Vice President, Vocational Programs

Vice President, Vocational Programs 

📍 Location: National with regional travel
💼 Position: Vice President, Vocational Programs | Senior Leadership Team
🌎 Impact: Multiple regions, dozens of offices, thousands of lives each year

Lead national and regional strategy. Inspire teams. Transform reentry.

Anticipated deadline to submit application: October 17th 2025 before 5pm EDT. Position may close early if application limit is met. Apply promptly for full consideration.

At CEO, we believe in second chances. For over 30 years, we’ve partnered with justice-impacted individuals to build strong futures through career pathways, training, and holistic supports. With 31 sites nationwide, we’re one of the country’s leading reentry organizations — and we’re seeking a Vice President, Vocational Programs to help us expand our impact.

This is a chance to lead across multiple regions, guiding regional leadership and local offices to deliver programs that change lives and set new standards in reentry and workforce development.

The Opportunity

As VP of Vocational Programs, you’ll join our senior leadership team to:

• Drive regional performance: Ensure every office in your portfolio meets ambitious outcomes and operates sustainably.
• Develop leaders: Hire, mentor, and inspire program leaders and staff to achieve excellence at scale.
• Innovate programs: Shape pilot programs and vocational models that respond to labor market needs and participant voices.
• Strengthen partnerships: Expand collaborations with employers, community organizations, funders, and government partners.
• Champion equity: Lead with a deep commitment to inclusion, equity, and justice.

As part of our mission, we strongly encourage individuals who have lived experience of incarceration or involvement in the justice system to apply for this role.

Who We Are

The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) provides employment services to people recently released from incarceration. Across the United States, 8,000-9,000 people participate in CEO each year, transitioning to employment that supports themselves, their families, and their communities.

What began as a demonstration project of the Vera Institute of Justice in the 1970s to address employment barriers facing the formerly incarcerated following release in New York City has grown into the leading reentry employment organization in the country, where over 30,000 formerly incarcerated individuals have secured full-time employment since 1996.

Who You Are:

You are a strategic, mission-driven leader with proven experience managing large teams and programs. You thrive at the intersection of vision and execution — navigating complex operations while keeping people at the center.

• 10+ years of leadership experience in nonprofit, government, philanthropy, or social enterprise
• Success designing, scaling, and evaluating programs with measurable results
• Skilled at managing budgets, complex operations, and multi-site portfolios
• Strong relationship-builder with employers, funders, and community partners
• Committed to equity, innovation, and driving meaningful change in reentry and workforce development

Why Join Us:

This role is more than oversight — it’s about shaping opportunity and building futures. You’ll have the chance to:

• Lead a talented team across multiple regions
• Shape programs that redefine what reentry can achieve
• Partner with stakeholders who believe in second chances
• Make a lasting impact on individuals, families, and communities nationwide

Total Rewards:

We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package that reflects how much we value our people. Our benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage with competitive contributions, health reimbursement and flexible spending accounts, and paid parental leave to support families. We invest in your future with a retirement plan that includes employer contributions, along with free financial wellness coaching and resources for mental health and wellbeing through our Employee Assistance Program. 

We also recognize the importance of balance and rest. That’s why we provide a robust paid time off package — including 20 vacation days, 12 sick days, 12 paid holidays, 2 personal days, and 1 floating holiday.

Beyond benefits, CEO fosters a culture of learning, connection, and teamwork. From our affinity group program and lunch-and-learns and team outings, we create opportunities to grow, share, and build community together.

This is an exempt position with a tiered compensation system designed to ensure fairness, market alignment, and equity across our geographical territories. CEO’s salary structure consists of multiple tiers, with ranges determined based on the cost of labor in specific markets.

For this role, the salary range falls within the overall range $129,800 to $190,000. CEO’s current salary tiers are structured as follows:

• Tier 1+: $172,300 - $190,000
• Tier 1: $159,000 - $174,900
• Tier 2: $145,800 - $160,350
• Tier 3+: $135,800 - $149,400
• Tier 3: $129,800 - $144,400

CEO’s pay philosophy is centered on experience and internal equity, meaning that individuals with less experience typically start at the lower end of the entry salary ranges above. Higher salary placement is usually reflective of the additional comparable experience, expertise, skills, and contributions employees bring from similar roles. This approach ensures compensation aligns with an employee's background while providing room for growth within the salary range.

Major Responsibilities

These responsibilities are representative, but not all-inclusive, of the responsibilities of this role:

Strategic Leadership

• Support  the CEO, Chief Program Officer, and Chief Strategy Officer in setting program vision and strategy
• Ensure that the budget, staffing, and resources, and priorities of regions within portfolio are aligned with CEO’s organizational mission and values 
• Shape and inform program goal setting for portfolio of regions
• Develop strategies, when necessary, to improve the program performance of sites
• Plan and execute the development of pilot programs in coordination with partner departments and external stakeholders
• Provide thought leadership in reentry, workforce development, and social impact, representing the organization at conferences, coalitions, and national policy forums
• Cultivate partnerships with employers, community organizations, government agencies, and funders

Program Oversight

• Ensure implementation of the CEO model with fidelity and exercise accountability for the portfolio of sites you oversee
• Oversee the coordination, integration, and delivery of program, contracts, and related services, promoting collaborative relationships in achieving expectations of funders, partners, constituents, clients, and other stakeholders
• Offer guidance on response to government and foundation requests for proposals and applications in partnership with development and senior staff; coordinate planning and activities necessary for development of program model strategy and implementation
• Work closely with the CFO and Finance team to budget and monitor programmatic operations to ensure sound fiscal and system management and proper allocation of resources within portfolio of sites
• Analyze and assess program performance based on data collected and implement corrective measures if required
• Oversee the tracking and reporting of program outcomes for multi-site grant agreements, developing systems and processes when needed to manage these

Operational Excellence & Impact

• Support development of program standards, policies, and performance metrics
• Ensure data-driven decision-making through evaluation and reporting systems
• Ensure compliance with funder, regulatory, and contractual requirements, liaising and gathering guidance from the Legal & Compliance and Employee Experience departments
• Provide guidance on how to deploy resources efficiently and effectively toward organizational goals, working with staff to balance workload and effort and provide regular feedback so that key staff can continuously improve their supervision and mentoring skills
• Foster a results-oriented, collaborative and high-achieving culture with accountability across all departments so that program objectives and defined goals are accomplished and celebrated

Team Management & Leadership

• Attract, lead, develop, mentor, inspire and retain strong and effective staff as measured by achievement of priority goals
• Cultivate and drive a culture of performance management by monitoring and holding oneself and others accountable for outcomes through data review and analysis
• Supervise, coach, and evaluate staff, including Regional Director and support roles
• Build leadership capacity within team
• Lead and support senior management in aligning their teams with the company’s people strategy and organizational values
• Facilitate cross-departmental collaboration and strengthen internal communications with staff throughout the organization
• Serve as a key stakeholder on various CEO committees
• Travel as needed to meet with staff and external constituents

Key Competencies for the Role 

• Strong understanding of the criminal justice system and the challenges of reentry
• Commitment to centering participants  and advancing equity and inclusion
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, with the ability to represent the organization externally across a wide range of stakeholders and constituencies 
• Strong relationship builder with the ability to find common ground, build consensus and strengthen collaboration among diverse stakeholders 
• Ability to successfully navigate in a fast-paced, outcomes-driven and entrepreneurial environment 
• Ability to simultaneously manage multiple large and complex projects and priorities; experience with data and deadline-driven, detail-oriented project management as well as managing and prioritizing individual and team workflows 
• Demonstrated commitment to justice and advancing meaningful change for people impacted by the legal system; practitioner of equitable and inclusive practices, policies and strategies
• Deep commitment to innovation and a strong sense of how to use technology, data, and systems to improve service and efficiency

More About Us

Center for Employment Opportunities believes that everyone deserves the chance to shape a stronger future for themselves, their families, and their communities. People who are justice involved are highly encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels. CEO is committed to the CROWN Act, and creating an open space where our employees can present as their true authentic selves.

All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, gender, gender identity, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior record of arrest or conviction, citizenship status, current employment status, caregiver status, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law. We value diverse experiences, including with regard to educational background and justice system contact.

Please note that due to the volume of resumes received, we are unable to contact each applicant regarding the status of each position or reply to candidates' inquiries via phone or email.

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