Freelance Chief Program Officer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Project Hospitality seeks a seasoned, strategic, and mission-driven Chief Program Officer to provide executive
leadership, alignment, and accountability across the organization’s program portfolio.

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer and serving as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, the Chief
Program Officer will directly supervise the Deputy Chief Program Officers and the Community Impact Officer. Through
these senior leaders, the Chief Program Officer will provide oversight of Project Hospitality’s broad range of programs
and services, ensuring program excellence, contract performance, service quality, operational alignment, and mission
impact.

This is a critical senior leadership position responsible for strengthening program infrastructure, improving cross-
program coordination, supporting senior program leaders, advancing client-centered service delivery, and ensuring that
Project Hospitality’s programs remain aligned with the organization’s mission, strategic priorities, funder expectations,
and long-term sustainability.

About Project Hospitality
For more than 40 years, Project Hospitality has served Staten Island individuals and families experiencing homelessness,
food insecurity, poverty, behavioral health challenges, recovery needs, and other complex life circumstances. Through a
comprehensive network of programs and services, Project Hospitality works to create pathways toward stability,
healing, and hope.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership and strategic oversight for Project Hospitality’s program portfolio through direct supervision of the Deputy Chief Program Officers and the Community Impact Officer.
• Ensure that program leaders are aligned, supported, accountable, and working collaboratively across departments.
• Serve as the senior executive responsible for program performance, service quality, program alignment, and mission impact.
• Partner closely with the CEO, COO, CFO, Chief Advancement Officer, Chief of Staff, and other executive leaders to strengthen organizational performance and sustainability.
• Provide clear analysis, recommendations, and solutions to the CEO regarding program risks, opportunities, staffing needs, service gaps, funding alignment, and operational priorities.
• Strengthen communication, coordination, and consistency across program areas.

• Supervision of Senior Program Leaders

• Directly supervise the Deputy Chief Program Officers and the Community Impact Officer.
  • Clarify expectations, priorities, decision-making authority, and accountability across the senior program leadership structure.
  • Support senior program leaders in managing their respective portfolios, teams, contracts, partnerships, outcomes, and service delivery responsibilities.
  • Provide coaching, guidance, and executive-level problem-solving support to senior program leaders.
  • Foster a culture of shared accountability, collaboration, respect, and performance excellence.
  • Ensure that senior program leaders are effectively managing the programs, directors, staff, and services within their areas of responsibility.

Program Quality, Performance, and Accountability

• Ensure that programs operate in alignment with contractual, regulatory, licensing, compliance, quality, and funder expectations.
• Monitor program performance through senior program leaders, dashboards, reports, outcomes, audits, corrective action plans, and key performance indicators.
• Identify programmatic risks, service gaps, staffing challenges, contract concerns, and areas requiring executive attention.
• Ensure timely and accurate program information is available for executive decision-making, board reporting, funder engagement, and strategic planning.
• Promote a culture of program excellence, accountability, compassion, and continuous improvement.

• Cross-Program Coordination and Service Alignment
  • Strengthen coordination among program divisions to improve client pathways, reduce silos, and support integrated service delivery.
    • Work with senior program leaders to ensure consistency in communication, referrals, documentation, service standards, and client-centered practices.
    • Identify opportunities to improve systems, workflows, policies, procedures, and program infrastructure.
    • Support alignment between housing, food and nutrition, wellness, recovery, youth, care management, community initiatives, and other program areas.
    • Ensure program operations reflect trauma-informed, culturally responsive, client-centered, and community-based practices.

Contract, Budget, and Funder Alignment

• Partner with Finance, Operations, Advancement, and senior program leaders to ensure program budgets, staffing models, contract deliverables, and service expectations are aligned.
• Review program performance in relation to funding requirements, staffing capacity, service goals, and organizational sustainability.
• Support the development, renewal, and implementation of government, foundation, and private funding opportunities in partnership with Advancement and Finance.
• Ensure program input for proposals, renewals, reports, site visits, audits, and funder communications is timely, accurate, and strong.
• Identify risks related to underperformance, contract compliance, funding gaps, staffing vacancies, or operational barriers.

Leadership, Culture, and Staff Capacity

• Support senior program leaders in strengthening team performance, supervision, communication, morale, and accountability.
• Help build leadership capacity among program executives, area directors, and emerging leaders.
• Promote a culture rooted in dignity, service excellence, collaboration, healing, and respect.
• Ensure program leaders are equipped to lead through change, manage complexity, and uphold Project Hospitality’s mission and values.

External Representation and Partnership

• Represent Project Hospitality with government agencies, funders, community partners, provider networks, coalitions, elected officials, faith communities, and other stakeholders as assigned.
• Support the CEO in strengthening strategic partnerships and advancing Project Hospitality’s role as a leading human services provider on Staten Island.
• Participate in funder meetings, site visits, public forums, and community conversations related to programs, client needs, service gaps, and community impact.

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree strongly preferred in social work, public administration, nonprofit management, human services, public health, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible senior leadership experience in nonprofit, human services, public sector, healthcare, housing, behavioral health, or community-based programs.
• Demonstrated experience supervising senior program leaders and overseeing complex, multi-program portfolios.
• Strong knowledge of contract management, program operations, compliance, quality assurance, performance metrics, and program budgeting.
• Experience leading programs funded by government, foundation, or institutional funders.
• Strong executive presence, communication skills, judgment, and ability to work closely with a CEO and executive leadership team.
• Demonstrated ability to strengthen systems, build accountability, manage change, and lead through complexity.
  • Commitment to serving vulnerable communities with dignity, compassion, cultural responsiveness, and respect.

Preferred:

• Licensed clinical, social work, public health, or human services background.
• Experience with homelessness services, supportive housing, food insecurity, behavioral health, recovery services, youth services, HIV services, care management, or community-based supports.
• Experience working in New York City human services, government contracting, or nonprofit service delivery systems.
• Experience leading organizational transformation, program integration, or service quality improvement initiatives.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is a mature, steady, and strategic program executive who can lead through senior program leaders, strengthen accountability, and bring alignment to a large and complex service portfolio.

This person must be able to support the Deputy Chief Program Officers and Community Impact Officer while ensuring that the programs under their leadership remain mission-centered, contract-compliant, financially aware, operationally strong, and client-focused.

The Chief Program Officer will be a trusted partner to the CEO and a key executive leader in strengthening Project Hospitality’s impact, sustainability, program quality, and service excellence.