Vice President, Programs

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

4d•Remote

About The Position

As a direct report of the Chief Impact Officer and as a member of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) national office team, the Vice President (VP), Programs is a leader within the Program & Impact department responsible for operationalizing BBBSA’s program strategy and ensuring the consistent, high-quality execution and adoption of programs across the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) national network of 230+ agencies. While the Chief Impact Officer (CIO) sets the vision, strategy, and national direction for programmatic impact, the VP of Programs ensures that strategy is translated into integrated plans, consistent processes, and reliable execution across two core functions: Grant Implementation and Program Development & Partnerships. This role exists to strengthen the national office’s ability to: scale new and existing program models, support agencies in adopting and implementing programs with confidence, ensure grant-funded work delivers on intended outcomes, and expand reach to youth who need us most. The VP, Programs serves as a strategic integrator, operational leader, and people manager, bringing clarity, coordination, and discipline to a complex portfolio of work so that BBBSA’s program strategy results in measurable, equitable impact for young people.

Requirements

10–15 years of progressive leadership experience in program management, youth development, or related fields.
Demonstrated success managing managers and leading complex, cross-functional work.
Exceptional operational leadership skills with the ability to build systems, processes, and execution discipline.
Advanced strategic thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into clear priorities, operational plans and effective work across teams
Highly effective at designing, implementing, and managing clear processes that enable consistent, high-quality execution across teams.
Ability to influence positive outcomes using a highly consultative approach.
Communications with Impact: excellent written, verbal and presentation skills as well as the ability to translate technical data into readily understandable and actionable information to a variety of audiences/stakeholders.
Experience managing managers and leading high-performing teams. Demonstrated ability to set expectations, hold teams accountable, navigate ambiguity, and maintain momentum while fostering trust, clarity, and collaboration.
Ability to synthesize information from grants, field implementation, data, and staff experience into actionable insights.

Nice To Haves

Experience working within a national network or federated model preferred.
Experience with and ability to work with a national federation representing divergent needs and resources

Responsibilities

Translate program strategy and enterprise priorities set by the CIO into clear, executable plans across Grant Implementation and Program Development & Partnerships.
Integrate these functions into a cohesive operating system that supports program adoption, scale, and quality.
Establish consistent processes, operating rhythms, and decision-making structures that enable predictable execution and reduce fragmentation.
Sequence and prioritize initiatives to focus resources on the highest-impact work aligned with BBBSA’s strategic goals.
Identify risks and implementation barriers early and proactively address them to maintain momentum.
Ensure the national office consistently delivers high-quality program guidance, tools, and supports that BBBS agencies can trust and use.
Strengthen adoption of new and evolving program models by aligning design, funding, and implementation support.
Oversee the execution of grant-funded program work to ensure deliverables are met and learning is captured.
Ensure programs are designed and supported in ways that enable agencies to reach youth who need us most, across diverse contexts.
Monitor implementation quality and address gaps that slow scale or limit impact.
Synthesize learning from grant implementation, agency experience, and program development to strengthen program quality and execution.
Oversee development of program knowledge products (e.g., quarterly In Practice briefs and an annual State of Program Delivery summary) as tools to clarify how programs operate in real-world settings.
Use insight from the field to refine program models, tools, and support strategies over time.
Strengthen the organization’s ability to communicate clearly and credibly about program delivery and impact to internal and external stakeholders.
Lead and develop Directors and senior managers across Grant Implementation and Program Development & Partnerships.
Build a culture of clarity, accountability, and follow-through within the Program & Impact team.
Align program work with enterprise partners (Resource Development, Communications, Agency Services, Data & Insights) to support fundraising, storytelling, and field support.
Serve as a trusted strategic partner to the CIO, helping prioritize initiatives and maintain momentum on complex work.
Represent program leadership internally and externally with credibility, steadiness, and a field-informed perspective.
Recruit, train, retain, and cultivate professional development of direct reports.
Create a dynamic, supportive, and effective team that is impactful across the BBBSA and the Big Brothers Big Sisters Network.
Lead and manage resources (people and capital) that retain and cultivate positive, measurable success.
Monitor progress against performance targets; implements countermeasures as needed.
Demonstrate commitment to BBBSA’s shared leadership competencies and organizational values.
Provide consistent follow-up regarding assigned projects and after meetings.
Cultivate an environment where all team members feel valued, included, and empowered to achieve their potential.
Manage related and other duties as assigned in support of department and business needs.