Chief Program Officer - Mental Health, Housing & Homeless Programs

About the role

The Chief Program Officer (CPO) is a senior executive and key member of BACS's Executive Team, serving as the CEO's primary service operating partner. The CPO holds full P&L responsibility and signing authority across all program operations — a $150M+ organization spanning 700+ staff, 100+ funding streams, and 100+ program, residential, and housing sites currently spanning Sacramento to San Mateo Counties. This includes the administrative and service/clinical direction of direct-service programs serving individuals with serious mental illness, substance use disorders, chronic health conditions, and housing instability or homelessness, across the full scope of care at BACS. The CPO is the operational head and primary interfacing executive with funders, county and state partners, and community stakeholders agency-wide, and ensures excellence across clinical, administrative, fiscal, compliance, human resources, and quality improvement functions. This role requires a dynamic, hands-on leader who moves fluidly between C-suite strategy and on-the-ground presence at program sites, operating with a high degree of independence and executive judgment, and who can be trusted to run agency operations at the highest standard without close oversight.

Responsibilities

• Serves as the CEO's primary executive partner in leading agency-wide program operations, stepping in as a trusted #2 across strategic and operational decision-making alongside other C-suite leaders
• Owns full P&L accountability for the entire program operations portfolio, including revenue, expenses, and margin performance across all funding streams; proactively identifies and acts on financial risk or underperformance
• Directs that services are delivered in full compliance with all applicable funding streams (100+) and regulatory requirements across county, state, and federal contracts
• Provides executive oversight, coaching, and accountability for VPs, Directors, and site leadership across the full geographic service area; monitors their performance and financial results, and reviews these with the CEO on a regular basis
• Partners with Finance and HR to ensure programs are fiscally sound, appropriately staffed, and operationally compliant — with fluency in budget, HR, and compliance data sufficient to identify and resolve issues independently
• Designs and enforces a consistent, high-quality service delivery model across all sites, grounded in BACS's mission, vision, and values, and centered on consumer-driven, strength-based, culturally relevant care
• Leads agency-wide Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) systems and standards