Amara works to ensure that every child in foster care has the love and support of a committed family – as quickly as possible, and for as long as the child needs. We work with foster and adoptive families who are committed to caring for children, whether for a month, a year, or a lifetime.

The Chief Program Officer will partner with the Leadership Team to establish the goals, impact measures and strategic direction of Amara’s programs. The Chief Program Officer is responsible for all clinical and program planning, organizing, operating, and staffing—making sure that they are centered on the best interests of the child. The Chief Program Officer also has the responsibility for developing, implementing, and managing the program aspects of the annual budget in conjunction with the other Chief Officers.

Amara believes that a diverse workforce and inclusive workplace culture enhances our ability to fulfill our mission. We strive for equity and justice in the way people are treated and the opportunities they have to succeed. We do that by working to address racism, unequal treatment and other barriers to inclusion. We strongly encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds (including communities of color, the LGBT community, veterans, and people with disabilities) to apply and join us in our work.

Amara is a family-friendly workplace that values inclusiveness, hope, courageous leadership, and perseverance.

The Chief Program Officer is a full-time position and reports to the Chief Executive Officer. With the CEO and other members of the Leadership Team, this position oversees the programs, services and impact of Amara in the community. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Organizational Leadership and Vision

• Provide effective, inspiring leadership, as well as stewardship of Amara’s resources by being actively involved in and overseeing all programs and services.
• Promote regular and ongoing opportunities for staff, clients, and partners to give feedback on program operations.
• Prepare and submit an annual operational budget for review and board approval, manage effectively within this budget, ensure continued financial viability of program services, and report accurately on progress made and challenges encountered.
• Provide leadership and input for all strategic planning processes with the CEO, other Chief Officers, and Amara staff and board.
• Collaborate effectively within Amara and with external partners.
• Be innovative and willing to challenge the status quo; looking outside Amara for better approaches and solutions to the challenges facing the child welfare system.
• Cast the broad gaze and lead Amara to look to replicable programs and services.
• Facilitate in-house training and education. Provide reflective supervision.
• Ensure that Amara’s services are following all state regulations, certifications, and licensing requirements.
• Support organization-wide efforts to advance Amara’s commitment to diversity, racial equity, and inclusion. Lead programmatic activities to reflect this commitment.

Programmatic Leadership

• Provide clinical, programmatic, and administrative leadership and direction to program staff.
• Quality assurance: provide consistent focus on quality of services, progress toward goals, and adherence to mission and strategic plan.
• Implement and lead a continuous quality improvement process throughout the program and service areas; focusing on systems and process improvement, program outcomes, and program evaluation.  
• Support the entire program staff and lead a high performing team by further developing and implementing recruitment, training, and equitable retention strategies.
• Supervise program directors and support direct reports to develop and implement overarching goals, workplans, budgets, and day-to-day program management.
• Ensure that all program activities operate consistently and ethically within the mission and values of Amara.

External leadership

• Cultivate existing relationships with the goal of ensuring enough resources and access to services. Participate in relationships with funders as requested.
• Ensure that Amara assumes a leadership position among provider agencies in the ongoing reform of policy and practice within the local child welfare community.
• Participate in regional, area or other planning meetings. Serve as a spokesperson for agency programs when necessary.
• Partner with the CEO to represent Amara with external constituency groups, including community, governmental, and private organizations.

The Ideal Candidate will offer the following:

• Passionate about Amara’s mission and values.
• Experience implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; and a strong commitment to racial equity.
• At least 10 years of professional experience overall, with a minimum of five years of senior-leadership experience supervising seasoned staff operating multiple child welfare/human services
• Master’s in therapy, social work, education, or related field.
• Strong relationship builder and communicator with experience leading diverse work teams, developing an organization-wide strategy for program excellence, engaging community partners, and partnering with a CEO and Board of Directors.
• Demonstrated clinical experience that encompasses program measurement and evaluation.
• Demonstrates integrity, team-spirit, strives for excellence in work, and has experience of leading others to new levels of effectiveness and programmatic impact.

Salary and Benefits

Annual salary $90-100,000. Generous personal leave and benefits package; including paid time off, paid sabbatical, health, vision and dental insurance, 401k with a company match, life and disability insurance.

Criminal Background Check

Because this position has access to confidential client, employee, or financial information OR direct interaction with children any final candidate hired into this position must successfully pass a criminal background check performed by the State of Washington. Any job offer is contingent on successfully passing this background check.  A list of disqualifying convictions for this position is available at 

https://www.dshs.wa.gov/sites/default/files/bccu/documents/Secretary%E2%80%99sCrimesListforALLPrograms.pdf

To Apply

Please submit a cover letter and resume. Applications will be accepted until position filled.

Amara is an Equal Opportunity Employer