Vice President of Programs

Kenneth Young Center • Schaumburg, IL

3d • $120,000 - $160,000 • Onsite

About The Position

Kenneth Young Center is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit dedicated to providing comprehensive outpatient behavioral health services to individuals of all walks of life. Located in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, we offer a wide range of services including outpatient therapeutic care, recovery-oriented support, community prevention, LGBTQ+ outreach, older adult services, and crisis intervention. Our team welcomes and celebrates unique perspectives and represents the diversity and vitality of our local communities. Join our team to grow in your career while building stronger, healthier communities.

Ken­neth Young Cen­ter offers a robust ben­e­fit pack­age that is high­ly com­pet­i­tive to the mar­ket and offers all full-time employ­ees the following:
403(b) plan with orga­ni­za­tion­al matching
Medical Insurance (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illi­nois - BCBS)
Den­tal (BCBS), and Vision Insur­ance (BCBS) with low employee premiums
Long Term and Short Term Dis­abil­i­ty (BCBS), no cost to employee
Flex­i­ble Spend­ing Account (with annu­al rollover)
Basic life insur­ance (50k) paid for by the organization and option for addi­tion­al vol­un­tary cov­er­age for self, spouse, or depen­dents (BCBS)
Incentive program with potential for quarterly bonuses
Opportunity for annual bonus and salary increase (discretionary based on annual KYC financial audit)
Eligibility to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)

To fur­ther pro­mote an active and healthy work/ life bal­ance, KYC also offers a gen­er­ous amount of paid time off and staff holidays.
4 weeks of Paid Time Off (With increas­es based on seniority)
8 Paid Orga­ni­za­­­tion-Wide Hol­i­days
3 Per­son­al Float­ing Hol­i­days annually

Job Scope: The Vice President of Programs (VPP) serves as the chief program officer of Kenneth Young Center and is responsible for the strategic leadership, operational performance, clinical integration, quality outcomes, growth, and long-term sustainability of all programmatic services.

As a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, the Vice President of Programs provides executive oversight for the organization’s comprehensive continuum of care, including behavioral health, substance use treatment and recovery, older adult services, prevention, crisis response, care coordination, community-based services, and future service expansions.

The Vice President of Programs is responsible for transforming individual programs into a fully integrated, client-centered system of care that advances Kenneth Young Center’s vision of One KYC. This executive leader ensures programs operate with excellence, accountability, innovation, and measurable impact while supporting the organization’s mission, strategic priorities, Center of Excellence framework, and Five Pillars.

The Vice President serves as both a strategist and operator—balancing mission impact, clinical quality, workforce development, community partnerships, and financial stewardship to ensure the organization thrives today while preparing for tomorrow.

Requirements

• Master’s Degree required in: Social Work, Counseling, Psychology, Public Health , Healthcare Administration, Human Services Administration, or related field
• Minimum 12 years of progressively responsible leadership experience within behavioral health, healthcare, human services, or related sectors.
• Minimum 7 years of senior leadership experience overseeing multiple programs, departments, or service lines.
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale organizational change initiatives.
• Experience managing complex service systems and multimillion-dollar budgets.
• Experience with Medicaid-funded services, state and federal grants, and accreditation standards.
• Demonstrated success building and leading high-performing teams.

Nice To Haves

• Doctorate or advanced executive leadership training preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the principal advisor to the CEO on all programmatic matters.
• Help shape organizational strategy and enterprise-wide priorities.
• Participate in executive decision-making related to operations, workforce, facilities, technology, quality, finance, and growth.
• Lead organization-wide transformation initiatives.
• Serve as a key representative to the Board of Directors and Board Committees.
• Act as the CEO’s designee on programmatic and clinical operational matters when appropriate.
• Model and reinforce the culture, values, and leadership expectations of Kenneth Young Center.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive program strategy aligned with KYC’s mission and strategic plan.
• Identify opportunities for growth, innovation, service expansion, and diversification.
• Lead the design and implementation of new services and emerging care models.
• Monitor community trends, demographic shifts, funding opportunities, and healthcare transformation efforts.
• Position KYC as a leading provider of integrated behavioral health and human services throughout the region.
• Ensure all programs contribute to a unified organizational vision.
• Create a seamless client experience across all service lines.
• Eliminate operational silos and fragmentation.
• Drive integrated care pathways and referral systems.
• Advance centralized intake and access initiatives.
• Ensure coordinated service delivery across prevention, intervention, treatment, recovery, and supportive services.
• Develop strategies that improve client engagement, retention, and outcomes.
• Ensure every service line contributes to the “One KYC” experience.
• Provide executive oversight of all program operations.
• Establish organizational performance standards and accountability measures.
• Monitor service delivery, productivity, utilization, and outcomes.
• Ensure operational consistency across locations and service lines.
• Lead performance improvement efforts when goals are not achieved.
• Develop executive dashboards to monitor organizational health and program effectiveness.
• Ensure programs are responsive to community needs and organizational priorities.
• Partner with the CFO and CEO on annual budgeting and forecasting.
• Ensure programmatic financial sustainability.
• Monitor productivity, revenue generation, grant performance, and contract compliance.
• Drive operational efficiencies without compromising quality.
• Support business development, grant acquisition, and strategic growth initiatives.
• Lead efforts to maximize reimbursement opportunities and service utilization.
• Hold leaders accountable for both mission and margin.
• Ensure excellence in clinical and program service delivery.
• Promote evidence-based practices and innovation.
• Oversee quality improvement and performance management systems.
• Ensure compliance with Joint Commission, Rule 132, Rule 140, SUPR, Older Americans Act requirements, Medicaid standards, and all applicable regulations.
• Monitor outcome measures and client satisfaction indicators.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and learning.
• Recruit and retain exceptional leaders.
• Develop leadership pipelines and succession plans.
• Provide coaching, mentoring, and professional development.
• Create accountability systems that support performance and growth.
• Build a culture of engagement, trust, and collaboration.
• Ensure leaders embody the KYC Five Pillars.
• Promote workforce wellness and resilience.
• Build strategic partnerships with healthcare systems, municipalities, school districts, township governments, funders, and community organizations.
• Represent KYC at community, regional, and statewide forums.
• Support advocacy efforts that improve access to behavioral health and human services.
• Strengthen relationships with government agencies and funding partners.
• Enhance KYC’s reputation as a trusted community partner.
• Serve as the executive leader of KYC’s Program Center of Excellence and work collaboratively with executive peers to ensure alignment among Clinical Excellence, Operational Excellence, Financial Sustainability, Compliance Excellence, Workforce Excellence, and Exceptional Client Outcomes.
• Drive organizational performance through data, accountability, innovation, and collaboration.
• Make decisions that advance client outcomes, community impact, and organizational sustainability.
• Build credibility through transparency, accountability, consistency, and integrity.
• Lead across boundaries and foster collaboration throughout the organization.
• Develop leadership capacity at every level of the organization.
• Champion innovation, transformation, and continuous improvement.

Benefits

• 403(b) plan with organizational matching
• Medical Insurance (Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois - BCBS)
• Dental (BCBS), and Vision Insurance (BCBS) with low employee premiums
• Long Term and Short Term Disability (BCBS), no cost to employee
• Flexible Spending Account (with annual rollover)
• Basic life insurance (50k) paid for by the organization and option for additional voluntary coverage for self, spouse, or dependents (BCBS)
• Incentive program with potential for quarterly bonuses
• Opportunity for annual bonus and salary increase (discretionary based on annual KYC financial audit)
• Eligibility to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)
• 4 weeks of Paid Time Off (With increases based on seniority)
• 8 Paid Organization-Wide Holidays
• 3 Personal Floating Holidays annually

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive