Job Description

Position Description:

A key thought partner to the CEO, the Chief Strategic Impact Officer (CSIO) will be responsible for driving the organization’s strategy, impact, and learning efforts across all program areas. This role ensures that our work is data-informed and aligned with our mission and values. The CSIO helps the organization stay focused on what matters most: deep, lasting community impact.

A critical member of the Executive Team, the CSIO will partner closely with the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Program Officer, and other senior leaders to set strategic priorities, strengthen systems for impact measurement, and tell the story of our work—both in numbers and narratives. The CSIO will lead impact measurement of WPA’s program model providing motivational and inspirational leadership to all organizational staff. A leader with a steady, objective presence and a commitment to continuous improvement, the ideal candidate thrives on analyzing complex information and ensuring processes are optimized for accuracy and efficiency, while also taking ownership, being results-driven, and delivering impact.

The CSIO will engage the Board of Directors under the direction of the CEO, providing reports at Board meetings. The CSIO will also engage with external partners and stakeholders to ensure that WPA’s impact is understood and known.

WPA seeks a CSIO that remains focused on the details necessary for success today (and tomorrow) to accomplish key strategic goals. The ideal candidate has an innovative and strategic approach to measurement, evaluation, learning, as well as policy and advocacy, motivates and leads a high-performing team, and effectively manages a variety of administrative and operational duties. The ideal candidate has superior leadership and decision-making skills and business acumen, excels at strategic thinking, is results driven and strong program management skills. This position consistently projects an enthusiastic, positive approach that contributes to a collegial and closely-knit organizational culture, both at the executive level as well as with the larger teams. The ideal candidate can work independently on projects from conception to completion, can successfully work under pressure, and handle confidential matters with discretion.

The ideal candidate has a minimum of ten (10) years of programming and management experience supervising teams. This candidate will also have extensive experience measuring and evaluating programs supported by government contracts and private funding, strategic implementation, thought leadership, and experience with Salesforce or other CRM or HER in client services context.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Impact Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning

• In collaboration with programmatic and executive leadership and in alignment with organizational goals, develop and implement org-wide impact measurement frameworks grounded in both quantitative and qualitative methods.
• Oversee data collection, analysis, and reporting to track outcomes across programs and initiatives.
• Build organizational dashboards and KPIs to monitor progress toward programmatic, operational, and development goals.
• Synthesize evaluation insights to inform strategic decision-making and improve program effectiveness.

Strategic Planning Implementation

• Lead research and analysis to conceptualize and prioritize new areas for programmatic expansion, innovation, and operational improvement aligned with WPA’s mission, goals, and theory of change.
• Support the CEO in assessing risks, opportunities, and strategic pivots to drive CEO’s mission and organizational goals and priorities.
  • Facilitate cross-functional processes, helping to leverage synergies and facilitate alignment, learning, and impactful collaboration across teams through strategy implementation.
  • Translate strategic goals into clear, actionable initiatives across departments.

Narrative and Thought Leadership

• Lead research and analysis to conceptualize and prioritize new areas for programmatic expansion, innovation, and operational improvement aligned with WPA’s mission, goals, and theory of change.
• Support the CEO in assessing risks, opportunities, and strategic pivots to drive CEO’s mission and organizational goals and priorities.
  • Facilitate cross-functional processes, helping to leverage synergies and facilitate alignment, learning, and impactful collaboration across teams through strategy implementation.
  • Translate strategic goals into clear, actionable initiatives across departments.

Stakeholder Engagement and Growth

• Forge and cultivate partner and stakeholder relationships to further organizational goals and amplify impact, collaborating with program and operations leadership to leverage CRM tools and sector networks.
• Work closely with senior leadership to align impact storytelling with fundraising and public communications goals.
• Craft and lead teamwork to submit new funding proposals and funder reports to execute on programmatic expansion priorities.
• Represent WPA at conferences and events.

Organizational Leadership

• All members of the senior leadership team are expected to collaborate with the CPO, CFOO, CEO, and Directors on organizational strategy, priorities, and programmatic initiatives.
• Lead and support resource planning and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Positively shape organizational culture across all WPA operations.
• Supervise current team, while building out a future team to support departmental objectives.
• Oversee all aspects of performance management throughout the employee lifecycle, integrating effective selection, retention, feedback, evaluations, coaching, development planning, and accountability to drive high performance and organizational consistency.

Qualifications:

Education/Certification Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required; Master’s degree preferred.

Experience Required

• 10+ years of senior management experience overseeing a team or department, preferably from a nonprofit organization, with the ability to lead research, measurement and evaluation functions.
• Extensive experience measuring and evaluating programs supported by government contracts and private funding
• Experience with strategic implementation and thought leadership
• Experience with Salesforce or other CRM or HER (in client services context)
• Experienced at driving organizational change and innovation initiatives, shifting culture, and building capacity among diverse stakeholder groups
• Experience working with populations impacted by justice involvement, homelessness, trauma, or related challenges

Competencies

• Has a deep passion for WPA's mission and vision to provide the services and support for women to shift resources from punishment to prevention, making incarceration of women obsolete.
• Excellence in organizational management with the ability to coach senior-level staff to manage and develop high-performance teams and implement program strategies.
• Analytic and decisive decision maker with the ability to prioritize and communicate to staff key objectives and tactics necessary to achieve organizational goals.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; a persuasive and passionate communicator with excellent writing and public speaking skills.
• Action-oriented, entrepreneurial, flexible, and innovative approach to operational management.
• Deep curiosity, humility, relationship-builder, integrity, positive attitude, mission-driven, and self-directed.
• A commitment to the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and passion for social justice and the organization’s greater mission.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, particularly in high-pressure or crisis situations.
• Alignment with WPA’s vision to make incarceration obsolete by supporting women in their communities.
• Supervise and support staff through regular check-ins, evaluations, and coaching.
• Manage staff performance by setting expectations, providing feedback, and addressing challenges.
• Foster a positive, inclusive team culture that supports professional growth, retention, and staff satisfaction.
• Consistently projects an enthusiastic, positive approach that contributes to a collegial and closely-knit organizational culture, both at the executive level as well as with the larger teams.
• Superior leadership and decision-making skills and business acumen.
• Excels at strategic thinking, is results driven and strong program management skills.
• Can work independently on projects from conception to completion, can successfully work under pressure, and handle confidential matters with discretion.

Position Details:

This is a full-time position. The Chief Strategic Impact Officer will report directly to the President/CEO. The ideal candidate should be prepared to spend 50-75% of the work week in office, on site.

Compensation, Perks & Benefits*:

Salary range is $165,000 - $175,000, commensurate with certifications, education and experience. WPA offers a competitive and comprehensive benefits package designed to support the well-being, growth, and success of our staff. Our benefits reflect our commitment to creating a workplace where people feel valued and supported.

Health & Wellness

• Health & Vision insurance
• Employer-paid dental coverage
• 100% premium paid Short- and Long-Term Disability
• Paid family and medical leave
• Access to an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Companywide Wellness Challenges

Time Off & Flexibility

• 12 paid holidays, including a paid holiday week between Christmas and New Year’s
• Floating holidays and Personal days
• Hybrid work options for various roles

Financial Benefits

• 403(b) retirement plan
• Credit union membership options
• Direct deposit and Brinks MoneyCard option
• Tax-deferred commuting benefits via ThrivePass
• 529 college savings plan
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs)
• “Aspiring Professionals” Scholarship Program

Growth & Development

• WPA University ~ Learning Management System (LMS) for on-demand learning
• Internal & External training opportunities
• CUNY sponsored scholarship to HSCAS for employee education

Extra Perks

• Access to the “Alcott HR Marketplace” employee discount program
• Milestone Celebrations & Awards

• Benefits eligibility may vary based on the number of hours worked.

WPA strongly values diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. We’re proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. All hires to our team are based on qualifications, merit, and organizational needs. We recruit, employ, train, and promote regardless of systems involvement and race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, genetic characteristic, or any other protected status. Faithful to our mission, all of our employees share in these commitments as a guide to engage one another with dignity and respect. Individuals with criminal justice involvement are strongly encouraged to apply.

Please email your resume, cover letter, and salary requirements to jobs@wpaonline.org. You must include "Chief Strategy & Impact Officer" in the subject line of your email.

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