Chief Mission Program Officer

Founded in 1921 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Uplift Northwest (ULNW) continues the same focus of empowering people through employment. Uplift is one of Seattle’s oldest non-profits and is committed to serving individuals who are living in poverty and may be experiencing homelessness with supportive services and skills training in high-demand jobs.

Uplift Northwest (ULNW), the go-to staffing and support services organization has proudly been serving the greater Seattle area for over 100 years, is looking for a Chief Mission Program Officer (CMO) to further our mission of guiding people on their path to self-sufficiency by providing employment and job readiness services. To learn more about Uplift Northwest, please visit the website at

About the Role: Chief Mission Program Officer

The Chief Mission Program Officer (CMO) reports to the Chief Executive Officer and is a strategic partner to the Senior Leadership Team and Board. The CMO leads the Mission Programs team, which includes Employment Readiness Training, Housing and Client Supportive Services Programs.

Uplift Northwest is seeking an experienced professional with expertise in workforce development and job readiness training, especially for underrepresented populations. The CMO will need to be concerned with and lead with a care for humanity as the face of the Missions Program. The CMO supports the CEO’s vision of evolving and expanding partnerships that support missions programming.

In this role, the CMO will work with the ULNW senior leaders and Missions team to design and deliver employment and job readiness programs and help our essential workers and training participants navigate and access key support services. They will identify and facilitate important community-based partnerships, oversee the successful deliverables of grant criteria and objectives, guide deployment of critical certifications required for job assignments and identify and provide accessibility to key resources for our clients.

The CMO will be a visible and influential strategist, collaborating closely with the Board, Senior Leadership, Mission Programs staff and community-based organizations, and local and state government agencies to deliver impactful and effective education, job readiness and core skills training and supportive services to our clients. The position requires a clear understanding and empathy for the challenges and inequities faced by unemployed, underemployed, low-income, homeless and marginalized populations and the resources available in a capacity limited community

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

Strategic Leadership

• As a member of the senior leadership team, collaborate on major organizational decisions affecting mission programs and services, internal operations and overall company culture.
• Oversee the successful management and deployment of programs and services, working with team leaders to establish milestones and schedules and keep efforts on track.
• Build cross-sector relationships identifying sectors in training opportunities, community development, housing and others.
• Engage in local-level relationship building to increase Uplift Northwest’s visibility and ensure strategic program and organizational growth.
• Provide regular strategic, mission and education, and organizational status reports to the Chief Executive Officer, senior leadership team and Board of Directors.
• Collaborate with staff across Uplift Northwest to build and support a culture of centralized support services as mission imperative initiatives tie all program services together.
• Provide vision, oversite, strategy, and operational leadership to develop and ensure departmental goals are met for earned income business centers

Program, Financial and Operational Management

• Direct development and daily management of department budgets.
• Partner with the leadership team and Program Managers to build and maintain solid operational infrastructure to support program and organizational growth.
• Review opportunities to update, enhance, or change course programming based on training participants and community partner feedback.
• Analyze job readiness and training programs through a lens of equity and design offerings with a broadened cultural footprint.
• Work closely with direct reports and other staff to achieve program goals and objectives, oversee operations, monitor finances, and strategize performance.
• Develop, refine, implement, and maintain systems for tracking and reporting on progress towards achieving goals.
• Participate in grant-writing processes – including generating content, narrative, data, and budget materials
• Monitor scopes of work to ensure timeliness, quality and accuracy of activities per contractual and grant commitments
• Serve as the lead liaison to the Board Mission Program Committee
• Develop and lead a strategy to evolve partnerships and programs.
• Ensure effective leadership to the organization’s Mission Programs and Support Services.
• Proven success in recruiting, developing, coaching, and building strong and productive work teams with a focus on mentoring and nurturing staff development and supporting the company’s culture and values.
• Connect Uplift Northwest’s mission and strategy to best practices for management team, and leads the team in exemplifying Uplift Northwest’s values, vision, and mission.
• Promote a collaborative culture that values transparent communication and a cross-functional approach to innovation and creativity in problem solving and delivery of services.
• Build strong and productive work team focused on a culture of mentoring and nurturing staff development with demonstrated ability to manage a collaborative team.
• Demonstrate positivity and tirelessly work to ensure that employees and their ideas are valued and supported.
• Provide formal and informal feedback and guidance to engage and develop the department’s staff; conducts performance evaluations; follows up on the status of assignment.

QUALIFICATIONS

Uplift Northwest seeks a confident, innovative, compassionate individual that leads in a collaborative and inclusive manner. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, this goal-oriented, mission-driven leader will embrace and implement Uplift Northwest’s vision and mission throughout all duties performed.

The qualified candidate will be a strong leader who can navigate calmly in a dynamic and fast-paced and rapidly evolving environment. They are skilled in building consensus, with a strong ability to make tough calls where needed which may include some case management.

Key Characteristics and Success Factors

• Proven leadership ability to carry out difficult decisions in a logical, rational manner, exhibiting strong analytical skills and flexibility as organizational priorities evolve.
• Strong strategic and critical thinking skills, with a demonstrated ability to create and implement programs that have impact and contribute to the mission, programmatic direction and priorities.
• Extremely well-organized, highly detail-oriented, and able to thrive in a busy environment.
• Strong emotional intelligence, deep listening skills, and the ability to connect across teams and meet people where they are with impeccable judgment.
• Excellent communication skills, including oral, written, presentation and group facilitation.
• Serve as a champion of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility in the workplace, programming, services and in partnership opportunities.
• Mastery of both quantitative and qualitative methods, ability to determine the appropriate mix of methods to meet information needs.
• Adept at shepherding staff through organizational growth and change.
• Communicates effectively with all levels of the organization to develop high trust, performance, and effective employee relations.
• Build, develop, foster and support a strong and productive work team with a focus on mentoring and nurturing staff development.
• Ability to work in and manage ambiguity, including dealing effectively with issues that do not always have a process, system, or solution.
• Effective in delegation, helping others develop milestones and stay on task.
• The ability to manage difficult and confidential matters in an appropriate way

Experience & Education

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Social Work, Social Services, Instructional Design, or Adult Education or more than 10 years’ experience in this sector or field
• Relevant work experiences working with underserved and marginalized populations, including those who are justice-impacted preferred
• 5+ years of progressive leadership experience, with direct management experience in workforce development, education and/or training programs.
• Experience in the non-profit sector strongly preferred
• Skilled in organizational learning and organization development, especially in the development of learning programs.
• Experience working across government agencies (preference for both local, state, and federal experience) and related structures /governing bodies.
• Strong working knowledge of MS Suite, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint
• Ability to work evenings, weekends, and special holidays as needed.

Salary & Benefit Information:

• Salary range $110K-$125 (DOE)
• Bonus incentive based on organizational goals, team goals, and individual goals
• Medical, Dental and Vision
• Retirement Plans with matching program
• Vacation and Sick LeaveEmployee Assistance Program
• Hybrid schedule in partnership with Leadership Team