Chief Program Officer

For over 50 years, Covenant House New York (CHNY) has been a leader in providing residential services to vulnerable homeless, runaway, and exploited youth. As the largest provider of runaway and homeless youth services in New York City, CHNY serves over 1,500 young adults, ages 16-24, annually with an operating budget of over $32 million dollars. In FY25, we provided just under 140,000 nights of housing through our residential programs, we had over 4,000 visits to our on-site medical clinic, and almost 400 youth were placed in stable housing.

CHNY’s mission and vision are governed by five basic principles:

Immediacy – We welcome all youth without judgment or conditions, meeting their immediate basic needs of food, clothing, medical attention, and a safe place to sleep at no cost.

Sanctuary – We acknowledge the bravery it takes for young people to walk through our doors. We offer them a welcoming and safe environment based on absolute respect, unconditional love, and relentless support, where we believe in and encourage their resilience.

Value Communication – We value authentic relationships, honor the voice of our youth, and model caring relationships based on trust, respect, and honesty.

Structure – We provide stability and consistency for young people to pursue their great promise.

Choice – We honor that young people hold the power to their stories. Through relentless engagement, we foster confidence and encourage them to believe in themselves and make informed choices about their lives.

The Opportunity

Covenant House New York (CHNY) is seeking a mission-focused, strategic and collaborative human services leader with extremely high emotional intelligence and capability to leverage talent across all management teams and departments in order to deliver the highest quality of programs and effective services to young people facing homelessness. The Chief Program Officer (CPO) will be a collaborative, people-centered leader who builds trust across teams and works in close partnership with senior leadership. The CPO will be a manager who invests in staff development, fosters psychological safety, and leads with integrity and accountability. The CPO will model respect, transparency; will be visible and have the skills, sensitivity and personal confidence to tap into the power that each member of the team brings to the CHNY mission.

As CHNY’s program strategist, the next CPO will be keenly focused on elevating program design to address the critical needs of young people, assessing existing processes and staffing, and restructuring programs for optimal efficiency and outcomes. This also includes budgeting for, operating and managing CHNY’s 24/7 residential programs and a range of wraparound services.

The CPO will be a team builder with exceptional capacity for supporting, motivating, managing and mentoring a diverse workforce. The CPO will grow and sustain a positive and inclusive workplace culture that values cross-departmental teamwork, open communication and continuous quality improvement. The CPO will have superior analytical, grants management, business process and project management skills in order to develop, execute and track data-driven short, medium and longer-term plans.

Reporting to the CEO, the CPO will serve as a key member of the executive leadership team and will lead and oversee all program operations. As part of CHNY’s senior leadership team, the CPO will oversee the SVP, Residential Services, SVP, Support Services, Director, Supportive Housing, Director, Housing and Leasing, Medical Director and Assistant Medical Director, Director, Mental Health and Anti-Human Trafficking Services, and a Healthcare Administrator.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate must be driven by the Covenant House mission and demonstrate a passion for breaking new ground to lead social change. Successful candidates will bring proven experience in social services leadership and a demonstrated ability to lead, build the capabilities of a diverse multi-generational team and execute both daily operations and change management.

We recognize that there is a spectrum of lived and professional experience that will set candidates up for success in this role. While no one candidate will have every experience outlined in the position description, the strongest candidates will display the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics:

• Commitment to CHNY's Values
• Passion for Mission
• Program Operations & Administrative Management
• People-Centric Leader
• Strategic Thinker
• Skilled Relationship Builder and Collaborative Partner
• Change Management

Compensation, Benefits & Work Conditions

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The annual salary will be based on a range of $175,000 - 200,000 and will be commensurate with the successful candidate’s skills and experience.

Covenant House New York offers a generous package of benefits including but not limited to full medical, vision, dental, life and short and long-term disability insurance and other fringe benefits. Eligibility for medical benefits begins on the date of hire. PTO includes 3 weeks of vacation in the first year, 10 holidays, 13 sick days, 5 personal days and birthday days off. Benefits include a 403b with employer contribution after 12 months. There are also multiple additional optional benefits (including additional life, disability, accident and cancer insurance) available at significantly reduced rates.

This is a full-time, hybrid work environment. As a senior leader of the organization, the candidate must have flexibility to adapt schedules to meet business needs and come on-site as frequently as necessary.

• Ability to maintain reliable attendance and punctuality, follows notification procedures, and complies with workplace conduct policies.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment with frequent interruptions, moderate noise, and physical demands including standing, walking, lifting, and computer work.
• Ability to work a flexible schedule as required including non-traditional hours, weekends, and holidays.
• Ability to travel as needed for training or to fulfill job requirements.
• Valid Driver’s License with acceptable driving record.

Covenant House New York provides equal employment opportunities to all individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.

Learn more about Covenant House New York at ny.covenanthouse.org