Chief of Staff

Job Description

Job Description

The Chief of Staff (COS) is a trusted strategic partner to the CEO, enhancing CEO effectiveness by strengthening organizational alignment, tackling special projects, and accelerating progress  on priority initiatives. Reporting directly to the CEO, the COS brings strong judgment, synthesis,  project management, problem-solving, and execution skills to support decision-making,  communications, and cross-functional coordination.

The COS serves as an advisor, integrator, project manager, and communicator – a “utility  player” offering clear analysis, anticipating needs, and ensuring the CEO is prepared for the  highest-impact internal and external engagements. The COS will work primarily with the  leadership and broader team at Strada to advance this agenda. The role requires exceptional  professionalism and interpersonal skills, discretion, and the ability to work fluidly across both  strategic and operational tasks.

Working closely with the CEO, the COS develops a strong understanding of both short-term and  long-term priorities and partners with Strada team members, including the Senior Leadership  Team, to ensure effective execution. This will include delegating tasks, tracking and monitoring  progress, and personally executing priority actions.

The COS is a member of Strada’s Senior Leadership Team and oversees a small team  responsible for the CEO’s key administrative functions (i.e., schedule, internal communications,  and event planning), ensuring seamless coordination of these functions to enable the CEO to  maximize time spent on strategic priorities. Specifically, the COS shares an executive assistant  with the CEO (who oversees the office managers at Strada’s headquarters in Indianapolis and  its Washington, D.C. hub) and oversees three additional direct reports : the Director, Internal  Communications; the Senior Manager, Board Engagement, Events, and Outreach; and an  additional shared executive assistant who supports several Strada teams.

The COS is based in Strada’s Washington, D.C. hub, co-located with the CEO. While Strada  maintains a hybrid work environment, the COS will generally be in the office on the days the  CEO is present (typically 3-4 days per week) to support close coordination and real-time  collaboration

Context

Strada Education Foundation supports programs, policies, and organizations that strengthen  connections between postsecondary education and employment in the U.S., with a focus on  helping those who face the greatest challenges. Our strategic plan centers on five keys to strengthen the link between education and opportunity : Clear Outcomes, Quality Coaching,  Affordability, Work-Based Learning, and Employer Alignment. We leverage several impact lever  teams to advance our work, including actionable research, catalytic grantmaking, nonpartisan  policy solutions, strategic communications, strategic investments, and affiliates (e.g., CredLens).  We work collaboratively with hundreds of partners across the U.S., including educators,  employers, policymakers, learners, and other nonprofits and trade associations. Strada offers a  dynamic, collaborative professional environment that provides many learning and professional  development opportunities.

Key Responsibilities

The COS has six core responsibility areas, listed below with the approximate time required.

Area 1 : Strategic Advisor (20%)

• Develop and maintain a strong understanding of short-term and long-term CEO priorities  and projects on both the mission and operations sides of Strada.
• Serve as a thought partner to the CEO on strategic, operational, and organizational  issues.
• Maintain regular touchpoints with senior leaders and other colleagues to gather insights,  identify obstacles, monitor progress, and surface opportunities.
• Provide concise synthesis, context, and recommendations to support CEO decision making.
• Strengthen coordination and communication across teams by helping clarify decision  rights, facilitating alignment, and improving information flow.
• Build trust-based relationships across Strada to enable collaborative problem-solving  and accurate “pulse checks.”
• Protect the CEO’s time by filtering, prioritizing, and routing issues requiring CEO  attention.

Area 2 : Execution and Monitoring of CEO’s Key Priorities and Projects (25%)

Area 3 : Executive Communications and Board Support (15%)

Area 4 : CEO Meeting Preparation, Prioritization, and Calendar Strategy (10%)

Area 5 : Issue Spotting and Problem Resolution (15%)

Area 6 : Management of CEO’s Direct Team and its Key Functions (15%)

The Person : Qualifications and Experience

Key Skills & Competencies

Personal Attributes & Values

plus bonus

The pay range listed is based on national compensation benchmark data and may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge, variations in cost of labor, and in some cases, geographic location.  The exact job offer will be determined based on several factors such as the candidate’s individual skills, qualifications and experience relative to the requirements of the role.  The range displayed with the job posting represents the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position across the U.S.

The company also reviews and considers internal equity (current employee salary) when hiring new employees to the organization.  The range is the expected starting base salary for someone hired into this position with room to grow professionally, including increased earning potential beyond the starting pay range.  Beyond a new hire’s base salary, Strada also offers all full-time employees a comprehensive employee benefit package.

Strada welcomes diverse candidates and values a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Bringing together people with a variety of personal, educational, and professional experiences strengthens our understanding of the learners we serve, leads to better decisions, and enhances our mission impact. We encourage applicants who will enrich our workplace through their knowledge, skills, perspectives, and expertise.