We are looking for a Managing Director, Chief of Staff to provide valuable capacity to the Executive Director (ED) and, in turn, the Teach For America Los Angeles region (TFA LA). The Chief of Staff serves a number of mission-critical regional needs including supporting and partnering with the Executive Director, strategizing around TFA LA’s local impact, connectivity, and presence; maximizing synergies across the team to ensure region has the talent and structures needed to reach all goals; maximizing team member experience; and increasing effectiveness and efficiency of the region’s critical operations and administrative needs. This position provides a unique opportunity for an individual with superior critical thinking, communication, and relationship-building skills, as well as an interest in staff experience, general management, and enterprise leadership to play a key role in driving the success, leadership, and long-term stability of the Los Angeles region.
The Managing Director, Chief of Staff reports to the Executive Director and manages a team of five.
Strategy & Executive Director Support
- Identify opportunities to maximize the capacity and effectiveness of the Executive Director and region, including taking on time-sensitive/reactive projects, representing TFA LA in a variety of convenings, and determining best course of action in response to requests from the national organization.
- Collaborate with the VP, Regional Strategy and Development to support the Executive Director in assessing team-wide progress to goals on a quarterly basis, identifying what is driving and impeding progress, developing solutions to address gaps, adjusting course as necessary, and communicating progress to regional team.
- Manage planning, execution, and support of regional Leadership Team structure and meetings to maximize the prioritization of and follow up for all work, determine and support decision-making processes, ground discussions in equity and inclusiveness, and ensure ongoing collaboration and cohesion of leadership team members.
- Work closely with the Executive Director to develop clear annual and quarterly priorities and manage the Associate, Executive Director Support, to ensure that the Executive Director’s time is allocated appropriately to those priorities.
- Manage internal communication from the Executive Director and Leadership Team with the Manager, Policy and Communications.
- Plan for and manage all aspects of regional team expense management from partnering with Executive Director and VP, Regional Strategy and Development, to ensuring functional teams are proposing and adhering to appropriate expense budgets.
- Spearhead a wide range of cross-functional projects (new and existing) including assessment of feasibility and risk, collaboration with or delegation to relevant team leaders, and ongoing follow up and leadership to ensure expectations, goals, and timelines are met.
- Liaise with a range of National team partners on behalf of the team including, but not limited to, Human Assets, Regional Operations, Risk & Compliance, Legal Services, and Facilities/Technology.
Management
- Partner with Executive Director, VP, Regional Strategy and Development, and Leadership Team on all aspects of annual planning including setting financial forecasts, vision, priorities, and goals, and developing inclusive opportunities for contributions from team members as appropriate.
- Set and execute vision, strategies, goals, budget, and team member development for Regional Operations and Leadership Team (ROL) which includes all team members with a region-wide scope to their roles. ROL currently includes the Manager, Communications and Policy; Manager, Constituent Data; Manager, Regional Talent & People Development; Associate, Regional Operations and, eventually, the Associate, Executive Director Support.
- Spearhead with ROL a culture of celebration, relationships, and pride across the Los Angeles regional office.
- Ensure Executive Direct has excellent administrative support, information, and thought-partnership at all times.
Regional Team Responsibilities & Leadership
- Sit on regional Leadership team.
- As needed, represent region with or in place of the Executive Director at external convenings and events.
- Participate in regional and organization-wide initiatives and events such as corps member selection and induction, staff learning and development days, new corps member confirmation, and other regional events
- 7+ years of work experience required
- Previous experience managing others required
- Previous experience setting project vision required
- Previous experience at Teach For America strongly preferred
- Previous experience in strategy and/or policy a plus
- Ability to build relationships across lines of difference (ideology, race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, etc.)
- Sincere belief in Teach For America’s mission and the communities we serve
- Ability to set and evolve project vision and direction
- Ability to make timely decisions and demonstrate good judgment
- Ability to motivate others and manage team execution toward high-quality results
- Ability to provide others with effective professional development, coaching, and mentoring
- Skilled in data analysis and in translating data into actionable solutions
- Exceptional strategic and critical thinking skills
- Exceptional communication skills; ability to effectively convey information through a variety of media
- Remarkable orientation towards collaboration and working across functions
- Facility with data analysis and ability to translate data into actionable solutions for a team
- Demonstrates exceptional judgment and discretion with confidential information
- Fluency with Salesforce CRM and PowerPoint preferred
Work Demands
- Occasional weekend and evening work required