Organization Overview
Casa Chirilagua’s mission is to develop relationships with families to see the Chirilagua neighborhood transformed by Christ. Casa Chirilagua began as an intentional community in 2007, when the founders moved into the community of Chirilagua to learn from their Central American immigrant neighbors what it means to ‘love God and love your neighbor as yourself’. In 2011, Casa Chirilagua officially became a 501(c)(3).
We seek to live incarnationally among our neighbors, positioning ourselves to be the hands and feet of Christ daily. We seek relationship, recognizing that transformation occurs through Christ-centered connections, that programs serve as access points rather than ends in themselves. We seek, live, and profess a message of restoration between God and people and between individuals. We highlight these values in what we call the 5 R’s. These values guide our decisions and focus for the future and growth of our organization; 1) Reliant on God, 2) Rooted in the community, 3) Relational is all we do, 4) Reconciliatory toward God and one another and, 5) Regenerative, investing in the regeneration of individuals and our entire neighborhood.
Touch points with families begin within our Leadership Pipeline, which consists of our elementary (1st to 5th grade) after school program Kids Club, our middle school (6th to 8th grade) program Teens Club, our high school (9th to 12th grade) program Casa to College, our Bible studies for middle and high school students, and our one-on-one Mentoring program. Currently, there are 105 families enrolled in our Leadership Pipeline.
In 2023, Casa Chirilagua is entering a new strategic direction which focuses on our Leadership Pipeline. This new direction consists of seeing every family unit in our Leadership Pipeline 1) understand the power of the Gospel and be invited to participant in the building of God’s kingdom, 2) support their child as they learn and practice vital leadership skills, 3) support their child in graduating high school and 4) create a post-high school plan alongside their child throughout their Leadership Pipeline journey that propels them into college, a trade school, and/or an entrepreneurial career.
Learn more at casachirilagua.org.
Position Summary
As part of Casa Chirilagua’s Senior Leadership Team, the Chief Program Officer (CPO) performs functions to lead, manage, and develop program staff members both professionally and spiritually and ensure the success of the Leadership Pipeline.
In collaboration with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the CPO will articulate and implement the strategic vision and leadership of the organization; oversee the Leadership Pipeline; evaluate the effectiveness of programs to provide ongoing feedback; strengthen current and new partnerships within the City of Alexandria and the Alexandria City Public School district (ACPS) in order to leverage resources and enhance the organization’s reputation; provide mentoring, guidance, supervision, professional and spiritual development to the Leadership Pipeline staff; serve as the Child Protection Policy officer; and enhance the structure of the organization by staying abreast of developments in education, Christian discipleship, and community development.
The CPO is a seasoned supervisor and coach and is comfortable with and committed to fostering the development of staff and programming in this new strategic direction. The ideal candidate is passionate for Casa Chirilagua’s mission and purpose and has the ability to communicate this passion to others; is an experienced project manager and committed to guiding community-based work in a Christ-centered and growing organization. He or she is looking for an opportunity to establish the academic, social, emotional, and spiritual foundations for the next generation of young Latino professionals, entrepreneurs, Christian faith leaders, and change-makers in the Chirilagua neighborhood.
Key Duties and Responsibilities
1. Personnel Leadership, Management, and Development
· Recruit, hire, train, and onboard new programmatic staff. Collaborate with other directors as necessary in interviewing and onboarding processes.
· Provide day-to-day oversight and supervision to three program directors (Director of Adult Learning and Leadership, Director of Mentorship, and Director of Volunteer Engagement) working closely with senior program staff to build their skills and confidence so that they can mentor, encourage, and motivate subordinate staff.
· Provide assistance and guidance on how to troubleshoot program and staff performance challenges. Mentor directors on how to proactively engage in planning to improve program management.
· Conduct employee monthly check-ins and reviews (mid-year and annual) for direct supervisees and ensure compliance with employee review process.
· Act as a pastoral presence within the organization to ensure that programmatic decisions made by directors are aligned with the mission, vision, and strategic direction of the organization.
· Deploy resources efficiently and effectively toward organizational goals, working with staff to balance workload and effort, and provide regular feedback so that key staff can continuously improve their supervision and mentoring skills.
· Collaborate with the CEO to develop and implement organization-wide trainings on ministry principles and practices.
2. Program Development, Evaluation, and Oversight
· Support program directors as needed in creating annual program budgets. Ensure compliance with implementation of approved budgets by ensuring spending aligns with the limits set for each expense category. Approve monthly expense reports of supervisees.
· Provide program directors with guidance, training, and tools to increase their capacity for program development and implementation.
· Oversee process for programmatic evaluations. Ensure the delivery of qualitative and quantitative goals and outcomes of programs and services.
· Coordinate and analyze the appropriate data to inform the programmatic and operational decision-making process.
· Monitor emerging needs among key stakeholders such as families, students, and volunteers.
· Successfully implement and oversee new processes and procedures connected to the system modernization project necessary for the launching of the strategic direction. Ensure staff are adequately trained and are accountable in using new processes and procedures, such as the newly designed SharePoint sites, to ensure team collaboration and processes are efficient and transparent.
· Determine staffing plans to achieve program goals and objectives.
· Deepen existing and create new performance and outcome measures for family retention, Developmental Assets progress in students, high school diploma attainment, post-high school plan development, training, and other measures that are core to Casa Chirilagua’s mission.
· Develop an assessment protocol to determine the feasibility and sustainability of programs that can lead to more effective and efficient service delivery.
· Serve as liaison to key partnerships, such as ACPS, and future ones. Evaluate the partners’ alignment with Casa’s mission and connect contacts to the appropriate program director.
· Represent Casa Chirilagua and its CEO on relevant committees and task forces, as well as at speaking engagements, conference panels and trainings.
3. Strategic Direction Development and Implementation
· Under the advisement of the Board of Directors and in partnership with the CEO, implement Casa Chirilagua’s new strategic plan, as well as develop and implement new initiatives that reflect the organization’s mission.
· Ensure strategic direction is understood by and communicated effectively to the programs team.
4. Policy Oversight
· Act as the Child Protection Policy officer and ensure compliance with all Casa Chirilagua’s child protection policies.
Key Competencies:
1. Communication: Ability to clearly, professionally, empathetically listen and communicate to build new and strengthen existing relationships with a wide variety of constituents including parents, children, teens, ACPS staff, health and human service professionals.
· Spanish language ability is required. Must read, write, speak and translate at an advanced level or higher.
2. Fiscal Responsibility: Has five or more years of experience creating and implementing a program budget, demonstrating fiduciary stewardship.
3. Program Development: Has successfully researched, developed, and implemented program curriculum in a marginalized community for at least five years with certifiable references from a former/current colleague or supervisor.
4. Detail-oriented: Highly organized and manages time well with the ability to implement systems and follow-up processes. Ability to manage and balance multiple projects. Solid grasp of data analysis and performance metrics.
5. Strategy: Strategic thinker and leader with a track record of achieving organizational objectives.
6. Team Leadership: Demonstrated commitment to a collaborative team approach to work. Skills, sensitivity, and awareness to tap into the power that each member of the team brings to the mission and to develop a performance culture among a group of diverse individuals.
7. Mentorship: Has five or more years of experience in identifying and cultivating leadership skills in a team or individual. Has successfully coached a predecessor or similar into a new leadership role.
8. Creative: Exhibits the ability to think outside of the box and problem solve with fun, innovative and new ideas, and has a good sense of humor.
9. Culturally Competent: Has a demonstrated ability to listen to and learn from a community that differs from the one they were raised in. Ability to identify potential assumptions or biases and proactively seeks feedback in their learning.
10. Motivated: Continually looks for ways to improve themselves, processes, systems, and the way their team works together. A hard worker who is self-motivated, diligent, and practices self-care (tending to their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs). Proactive in bringing ideas for individual and corporate improvement to their supervisor.
11. Christian Faith: Manifest evidence of personal faith in Jesus Christ, actively pursuing spiritual mentorship and community, and a theological perspective that aligns with Casa Chirilagua’s Core Values.
Education and Experience:
· Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree in public administration, education, social work, organizational leadership, community development or related field is strongly desired.
· A minimum of five years of leadership experience in a non-profit, school or philanthropy, overseeing multiple programs, ideally at an organization serving low-income families, youth, or communities.
· At least five years of experience working directly with youth and/or community development or grassroots organizations.
· Demonstrated experience managing a high-performing team in a community-based structure to include professional development and mentorship.
· Excellent computer skills (Microsoft Office Suite: SharePoint, Outlook, OneNote, Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and data system management.
To Apply:
Please send a resume and thoughtful cover letter that includes how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of this position, to [email protected], and complete the online application found here: https://forms.office.com/r/cFFhnLQxVR
Expected hire date is June 2023.
Casa Chirilagua offers a competitive salary and benefits, commensurate with experience and skills.
To apply for this job email your details to jobs@casachirilagua.org