/or politicians and other levels of government and build effective relationships within a large, diverse, multidisciplinary environment.
• Knowledge of adolescent developmental theory and specific issues related to homeless and trafficked youth.

Interested applicants please submit a cover letter and resume directly to Corina Raileanu-Patel ([email protected]) by July 5, 2023.Please include email title Applicant – Chief Programs Officer.No agencies or phone calls, please. We thank you for your interested, however only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

As an employer, Covenant House is committed to building an organization that reflects the diversity of our clients and the communities we serve. We encourage applications from qualified individuals who represent diverse communities. In accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and Covenant House Policies on Accommodation, a request for accommodation will be accepted as part of Covenant House recruitment process.

To ensure the safety of our staff, youth and volunteers, Covenant House Toronto has implemented a mandatory COVID 19 Vaccination Policy in compliance with the City of Toronto. In accordance with the Ontario Human Rights Code, exemptions will only be granted to individuals based on applicable medical/religious grounds.