VP of Programs

Stem to the Future; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

Annual learning stipend

Monthly housing stipend

Monthly wellness stipend

Job summary

A youth development organization in Los Angeles seeks a Chief Programs & Learning Officer to lead its educational initiatives aimed at empowering Black and brown youth. The ideal candidate will drive a coherent program portfolio, supporting a team in executing student-centered values. Key responsibilities include managing directors, overseeing knowledge generation, and ensuring effective strategic partnerships. This role offers a competitive salary, medical benefits, and additional stipends.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated senior leadership experience in mission-driven organizations.
• Fluency in student-centered program design.
• Proven experience in people development.

Responsibilities

• Lead the program portfolio and ensure student-centered values.
• Manage Directors and coordinate cross-team meetings.
• Oversee knowledge generation and ensure integration across teams.

Skills

Liberatory pedagogy

People leadership

Systems thinking

Managing senior staff

High emotional intelligence

Education

Experience in educational organization

Job description

The mission of Inner Spark Learning Lab (fka STEM to the Future) is to support elementary and middle school aged Black and brown youth in realizing their inherent freedom and potential, guiding them towards self-actualization and personal revolution. We foster environments where youth can explore their identities, align with their purpose, and develop the confidence and skills to create their desired realities for themselves and their communities.

Our social justice and STEAM-based learning experiences equip Black and brown elementary and middle school-age students with insight to solve issues of equity within their communities.

Our Team

ISLL is founded and led by educators and creatives from diverse backgrounds who share a deep passion for youth and their capacity to do amazing things. Our team values discovery, open communication, empathy and creativity in everything we do. We’re united by our shared values, a deep commitment to our community, and to our mission of motivating and inspiring Black and brown youth to create the world they want and deserve. Our employees include athletes, parents, artists, writers, activists, and more.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Chief Programs & Learning Officer to lead ISLL's full program portfolio as a coherent, high-impact system. This is a senior leadership role at the intersection of pedagogy, strategy, and operations. The ideal candidate brings a deep belief in liberatory education, strong instincts for people leadership, and the ability to translate mission into systems that actually work.

The Chief Programs & Learning Officer is accountable for ensuring that every ISLL program reflects student-centered values, generates knowledge that informs the field, and is led by a team that feels clear, supported, and connected to shared goals.

What you’ll do

• Directly manage the Director of Labs and additional program directors as the portfolio grows
• Lead a standing monthly Directors meeting to surface cross-team dependencies, share insights, and coordinate priorities
• Maintain a non-negotiable weekly 1:1 cadence with all direct reports
• Conduct quarterly performance reviews for all Directors with written documentation
• Coordinate an extended team of consultants and researchers, setting clear scopes, aligning deliverables, and integrating their work into the broader program system

Cross‑Team Integration

• Own the integration architecture across Labs, Curriculum, Evaluation, and Professional Development functions
• Ensure Lab learnings feed curriculum iteration quarterly; translate curriculum innovations into PD offerings twice per year
• Share evaluation data summaries monthly with action items tracked across teams
• Ensure all programmatic narratives and data are available to the Development team 30 days before major fundraising asks

Strategic Priorities

• Lead execution of the Lab Visitor Strategy: host 100+ educators, researchers, policymakers, and storytellers in ISLL learning environments by Year 3
• Oversee knowledge generation, ensuring ISLL produces at least 2 internal learning briefs per year, 1 external-facing report or white paper annually, and ongoing case studies from lab environments
• Partner weekly with the Executive Director on strategic alignment, budget and resource planning, and board-level programmatic updates

Our ideal candidate will have

• Demonstrated senior leadership experience in a mission-driven educational or youth development organization
• Deep fluency in liberatory pedagogy and student-centered program design
• Proven experience managing directors or senior staff, not just coordinating, but genuinely developing people
• Strong systems thinking: the ability to see how programs, people, and data connect across a portfolio
• A track record of producing knowledge artifacts (reports, briefs, or publications) that move beyond internal use
• High EQ paired with clear expectations; someone who holds people accountable without losing the relationship

It’s a bonus if you have

• Experience managing contracted consultants and researchers as part of an integrated team
• Background in evaluation, learning science, or curriculum development
• Experience building or scaling a lab or innovation-focused learning environment
• Existing relationships with researchers, policymakers, or storytellers in the education space

Success in Your First 90 Days Looks Like

• You have built strong working relationships with the Director of Labs, all program directors, and key consultants and researchers
• You have conducted at least one lab observation and delivered meaningful feedback
• You have launched the monthly Directors meeting with a clear cadence and distributed summaries within 48 hours
• You have mapped cross-team integration points, including how consultants and researchers connect to each team, and identified current gaps
• The Executive Director views you as a strategic, proactive partner
• You have articulated 2 to 3 strategic priorities for the program portfolio
• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• Medical, Dental, Vision, Chiropractic/Acupuncture, and Life Insurance (100% covered by the organization)
• Annual learning stipend
• Monthly housing and wellness stipends

Pay Scale

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Chiropractic/Acupuncture, and Life Insurance (100% covered for select plans)
• Annual learning stipend
• Monthly housing and wellness stipends

The pay range for this role is:

110,000 - 135,000 USD per year (Los Angeles)