Chief of Staff

The essential functions of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

• Preparation for, and facilitation of, “critical path” CEO meetings (e.g., with YMCA executive leadership, current or potential partners, funders, community leaders, government officials, and peer executives).  While members of any one of these groups may initiate these meetings through the CEO’s Executive Assistant and be responsible for inviting and preparing participants, the COS is accountable to ensure that the meeting objectives are realistic, that preparation is appropriate, and that the CEO is well-prepared.  This responsibility is less about logistics and more about content and the COS’s judgment about the appropriateness and sufficiency of the intended preparation.  In other words, the COS’s role is to make sure the CEO’s time is leveraged most effectively in a meeting context.  This may mean querying and pushing back on senior executives and assisting in their preparation for their interactions with the CEO.
• Coordination/orchestration of projects or commitments directly involving the CEO and his direct reports.  This responsibility primarily focuses on ensuring alignment among the often disparate stakeholders and, when such alignment is absent, sharing this fact with the CEO and recommending mitigating approaches.  While this responsibility envisions the COS “going deep” on a relatively limited number of projects, s/he would also need to understand the breadth of the projects within the CEO’s purview.  The CEO and the COS would agree in advance on the schedule of projects requiring COS involvement.  Tact, diplomacy, and persistence are essential qualities in executing this dimension of the role.
• Independent leadership of special CEO-initiated projects, ranging from written products to be authored by the CEO to convening thought leaders on various topics.  While the vast majority of CEO-initiated projects will find homes among the executive team and their staffs, some confidential or time sensitive issues will need to reside within the office of the CEO and be led by the COS and the CEO.  From time to time, the Board asks the CEO to come back with specific analyses—these, too, would fall within the COS’ purview.
• Development of draft communication on behalf of the CEO and/or research in support of these.  Communications range from the CEO update at Board meetings, to follow up correspondence related to the CEO’s various meetings with funders, partners and staff, to various speaking engagements involving external audiences.  In addition to the drafting of key communications, the COS should also be able to accurately reflect the CEO’s position in internal meetings to help drive understanding of his views, though the role does not entail devolved responsibility to act for the CEO unless so specified.
• Proactive identification of issues that could impact the successful execution of the CEO’s commitments: This responsibility involves elevating those issues about which the CEO should be aware and framing/positioning ideas to resolve the problem/mitigate the risk.  This is among the most challenging aspects of the job and will require the COS to focus on the underlying interests of the parties working with the CEO, understand their intentions, and creatively identify alternative means of handling pressing issues.
• Support the executive team’s communications with the CEO: The COS will help facilitate decisions the executive staff need receiving feedback on from the CEO.  S/he will support the needs of the executive staff in their ability to raise critical issues with the CEO and receive needed responses, guidance and decisions.
• Other duties as assigned.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Key Meeting Preparation/Facilitation
  • Work closely with CEO’s Executive Assistant to remain apprised of/schedule upcoming CEO commitments.
  • Confirm objectives for the meeting and recommend participants and best approach.
  • Develop backgrounders for CEO on the meeting (note: CEO’s Executive Assistant will assist with basic preparation).
  • Help ensure participants are aware of and prepared for the meeting.
  • Attend meetings, capture major take-a ways, and work with executive team to ensure follow up.
  • Work with CEO’s Executive Assistant to ensure appropriate and timely communication to participants.
  • Monitor/progress achievement of next steps.
• Project Coordinator/Orchestration
  • Develop and maintain an inventory of critical path projects in which the CEO is especially interested and/or for which her awareness and involvement is essential.
  • Work with Executive staff to align their actions and communications in support of agreed upon goals.  COS’s role will be to work with all staff to ensure that the CEO’s needs are conveyed, that progress is being made in a timely way, and that any demands on CEO’s schedule are understood and agreed upon.  The COS will also work to ensure the Executive team’s needs are conveyed to the CEO for consideration.
  • Be prepared to apprise the CEO of project status and variations from schedule or scope.
• Leadership of Special Projects
  • Scope, plan and execute multiple, often quick-turnaround projects with minimal outside assistance.
  • Present ideas for special projects that might facilitate the CEO’s/leadership’s objectives.
  • Work with appropriate stakeholders, including outside parties, to undertake analysis.
  • Present findings to CEO, Executive staff, or Board, as appropriate.
  • If necessary, oversee transfer of the project to other stakeholders within the organization.
• Communication
  • Create inventory of upcoming communication “events”—including articles, columns, speeches, panel discussions, etc.
  • Create, maintain and leverage a relationship mapping of the CEO’s and YMCA’s key external relationships and their respective interconnectivity.
  • Work with CEO to determine the role the COS will play in outlining, drafting, and/or researching in support of each event.
  • Perform agreed upon work—including coordinating with others who might be involved; communication must be clear, concise, and compelling and adhere to YMCA guidelines.
  • Prepare follow up correspondence for internal and external meetings, as directed by the CEO.
  • Conduct fact checking-in support of all communications.
  • Present timely work-in-progress updates to the CEO on the status of the communication materials mentioned above.
  • Represent the CEO in outside forums that the CEO cannot attend. Often, this will mean accompanying another YMCA executive to a meeting.
  • Follow up with copies of communication materials (such as brochures, fliers, folders, etc.) as appropriate.
• Issues Identification
  • Engage in root cause analysis – often without prompting from the CEO or others – on issues and opportunities that could impact the Y’s executive agenda.
  • Confirm hypotheses through tactful and discrete engagement with the relevant parties.
  • Develop alternative approaches to addressing the problem or opportunity.
  • Succinctly update the CEO on the issues, supported with facts and recommendations.
  • Engage in coalition building in support of mitigation approaches.
• Opportunities for Professional Development --The incumbent will gain highly valuable skills enabling him or her to more readily attain a general management perspective/role that encompasses the strategic, financial, and operational aspects of leading a non-profit organization.

Specifically, the COS will:

• Become aware of issues from an integrative, executive leadership perspective.
• Obtain an up close and personal understanding of leadership and decision-making related to the simultaneous execution of a complex growth strategy and the transformation of an industry sector.
• Be exposed to senior executives and Board members, with the opportunity to learn from their strengths and developmental areas.
• Be mentored by the CEO.
• Have access to formal developmental opportunities that augment their responsibilities as COS.