Chief of Staff

Position Details

Position Type:

Full Time, Exempt

Reports To:

President and CEO

Work Location:

Silver Spring, MD or Remote

Level of Travel Required:

Frequent travel based on Board meetings, senior leadership meetings, and organizational priorities.

Job Overview

The Chief of Staff serves as a strategic partner and advisor to the President and CEO of Achieving the Dream and is responsible for the coordination, sequencing, and follow-through of the organization's highest priorities. Reporting directly to the President and CEO, the Chief of Staff works across all divisions to advance organizational priorities, support the Senior Leadership Team, and steward the President's Office.

The Chief of Staff manages ATD's strategic planning process, including the engagement of the Board of Directors, staff, Network colleges, funders, and partners, and the translation of the resulting plan into organizational priorities, measures, and accountability. The position also serves as the primary staff liaison for governance, supporting the Board of Directors and its committees.

The Chief of Staff prepares briefing materials, correspondence, presentations, and remarks for the President and CEO, and ensures consistency of message across the President's internal and external communications.

As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, the Chief of Staff supports coordination and accountability across divisions and holds confidential responsibility on sensitive organizational matters. This position supervises the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO.

Duties and Responsibilities

Executive Partnership and Presidential Support (25%)

• Serve as a strategic advisor and thought partner to the President and CEO, and provide confidential counsel on sensitive organizational matters.
• Support the President in setting priorities, managing competing demands, and protecting time for the organization's highest-value work.
• Prepare briefing materials, talking points, remarks, presentations, correspondence, and background research for the President, and ensure consistency of voice and message across them.
• Draft and coordinate the President's written communications, including letters to Network presidents, staff communications, articles, and external contributions.
• Anticipate issues requiring the President's attention and bring forward options with a recommendation.

Strategic Planning and Organizational Strategy (20%)

• Manage ATD's strategic planning process end to end, including timeline, participation, facilitation, materials, and decision points.
• Coordinate engagement of the Board of Directors, staff, Network colleges, funders, and partners in the planning process.
• Partner with the Vice President of Research and Network Innovation to ensure the plan is grounded in evidence and supported by defined measures of success.
• Translate the approved plan into annual organizational priorities, division-level commitments, and reporting against them.
• Maintain the connection between the strategic plan, the annual budget, and the organization's stated priorities, and identify where they diverge.

Board Relations and Governance (20%)

• Serve as the primary staff liaison for the Board of Directors and its committees.
• Coordinate development of Board agendas, meeting materials, and governance documentation, and manage meeting logistics with the Executive Assistant.
• Partner with the Board Chair and the President to support Board engagement, communication, and committee effectiveness.
• Track Board actions and commitments through to completion, and report status to the President and the Board.
• Support Board recruitment, orientation, development, and governance improvement efforts.

Senior Leadership Team Coordination (20%)

• Coordinate the work of the Senior Leadership Team, including agendas, materials, and the sequencing of decisions.
• Structure Senior Leadership Team agendas so that meeting time is used for decisions, strategy, and cross-functional issues, with routine reporting handled in written and asynchronous formats.
• Monitor progress on organizational priorities and hold follow-through on executive decisions and commitments.
• Identify cross-divisional issues requiring resolution and bring them forward with a proposed path.
• Lead high-priority cross-functional initiatives designated by the President, including initiatives that cross divisions without a natural owner.

President's Office Operations (15%)

• Supervise the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO, and establish clear division of responsibility between the two roles.
• Oversee operations of the President's Office, including correspondence flow, commitments, and internal and external requests for the President's time.
• Establish and maintain systems that support the effectiveness of the President and the Senior Leadership Team.
• Manage confidential records and communications on behalf of the President's Office.
• Maintain records of governance decisions, executive commitments, and institutional history so that continuity is preserved through staff and Board transitions.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to manage a strategic planning process, including facilitation, stakeholder engagement, and translation of a plan into measurable commitments.
• Strong understanding of nonprofit governance and the working relationship between a chief executive, a board chair, and a board.
• Ability to hold peers and senior colleagues accountable for commitments without direct authority over them.
• Excellent writing ability, including the capacity to draft in another person's voice and to prepare material for board, funder, and public audiences.
• Sound judgment and discretion in handling confidential and politically sensitive matters.
• Ability to synthesize information quickly and present options and recommendations rather than summaries.
• Strong project management skills and the ability to sequence competing priorities against organizational capacity.
• Ability to work effectively across all levels of an organization and to build trust with staff who do not report to this position.

Qualifications and Experience

• Master's degree required.
• Minimum of eight years of progressively responsible leadership experience in higher education, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, public service, or a related field.
• Experience managing or substantially supporting an organizational strategic planning process.
• Experience working directly with a chief executive and a governing board.
• Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and projects requiring executive coordination.
• Experience preparing executive-level written materials, including board materials, remarks, and correspondence.
• Experience supporting organizational planning, decision making, and follow-through in a period of change.
• Strong understanding of community colleges, higher education, or mission-driven organizations.

Supervisory Requirements

This position supervises the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO. The Chief of Staff may also direct temporary project teams, consultants, or working groups assigned to strategic initiatives, and is responsible for the effectiveness of the President's Office.

Success Measures

• A completed strategic plan with defined priorities, measures of success, and division-level commitments.
• Organizational priorities tracked and reported against on a regular cycle.
• Board and committee meetings supported with timely, complete materials, and Board actions closed out.
• Senior Leadership Team meeting time spent on decisions and cross-functional issues.
• Executive decisions and commitments completed on schedule.
• Presidential communications delivered on time and consistent in voice and message.
• Effective and well-run operations of the President's Office.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, color vision, and ability to adjust focus.