Chief Program Officer

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How to Apply

section for application instructions.

Reports To:

President and Chief Executive Officer

Location:

Oakland (Headquarters) or Stockton (Central Valley Site), CA (Hybrid)

Starting Compensation for Bay Area-based Hire: $153,000 – $161,000 annually

Starting Compensation for Central Valley-based Hire: $148,000 – $155,000 annually

Apply By: 1/16/26

Rising Sun Center for Opportunity seeks a strategic, equity-centered, and emotionally intelligent Chief Program Officer (CPO) to lead and evolve workforce development programs at the intersection of climate justice, economic mobility, and racial equity. This is a pivotal executive leadership role for a seasoned program builder who can steward strong, mission-driven programs while guiding Rising Sun toward the next phase of growth, scale, and sustainability.

Reporting directly to the President and Chief Executive Officer and serving as a core member of the executive leadership team, the CPO will bring clarity, focus, and forward momentum to Rising Sun’s program strategy—building on a strong foundation, strengthening systems and outcomes, and helping the organization prepare for future funding and programmatic shifts. The ideal leader is both visionary and grounded: a collaborative unifier who leads with humility, decisiveness, and deep respect for staff, participants, and community partners.

We’re deeply rooted at the intersection of equity, climate, and good, sustainable careers. In 1994, Rising Sun Center for Opportunity began as Rising Sun Energy Center in Santa Cruz, California. Much has changed as we’ve adapted and innovated to respond to the needs of our participants and communities, but today, we remain rooted in our origins, preparing people throughout the Bay Area and Central California who have been locked out of prosperity for good jobs and green pathways that offer economic equity and mobility while building a climate-resilient future for all.

Through programs such as Climate Careers and Opportunity Build, Rising Sun has trained and employed more than 3,000 individuals and helped over 65,000 households reduce their carbon footprint. Learn more about who we are and our impact ingsunopp.org

We are mission-driven and work hard because we care about what we do. We are deeply committed to equity, inclusion, and antiracism, and are actively advancing on that journey, though we know the work is never done. We like working with each other and we like to make work fun. We’re into continuous improvement, learning, transparency, and tough conversations. We practice appreciation and start each meeting with a team-builder, and it’s not uncommon for staff to bring snacks to share that tell a story about who they are and where they come from.

When we’re at the office, there’s often at least one dog hanging around. We put people first, especially our program participants. We like to promote from within and build each other up, but we also like to bring in new ideas and different perspectives. We’re looking forward to meeting you and hearing about how you can contribute to making Rising Sun a great place to have an impact.

After expanding geographically and programmatically over the past year, Rising Sun will continue its geographic growth while focusing intentionally on sustainability, impact, story amplification, and scaling innovation. The organization is expanding its presence in the Central Valley and is preparing for the next cycle of government and philanthropic funding to catalyze efforts toward economic equity and climate resilience. Reporting directly to, and providing strategic thought partnership to, the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Chief Program Officer (CPO) will play a pivotal role in shaping and leading this next phase.

The CPO will oversee Rising Sun’s workforce development program portfolio, leading the vision, strategy, design, execution, evaluation, and enhancement of all programs across regions alongside three strong program directors and their teams. These core programs – Climate Careers® Bay Area, Climate Careers® Central Valley, and Opportunity…