POSITION OVERVIEW

Title: Chief of Staff
Company: KIPP Foundation
Reports to: CEO
Oversees: Executive Assistant to the CEO
Location: Remote

About KIPP Foundation:

KIPP Public Schools is a national network of tuition-free public charter schools that prepares students with the skills and confidence to create the future they want for themselves, their communities, and us all. We are a network of 275 schools, nearly 16,500 educators, and 175,000 students and alumni.
Our mission: Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose—college, career, and beyond—so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

Vision:

Every child grows up free to create the future they want for themselves and their communities.
The KIPP Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports KIPP schools across the country. The KIPP Foundation trains and develops outstanding educators to lead KIPP public schools; provides tools, resources and training for excellent teaching and learning; promotes innovation; and facilitates the exchange of insights and ideas across KIPP and other public schools and organizations.

Values:

Excellent Results for students – We value results over effort and know that our work is not finished until all students thrive.
Collective Impact – We are one team. We win together.
Courageous Action – Our belief in what we can achieve is unwavering, fueling our optimism and commitment to overcome any challenge.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Chief of Staff will support the CEO by ensuring alignment with organizational priorities, optimizing team collaboration, and driving results on strategic initiatives. Acting as a strategic partner to the CEO, the Chief of Staff will facilitate key decisions, maximize the CEO’s time and impact, and manage executive workflows. This role will collaborate with cross-functional teams, oversee critical deliverables, and use data-driven insights to inform decision-making. Additionally, the Chief of Staff will manage board relations, including preparing for board meetings and ensuring effective communication with board members. The role will also lead special projects that advance the CEO’s vision and business goals, driving alignment across the organization for successful outcomes.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Chief of Staff’s responsibilities will encompass three primary areas:

– Ensure CEO’s Highest Priorities and Best Use of Time
– Act as the CEO’s gatekeeper, managing time and commitments to align with top priorities.
– Collaborate with the CEO’s assistant to prioritize and schedule meetings and travel.
– Prepare for and follow up on meetings, ensuring the CEO has all necessary information.
– Manage the CEO’s workflow, triaging tasks and keeping him focused on key decisions.
– Represent the CEO in discussions and bring relevant information back for review.
– Lead Board preparation and streamline processes for high-quality meetings.
– Attend meetings on behalf of the CEO, ensuring follow-up on action items.
– Provide briefing information to the CEO and anticipate needs with solutions.
– Champion organizational alignment, fostering culture and accountability.
– Ensure alignment with the President’s priorities and maintain executive office systems.

Promote Team Collaboration and Alignment

– Collaborate across teams to ensure clarity of expectations and proactively resolve issues before escalating to the CEO.
– Oversee leadership team deliverables for Board preparation and align CEO communications with his vision.
– Structure workflows to optimize communication, decision-making, and project flow to and from the CEO.
– Introduce processes to enhance alignment and information sharing across teams.
– Foster a collaborative, goal-aligned team focused on strategic objectives.

Support CEO’s Vision and Drive Results

– Support the CEO in defining and communicating a clear vision aligned with organizational priorities, ensuring team understanding and buy-in.
– Collaborate with the CEO to set and achieve priorities that drive organizational goals.
– Oversee the preparation of executive memos, reports, presentations, and other communications tailored to the CEO’s needs.
– Lead special projects, proactively solving challenges to ensure successful outcomes.
– Translate the CEO’s vision into actionable steps, secure stakeholder buy-in, and drive strategic initiatives to completion.

KEY QUALIFICATIONS

– 12–15 years of professional experience, including roles in high-performance environments requiring urgency, precision, adaptability, and executive-level support or contribution.
– Skilled in aligning executive schedules with strategic goals, ensuring time is dedicated to high-impact areas that drive organizational success.
– High emotional intelligence and ability to cultivate strong relationships with tact and diplomacy.
– Professionalism and discernment to operate across a wide range of stakeholders while maintaining a high level of confidentiality.
– Evidence-based mindset, leveraging strong analytical skills to gather, evaluate, and use reliable data for decision-making and problem-solving.
– A proactive and creative problem solver capable of independently driving projects forward, removing obstacles, and resolving challenges with minimal principal involvement.
– Demonstrated ability to communicate and implement change, secure buy-in, and resolve conflicts to ensure smooth transitions, while remaining composed and solution-focused.
– High attention to detail; extremely meticulous and precise.
– Strong communication skills, able to synthesize and convey complex information clearly and concisely in verbal and written forms.
– Adept at navigating ambiguity, taking initiative to create clarity and develop solutions in uncertain situations.
– Skilled at professionally challenging perspectives, offering constructive feedback and alternative viewpoints with tact and respect.
– Strong systems thinker with experience in process enhancement, applying judgment to introduce change as needed.
– Effective in managing complex and organization-wide initiatives, ensuring projects are executed with strategic alignment.
– Owns and learns from mistakes; accepts feedback and implements based on the feedback.
– Demonstrates a deep commitment to racial justice and inclusion by building diverse relationships, adapting communication styles to engage a wide range of stakeholders, and championing education equity in alignment with KIPP’s mission and values.
– Educational experience is a plus but not required.

Salary: $250,000 – $300,000