Director, Programs, Impact and Community Systems

This is not a traditional ‘programs’ role

Cassie + Friends is Canada’s only national charity dedicated exclusively to children and youth affected by juvenile arthritis and other childhood-onset rheumatic diseases — conditions affecting 25,000 kids across the country.

Founded by parents in 2007, Cassie + Friends now works alongside all 16 major pediatric rheumatology centres across Canada and contributes to national and international research initiatives shaping the future of care. Our community includes deeply engaged families, clinicians, researchers, and partners aligned around improving outcomes nationwide.

After nearly two decades of steady growth and trust-building, we are at a defining moment. We now have the credibility, partnerships, and platform to drive transformational change.

We work across care, research, community, and system change — supporting families early and throughout their journey, generating insight from lived experience, and helping shape better outcomes for kids who can’t wait for earlier diagnosis, effective treatment and greater certainty about their future.

What we need now is a senior leader who can partner closely with the Executive Director to ensure our programs, impact, and community systems operate with clarity, consistency, and measurable results at national scale.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced professional to strengthen the core systems that drive our impact. The Director, Programs, Impact and Community Systems will ensure that:

• Families experience clear, coherent, high-quality support
• Lived experience becomes structured insight that informs care and research
• Community engagement and fundraising systems operate in coordination
• Execution and follow-through are strong and consistent across teams

This is a leadership role for someone equally comfortable shaping direction and strengthening delivery.

You won’t be handed a fixed portfolio.

You’ll help shape how the organization works.

What You’ll Lead

1. Program Delivery + Family Experience

• Strengthen and oversee our national, multi-tiered Family Navigation model, ensuring families receive timely and evidence-based support from diagnosis onward
• Ensure consistent standards and high-quality communications across core family supports, including navigation materials, education resources, and clinic-aligned programs.
• Ensure team members know what they are responsible for, how families move through support, and when decisions need to be elevated
• Embed feedback loops and quality improvement practices

2. Impact Measurement & Learning

• Strengthen how family experience is captured and translated into insight
• Establish and track measurable KPIs across core programs
• Ensure learning informs research partnerships and system influence
• Lead the development of annual impact reporting and organizational storytelling to leadership, board, funders and our community

3. Community Systems

• Provide senior ownership for our national community and fundraising systems, including peer support networks and Team Cassie + Friends - our biggest annual event
• Strengthen how the organization listens to and learns from families who engage through movement, peer networks, and community fundraising
• Align community activities with stewardship and long-term sustainability
• Provide senior oversight of system performance, ensuring predictable coordination, retention, and growth

4. Organizational Coordination

• Lead and support program staff with clarity, trust, and accountability
• Help move coordination from people to systems
• Strengthen operating rhythm and cross-functional alignment
• Support disciplined growth consistent with strategic priorities
• Elevate the quality of internal and external program communications, including board materials, partner updates, and impact narratives.

What Success Looks Like (Year One)

• A clearly defined and highly impactful family support pathway
• Improved coordination across programs and fundraising
• Impact dashboards in place and used consistently
• Reliable delivery against strategic priorities
• Clear accountability structures that support sustained performance
• Measurable progress against defined annual KPIs across programs and community systems

Who We’re Looking For

You are a thoughtful and experienced systems-oriented leader who understands that meaningful impact requires both empathy and discipline.

You bring:

• 7–12+ years of demonstrated leadership experience
• Experience overseeing complex programs or multi-functional teams
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce and elevate high-quality communications for diverse audiences (families, clinicians, funders, and board).
• A track record of your ability to connect strategy to day-to-day execution
• Experience in health, pediatric, research, or national nonprofit environments is strongly preferred.
• Clear communication and decision-making ability

You are excited at the challenge of bringing structure and consistency to a growing organization while preserving its heart.

Why This Role Is Special

You will help shape the next phase of growth for a nationally embedded pediatric health organization with deep clinical partnerships and a respected role in national and international research.

This is an opportunity to build systems that will influence both immediate family support and long-term outcomes for children across Canada.

A career at Cassie + Friends also means joining the supportive, welcoming team at Porte Communities - our partner and certified Great Place to Work® - as well as access to a number of benefits designed to help you thrive:

• Kickstart Mondays with coffee, treats + weekend banter
• Weekly team fitness training to sweat & reset
• Casual Fridays & Friday Happy Hour (rooftop edition when the sun decides to show up!).
• Extended Health and Dental Benefits
• 4 weeks paid vacation and winter office closure
• A stocked office kitchen, great coffee, and healthy snacks for all-day fuel
• Year-round learning and development opportunities

How to Apply

Please submit:

• A cover letter outlining why this role resonates with you and how your experience aligns with the responsibilities described
• Your resume
• (Optional but encouraged) A brief example (1–2 paragraphs) of a system, program, or operational challenge you strengthened in a growing organization

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We encourage early submission.

Please send materials to: jennifer@cassieandfriends.ca with the subject line:
Director, Programs, Impact & Community Systems

Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.

Equity, Accessibility & Inclusion Statement

Cassie + Friends is committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of the children, youth, and families we serve across Canada.

We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including those with lived experience of chronic illness or disability, members of racialized communities, Indigenous peoples, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, and people from rural or underserved regions.

Lived experience with childhood chronic illness — personally or within your family — is welcomed and valued, though not required.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace. Accommodation is available upon request at any stage of the hiring process.