Independent Contractor Chief Program Officer Jobs in California

Chief Program Officer

ABOUT US 

CollegeSpring is the only national nonprofit providing teacher-led test prep during the school day, helping students impacted by poverty unlock greater options after high school. For 16 years, we’ve partnered with school districts and organizations across the country to help more than 100,000 primarily first generation, economically disadvantaged, BIPOC students unlock opportunity through increased scores on gateway tests like the SAT, ACT, and TSIA2 (Texas Success Initiative Assessment). Today, we continue to expand by maximizing impact through larger district and nonprofit partnerships and harnessing the power of technology to better serve teachers and students.

ABOUT THE ROLE 

At CollegeSpring, everything we do ultimately serves one purpose: improving student outcomes.

As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, the Chief Program Officer (CPO) shapes the long-term vision and strategy for CollegeSpring's programs, connecting instructional excellence, evidence, innovation, organizational capacity, partnerships, and technology to maximize student impact. 

This is a transformational leadership opportunity to shape the next chapter of CollegeSpring's growth and impact. The CPO will lead a national program organization of 12 team members, including three Directors, responsible for delivering high-quality programs today while building the next generation of CollegeSpring's offerings. In FY27, CollegeSpring will serve approximately 55,000 students across more than 100 schools in 15 states, with an ambitious goal of reaching 250,000 students annually by 2030. The CPO will play a central role in achieving that vision by strengthening existing programs, developing new products and services, and expanding CollegeSpring's impact. 

Success in this role will be measured by the Chief Program Officer's ability to improve student outcomes while strengthening CollegeSpring's long-term organizational growth and impact. Key results include: 

• 100% of participating students increase their assessment scores.
• 90% of participating students meet college readiness benchmarks.
• 90% of participating students increase test confidence.
• 85% partner retention through exceptional program quality and partner experience. 

WHAT YOU’LL DO 

Program Vision & Innovation: Steward the long-term excellence and evolution of CollegeSpring's program, ensuring it continues to deepen student impact while responding to the evolving needs of educators, partners, and the education landscape.

• Program Vision: Define the long-term vision and strategic direction for CollegeSpring's instructional model, program portfolio, curriculum, and technology ecosystem.
• Program Excellence: Continuously strengthen the quality, innovation, effectiveness, and scalability of CollegeSpring's instructional model and program portfolio to improve student outcomes. 
• Program Innovation: Identify and lead strategic innovations, including new curriculum, services, instructional models, and the thoughtful application of AI and emerging technologies that expand CollegeSpring's impact and position the organization to serve significantly more students over time. 

Executive Leadership: Provide executive leadership that aligns strategy, people, investments, and organizational priorities to maximize student impact.

• Strategic Leadership: Serve as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, shaping organizational priorities, investment decisions, resource allocation, and long-term planning. Integrate data, program outcomes, educator and partner feedback, operational realities, financial considerations, and emerging trends to evaluate opportunities, navigate competing priorities, and make strategic decisions that maximize long-term student impact. 
• Leadership Development: Lead and develop a national program organization of Directors and program leaders, building the organizational capacity required to scale CollegeSpring's impact while maintaining program quality and student outcomes. 
• Mission Stewardship: Champion CollegeSpring's mission, values, and commitment to educational equity while ensuring every strategic decision advances measurable student outcomes.

Strategic Partnerships & Organizational Growth: Cultivate the relationships, influence, and opportunities that expand CollegeSpring's reach, strengthen its reputation, and advance its mission. 

• Strategic Partnerships: Cultivate relationships with school systems, nonprofit organizations, funders, higher education institutions, state agencies, and strategic partners that advance the mission.
• Growth Strategy: Identify and pursue opportunities to expand CollegeSpring's reach through new markets, program offerings, funding opportunities, and strategic collaborations.
• External Leadership: Represent CollegeSpring nationally through thought leadership, speaking engagements, publications, and participation in education networks.

HOW YOU’LL DO IT 

• Strategic Thinking and Decision Making: You think at the systems level, connecting instructional excellence, evidence, stakeholder needs, organizational capacity, and emerging opportunities into a cohesive long-term strategy. You make thoughtful strategic tradeoffs, determine where the organization should invest, innovate, scale, refine, or discontinue efforts, and translate vision into actionable plans that maximize student outcomes. 
• People Leadership: You build high-performing organizations by developing senior leaders, aligning talent and resources around strategic priorities, and fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement. You empower teams to execute strategy while creating the organizational capacity needed to sustain excellence and growth.
• Executive Influence & Collaboration. You lead through influence as much as authority. You build trusted relationships across the Executive Leadership Team, Board, partners, funders, and external stakeholders, bringing people together around shared priorities and navigating complex decisions with credibility, collaboration, and sound judgment.

Qualifications and Skills 

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Education, Public Policy, Public Administration, Educational Leadership, or a related field.
• 15+ years of progressively responsible leadership experience in education, education nonprofit, edtech, or a related field, including significant experience leading organizational or program strategy.
• Executive program leadership with demonstrated success developing long-term program strategy, driving innovation, and leading the evolution of educational programs that improve student outcomes.
• Strategic partnership experience building executive-level relationships with school systems, nonprofit organizations, higher education institutions, funders, and other key stakeholders that advance organizational growth and mission.
• Instructional expertise with a deep understanding of curriculum, assessment, educator capacity building, and evidence-based instructional practices that improve student achievement.
• Visionary leadership with demonstrated success identifying emerging trends, translating ideas into strategy, and leading organizations through growth, innovation, and change.
• Commitment to leveraging technology, artificial intelligence, and emerging innovations to improve educator effectiveness, program quality, operational efficiency, and student outcomes. 
• Executive communication and influence with exceptional presentation, facilitation, and storytelling skills, including experience engaging boards, executive leaders, funders, and national audiences.
• Deep commitment to educational equity and a belief that all students can achieve at high levels, with a passion for expanding opportunity through innovative, high-quality educational programs.

Preferred 

• Advanced graduate study in Education, Public Policy, Organizational Leadership, or a related field.
• Experience leading statewide or national education initiatives, particularly those involving strategic growth, innovation, or systems change.
• Experience with college and career readiness programs, high-stakes assessments (SAT, ACT, TSIA2, ACCUPLACER, ACT Workkeys), or large-scale instructional improvement initiatives.
• Established reputation as a thought leader through publications, conference presentations, research, advisory boards, or other contributions to the education sector.

DETAILS ABOUT THE ROLE 

• This role is remote within the United States; travel up to 10% of the time may be required. 
• Must be able to stand or sit for prolonged periods 
• Must be able to lift/ carry/ transport educational or promotional materials and/or equipment weighing up to 50lbs. 
• The hiring salary range for this position is $140,000 - $190,000, with final offer dependent on qualifications and internal equity. In addition to salary, total compensation includes a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurances, flexible spending accounts, a 403(b) retirement plan with employer match, 32 paid days of office closures, 20 days PTO in your first year, 5 sick days, 2 paid days to volunteer in your community, inclusive paid family leave, and an annual work from home reimbursement. 
• We believe that the unique contributions of all CollegeSpring employees create our success. To ensure that our culture and our work continue to incorporate everyone’s perspectives and experience, we never discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, or marital, veteran, or disability status. We welcome all applications from a wide range of candidates. Selection for roles will be based on individual merit alone.
• This is not necessarily an all-inclusive list of job-related responsibilities, duties, skills, efforts, requirements or working conditions. While this is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job, CollegeSpring reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other or different tasks be performed to address evolving business and partner needs.