Chief Program Officer

SCHOOLSMARTKC BACKGROUND

SchoolSmartKC (SSKC) is a trusted partner in the Kansas City Public Education System, working across district and charter boundaries, rooted in community-driven solutions, and delivering measurable student success.

Our Vision – Every child within the Kansas City Public Education System (KCPES) has access to a quality education and opportunities for a vibrant, economically independent adulthood, and our city thrives.

Our Mission – We accelerate student proficiency and growth through centering community networks, championing student success levers, and reimagining education.

What We Believe – Families and communities drive quality education. Every learner deserves what they need to thrive. Our work is bold, courageous, strategic, data-driven, and above all, rooted in community.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Chief Program Officer reports to the President/CEO. The position supervises the program team and contracted partners. This role carries SchoolSmartKC’s full program portfolio and is accountable for what these programs produce for students.

The Chief Program Officer leads the programmatic work inside SchoolSmartKC’s second and third pillars: PreK and Literacy for All Students (LFAS), Team-Based Staffing (TBS) and Real World Learning (RWL). Each runs across multiple districts and charter organizations in the Kansas City Public Education System.

Program Directors run the day-to-day work of each program. The Chief Program Officer leads the directors, sets direction across the portfolio, and is accountable for what the portfolio produces.

This is a leadership role rather than a program management role. The Chief Program Officer translates organizational strategy into direction the program team can act on, decides where to invest, where to adjust, and holds program leaders to the outcomes they committed to. The programs are held together as one system-wide strategy rather than four separate efforts. 

Much of this role happens outside the office. The Chief Program Officer represents SchoolSmartKC with superintendents, charter leaders, funders, policymakers, and community partners. The person in this role must be credible in all of those rooms on the first visit.

Specific responsibilities include:

Program portfolio leadership

• Sets direction and quality standards across the program portfolio: PreK, LFAS, TBS, and Real World Learning.

• Holds accountability for the coordination, integration, and delivery of all programmatic areas, contracts, grants, and related services, including budgetary alignment.

• Sets portfolio goals, metrics, and reporting. Uses outcome and evaluation data to redirect the work when the data calls for it.

• Decides where to expand a program, where to adjust it, and where to end an investment.

• Keeps the programs connected so a partner school receives one coherent body of support instead of four unrelated ones.

• Reviews program performance with Program Directors and requires corrective action when results fall short.

• Builds the capability of the program team so each director can run their program well.

Working with school systems and community partners

• Builds a coalition across the Kansas City Public Education System, including LEAs, education-adjacent organizations, funders, and community organizations.

• Maps and updates current efforts across the PreK-12 continuum of LEAs to sustain the partnerships with the greatest potential to improve student outcomes.

• Develops and maintains long-term relationships across a broad base of education groups to inform, educate, and build support for SchoolSmartKC’s strategy.

• Serves as a thinking partner to superintendents, charter leaders, and district teams.

• Holds partners to their commitments, deliverables, and outcomes while ensuring the relationships stay strong.

Team leadership

• Attracts, develops, evaluates, and supervises the program team, including regular feedback, coaching, and support, so every team member operates at a high level and meets performance goals.

• Builds a team-based environment where program leaders solve problems together rather than in isolation.

• Holds contracted partners and consultants to their deliverables and outcomes.

• Secures the internal and external resources the program team needs to deliver.

• Promotes working relationships between program areas so outcomes for LEA partners, funders, and stakeholders are consistently met.

Strategy across the system

• Partners with the President/CEO to implement SchoolSmartKC’s strategic plan and to develop new initiatives that reflect the mission.

• Shapes long-term priorities through research, data, community input, and what school leaders report from the field.

• Tracks shifts across the Kansas City Public Education System, including policy, funding, research, and partner activity. Brings that back to the team and acts on it.

• Stays current on instructional research and practice at the local and national level, across content areas. Brings what is working elsewhere into the Kansas City conversation.

• Names risks and barriers early and brings solutions.

External representation and funding

• Represents SchoolSmartKC with schools, community groups, funders, policymakers, and peer organizations at the local, state, and national level.

• Leads meetings and presentations for audiences that range from school staff to funder boards.

• Participates in grant development, proposals, reporting, and funder relationships.

• Cultivates resources in support of organizational strategic aims.

Budget and fiscal oversight

• Leads programmatic budget development and oversight within the organizational budget process.

• Maintains a high level of fiscal responsibility across program contracts and grants.

• Uses the financial model to support organizational strategy.

• Other duties and projects as assigned.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

Education: Master’s degree required. Any education-related field is acceptable, including education leadership, educational administration, curriculum and instruction, public policy, or a related discipline.

Required experience: Senior system-level or executive leadership in education. This means a role that carried authority and accountability for outcomes across multiple schools or an entire system: superintendent, assistant or associate superintendent, chief academic officer, chief of schools, network or regional executive director, or an executive role in an education intermediary, funder, or state agency. Leadership of a single school alone does not meet this requirement. 

Additional experience: Twelve or more years of progressively responsible experience in education or an education-related field, including at least seven years supervising teams and overseeing multiple programs, contracts, or grants.

Also required: Demonstrated experience building coalitions across organizations that do not report to one another, developing and managing program budgets, and holding contracted partners to outcomes. Experience with grant development and funder relationships strongly preferred.

Strongly preferred: Working knowledge of the Kansas City Public Education System, including its district and charter landscape. Experience leading a portfolio that spans early childhood through post-secondary transition.

Travel: Regular local travel across Kansas City, including school sites. Occasional state and national travel.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

The strongest candidate has led at the system level and can show it in conversation. Superintendents, charter leaders, and funders decide early whether the person across the table has done the work. That judgment sets the ceiling on everything else in this role.

A successful candidate will also possess:

• A clear commitment to SchoolSmartKC’s mission and to improving outcomes for students.

• Credibility with superintendents, charter leaders, and funders, earned through experience those leaders recognize.

• Strong knowledge of schools in the Kansas City area, district and charter.

• Enough depth in program development and management to set standards and judge quality without running the programs.

• Exceptional interpersonal, coaching, and communication skills, with the ability to build trust inside the team and across partners from every sector in Kansas City.

• The ability to establish credibility quickly and build working relationships at every level of a stakeholder group.

• Excellent writing and public speaking ability, demonstrated in high-profile forums.

• Analytical skill to identify trends across quantitative and qualitative information and turn them into recommendations the organization can act on.

• Strong organizational skill and experience leading complex project management efforts.

• Financial acumen and experience working within budgets.

• An entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to work well through growth and change.

• A high level of ethics, a strong sense of integrity, and a commitment to confidentiality and to the values of the organization.

• Sound judgment and a calm, competent demeanor in difficult situations.

• The ability to handle conflict directly and constructively.

• Comfort with multiple demands, shifting priorities, and constant change.

• Cultural competence, humility, and an understanding of the barriers facing young people in economically challenged communities.

All statements in this position description describe the general nature of the work being performed and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required. The organization reserves the right to modify job duties or job descriptions at any time.

COMPENSATION