Chief Programs Officer - The Canadian Mental Health Association BC Division

The Canadian Mental Health Association BC Division (CMHA BC) is the leading non-profit and charitable organization dedicated to promoting mental health for all. As the provincial arm of a national charity, CMHA BC develops and delivers innovative mental health initiatives while providing strategic leadership and support to our network of 13 local branches.

CMHA BC provides advocacy and resources that help to prevent mental health problems and illnesses, support recovery and resilience, and enable all British Columbians to flourish and thrive. Through workplace programs, direct support programs for youth and families, training and workshops, and advocacy and mental health promotion work, we always focus on our three strategic priorities to reach, uplift, and advance mental health for all. We also play a crucial role in system transformation through policy development, research, and government relations that drive mental health reform across BC.

CMHA BC is now recruiting a Chief Programs Officer, a newly created senior role to hold strategic oversight, direction, and accountability for implementing its program and service portfolio. The CPO is responsible for program strategy, integration, outcomes, system leadership, ensuring operational excellence and innovation across mental health and substance use initiatives throughout British Columbia. This position maintains executive-level accountability for program design, implementation, evaluation, quality assurance, and sustainable growth of CMHA BC’s distinctive and diverse provincial programs.

The CPO will have significant budget responsibilities for the majority of our $64 million budget and will lead a team of ~100 engaged and passionate staff.

Reporting directly to the CEO, Jonny Morris, the Chief Programs Officer is a core member of the Executive Leadership Team, playing a central role in shaping organizational strategy, enterprise priorities, and resource allocation. The CPO partners closely with the CEO and executive team to set the direction for CMHA BC’s program portfolio, ensuring alignment with the organization’s strategic vision while advancing innovation, integration, and system impact.

The CPO leads the translation of strategy into action across the organization, driving the implementation of CMHA BC’s priorities to reach all British Columbians throughout their lifespan, uplift the voices of people with lived and living experience, and advance the human right to our best possible mental health.

This is a tremendous new leadership opportunity to:

• Lead the execution and implementation, ensuring integration of CMHA BC’s mental health programs;
• Be a thought partner and creative contributor to a thriving and dynamic leadership team;
• Provide high-level guidance and support to an exceptional team of program staff and leaders;
• Develop and implement sophisticated evaluation frameworks, processes and procedures to ensure best-in-class accountability and impact reporting to our funders, clients, and partners;
• Drive the integration and alignment of CMHA BC’s programs into a cohesive model of care, ensuring complementary services work together to maximize impact and system effectiveness;
• Join an exceptionally passionate and mission-driven team that is making a tremendous impact in people’s lives;
• Help address complex and exciting social and health issues;
• Develop and expand on innovative approaches to transforming community-based mental health care. 

The Chief Programs Officer is a senior executive reporting to the CEO and a key member of the Executive Leadership Team. The CPO is accountable for the strategic direction, integration, and performance of CMHA BC’s program portfolio, ensuring high-quality, innovative, and sustainable mental health and substance use services across British Columbia.

Competencies and Traits

 The ideal CPO will bring:

• A passion for the CMHA BC mission and goals, and a keen desire to support mental health.
• A big-picture perspective with a strategic and connective mind to grasp trends and themes.
• Supportive, available, and warm leadership style. Exceptionally strong change management and leadership abilities; a champion for a strong working culture and performance management skills.
• Accountability and transparency rooted in open communications; attuned to multi-directional communications and iterative feedback mechanisms.
• Flexible and adaptive manner and style; comfort with ambiguity, yet a desire to create clear structures and order.
• A profound understanding and commitment to psychological health and safety for staff working directly with clients and people in need.
• Reflection and self-awareness, the ability to own mistakes and work on themselves as a leader. A learning orientation with strong ethics and clear values.
• Assertiveness and self-sufficiency, with the patience and persistence to move activities forward.
• Collaboration and curiosity.

 Knowledge & Skills

• Distinguished leadership capabilities with demonstrated success directing large, diverse teams and developing senior management talent.
• Advanced financial leadership abilities, including experience developing and managing multi-million dollar program budgets and complex funding arrangements.
• Executive-level understanding of mental health and substance use systems, recovery principles, and the social determinants of health.
• Sophisticated knowledge of the BC mental health and addiction system, relevant legislation, health policy, and complex funding mechanisms.
• Expert knowledge of program evaluation methodologies, outcome measurement frameworks, and quality improvement systems.
• Superior communication and presentation skills, including experience presenting to boards of directors, government ministers, and at high-profile conferences.
• Executive-level relationship-building expertise, with proven ability to develop strategic partnerships with government officials, healthcare executives, and C-suite stakeholders.
• Visionary strategic thinking, with demonstrated ability to translate complex organizational vision into executable strategies and measurable outcomes.
• Advanced understanding of cultural safety, cultural humility and commitment to advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
• Sophisticated understanding of peer support models and the strategic value of lived and living experience in program development, delivery, and system transformation.

How to Apply: 

This search is being led by CMHA’s search partner, The Discovery Group. If you or someone you know is interested or curious, please contact Christoph Clodius, VP, at christoph@thediscoverygroup.ca. We welcome questions and enquiries.

Application Timing and Selection Process:

All submissions should be received by May 29, 2026. Please apply with a cover letter/expression of interest and resume/CV in the same document.

Early submissions and enquiries are encouraged and will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

After applying, candidates will have the chance to share their experience and ask questions throughout the process.

Compensation & Benefits:

The CPO’s salary range is currently going through the formal approval process, and we envision a hiring range of $160,000 – 175,000. Generous benefits include extended health and dental coverage, a health savings account, membership in the Municipal Pension Plan, holidays and compensatory days off, and, in keeping with our commitment to mental health, unlimited mental health benefits.

CMHA BC offers a welcoming and supportive work environment. We promote individual access to wellness and support staff development while achieving an impact through our various initiatives for the mental health of all British Columbians.

Location:

This is a full-time permanent position, offering the flexibility of at least three days in the office. The CPO can be based in either of our two offices (downtown Vancouver or Victoria), with a strong preference for the Vancouver office. 

Read the full Candidate Brief here: https://thediscoverygroup.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/CMHA-BC-CPO-Candidate-Brief.pdf