Sr Director of Programs

Are you a person of compassion? An advocate for justice? Someone who stands up for the rights of the vulnerable and speaks out for the marginalized, the exploited and the forgotten?  Do you believe in our calling as Christians to welcome the least of these and love our neighbor?
If you answered ‘yes’, to any of the above, World Relief, and millions of people around the world need you.
At this pivotal moment in time, we are rapidly expanding and growing our team to meet the increasing needs of our world. We are looking for people who want to use their gifts and talents to make a real and tangible difference in our world and the lives of the suffering.  If you’re looking for a purpose-driven career in which you can grow your talents, while also standing up for the rights of the vulnerable, we want you to join us today.  ORGANIZATION SUMMARYWorld Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization whose mission is to boldly engage the world’s greatest crises in partnership with the church. The organization was founded in the aftermath of World War II to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of war-torn Europe. Since then, for 80 years, across 100 countries, World Relief has partnered with local churches and communities to build a world where families thrive and communities flourish.
Today, organizational programming focuses on humanitarian and disaster response, community strengthening and resilience, and refugee & immigrant services and advocacy.
POSITION SUMMARY:The Senior Director of Programs provides overall leadership, alignment, and support for World Relief Chicagoland’s immigrant and refugee programs. This role exists to bring clarity and cohesion across programs during a season of change—ensuring Program Directors are well supported, programs are meaningfully connected to one another, and decisions are grounded in mission, data, community voice, and operational reality. The Senior Director of Programs leads the Program Leadership Team comprised of seven directors, and serves as the overarching decision maker for program directions. This role also serves on the Administrative Leadership Team, bringing programmatic perspectives to shape overall organizational direction and priorities. This role partners closely with other directors to ensure integrated, scalable, and sustainable programming across geographic locations.
Hybrid schedule: 4 days in office, 1 work from home day

ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Program Strategy & Integration
• Provide a clear, integrated vision for community impact and program service delivery, while honoring the distinct identity and expertise of each program area
• Support directors in designing programs that make positive impact for participants, through outcomes-focused service delivery that is adaptive and scalable
• Ensure church and community engagement is thoughtfully integrated into program design and delivery
• Lead annual program planning with Program Directors, aligned with mission, funding realities and operational capacity. As needed, lead scenario planning exercises


• Leadership, Coaching & Accountability
• Provide direct supervision, coaching, and support to Program Directors
• Serve as a trusted thought partner while also holding clear accountability for performance, outcomes, and follow-through
• Set goals and expectations; monitor progress toward program plans, grant deliverables, and outcomes
• Provide accountability to staying within budget & maintaining strong financial stewardship
• Address conflict directly and constructively; mediate across programs and departments as needed
• Make and communicate tough prioritization and resource decisions when necessary


• Collaboration & Coordination
• Facilitate regular Program Director meetings that support shared learning, problem-solving, and alignment
• Build collaboration rhythms and systems for cross-program coordination, and regularly review/ adapt these to meet evolving needs in a season of change
• Balance local needs of each geography with regional alignment and consistency


• Cross-Functional Partnership
• Provide organizational leadership with the Administrative Leadership Team, bringing perspectives from the Program Leadership Team into discussions and decisions & working to close inter-department gaps
• Work closely with Grants Management & Development teams to align funding pursuits with program strategy
• Ensure data, learning, and community feedback inform program decisions and improvements
• Partner with Finance & Grants Management teams to support budget planning, monitoring, and strong financial stewardship by Program Directors
• Coordinate with Operations team to ensure the materials and tools are available to implement programming