Chief Program Officer (CPO)

Description

About Healthy Kids Programs

Healthy Kids Programs is a rapidly growing, multi-state for-profit provider of Early Learning, Before & After School, and Summer Camp programs serving early learning and K–8 students across 125+ locations. We are one of Inc. 5000’s fastest-growing companies, generating $12M in annual revenue with a clear path to $20M+.

After years of expansion, Healthy Kids is entering the next phase of professionalization—strengthening leadership, building operational systems, and scaling processes that ensure program quality, operational excellence, and sustainable growth. As a certified Benefit Corporation, we are on a mission to reinvent accessible, high-quality childcare while providing meaningful career pathways for our teams.

The Opportunity

The Chief Program Officer (CPO) is a high-impact, strategic, and hands-on executive responsible for the quality, consistency, and operational performance of all Healthy Kids programs. Reporting to the CEO, the CPO will:

• Make program quality and social-emotional learning outcomes the primary organizational focus.
• Lead operational execution across 125+ sites, ensuring systems, accountability, and standardized processes drive performance.
• Manage payroll and labor, Healthy Kids’ largest cost line, with an eye toward efficiency and margin improvement.
• Drive enrollment growth, retention, and new site openings while maintaining program standards.
• Foster family and school district engagement, strengthening Healthy Kids’ reputation and partnerships.
• Build and mentor a strong leadership team including Regional Directors, Area Managers, and site leaders.
• Act as a trusted partner to the CEO, absorbing day-to-day operational responsibility and creating predictable execution across all departments.

This role can be fully remote, with frequent travel to sites across multiple states.

Key Responsibilities

Program Quality & SEL Outcomes

• Implement and maintain a comprehensive Program Quality Framework emphasizing social-emotional learning, engagement, and child safety.
• Ensure consistent curriculum delivery and enrichment programs across all sites.
• Monitor quality through data, observations, and audits to continuously improve outcomes.

Operational Leadership & Systems Building

• Lead day-to-day operations across multiple states, standardizing SOPs, KPIs, dashboards, and accountability systems.
• Build scalable operational systems for training, compliance, reporting, and communication flow.
• Improve operational efficiency and reduce variability across sites.

Payroll, Staffing & Margin Management

• Oversee payroll management to balance cost, quality, and compliance.
• Implement staffing models that maintain ratios, ensure quality, and improve margins.
• Monitor labor data and dashboards to drive operational discipline.

Enrollment & Growth

• Develop strategies to increase enrollment, optimize occupancy, and retain families.
• Support opening and scaling of new locations, ensuring consistent program quality from day one.

Family & School District Engagement

• Maintain strong, collaborative relationships with families and district leaders.
• Ensure programs meet or exceed district expectations and contractual requirements.

Culture & Leadership Development

• Stabilize and strengthen the leadership team, fostering accountability, clarity, and ownership.
• Develop middle management and site leaders, building a robust talent pipeline.

CEO Partnership

• Serve as the CEO’s operational and programmatic partner.
• Reduce CEO daily operational involvement by 40–60% while ensuring alignment and predictable execution.

Requirements

Required Experience & Skills

• 10+ years in senior operational leadership roles in multi-site organizations, managing 40+ locations
• Proven ability to improve margins via staffing, labor, and payroll discipline
• History of building operational systems in fast-growth, founder-led, or for-profit organizations
• Experience leading geographically distributed teams
• Exceptional l