Leadership role

Chief Program Officer

Directs the programs and services through which a nonprofit carries out its mission.

Reporting and scope

Reports to the Executive Director / CEO or COO. Authority covers all mission programs and their teams, often across several sites.

Core responsibilities

  • Sets program strategy and service models
  • Supervises program directors and managers
  • Manages program budgets and government or foundation grant deliverables
  • Leads outcome measurement and reporting to funders
  • Keeps programs in line with licensing, accreditation or contract standards
  • Works with the development team on grant proposals

How it differs

The VP of Programs and Director of Programs lead programs at a lower level. The COO usually oversees programs plus support functions, while the Chief Program Officer covers programs only.

By organization size

In mid-sized organizations the role may run programs directly. In large multi-service agencies it leads a layer of vice presidents or regional directors.

Filings from the last five years mapped to this role commonly report titles such as: Chief Program Officer; Chief Programs Officer; Chief Programming Officer; Chief Prog Officer; Chief Program Office; Chief Prog.

Related roles

Roles this description compares with Chief Program Officer, or that compare themselves with it.

VP of Programs
Directs the programs and services through which a nonprofit carries out its mission.
Director of Programs
Directs the planning and delivery of an organization's programs or services.
COO
The organization's second-ranking executive, responsible for running day-to-day operations and carrying out the CEO's plans.
Director of Grant Programs
Directs an organization's grant work, whether seeking grant funding or administering the grants it makes.

See what this role pays

Median reported total compensation, nationally: $171,000. Based on 4,262 IRS Form 990 filings, fiscal years 2021–2025.

This median spans organizations of every budget size and sector, so it will not match a benchmark for one organization.

State pay pages for this role: California, New Jersey, New York.

Benchmark pay for this role

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