The chief of staff plays a crucial behind-the-scenes role supporting executives by managing information flow, supervising critical initiatives, and ensuring organizational effectiveness. Writing an accurate, appealing chief of staff job description is vital for attracting highly competent candidates for this vital role.
This comprehensive guide covers:
A chief of staff acts as a senior executive’s strategic right-hand advisor. They oversee day-to-day operations and special projects while managing communications and access to leadership.
Chiefs of staff serve as an integrative role between departments - facilitating the flow of information, removing barriers, and increasing coordination across teams. They work closely with the executive they report to ensure organizational priorities move forward efficiently.
In smaller companies, chiefs of staff may support the CEO directly. Within larger enterprises, they may be assigned to C-suite leaders overseeing departments like operations, technology, finance or product.
Responsibilities vary across companies and assigned executives but often include:
Successful chiefs of staff exhibit these crucial abilities:
Ideally chief of staff candidates also hold bachelor’s degrees coupled with a mix of consulting, analyst, project management and executive assistant experience.
A compelling chief of staff job post attracts perfect-fit candidates by succinctly summarizing responsibilities and required competencies. Follow these tips:
Bold the chief of staff job title and explain the direct leadership/team they'll support. Share overall objectives - like coordination, efficiency, strategy and daily management.
Chief of Staff to the CEO
As CEO chief of staff you will work closely as a trusted advisor, lead strategic projects, facilitate cross-functional collaboration and ensure the CEO has robust support enabling effective leadership.
Capture 6-8 critical responsibilities that portray what an average week looks like. Aim for a mix of strategic planning, stakeholder interactions, operational oversight and executive support tasks.
Outline must-have hard and soft skills - like the analytical ability to derive insights from market data or present findings. Share advanced qualifications that are preferred but not required.
Listing deal breaker skills upfront allows candidates to self-assess whether the role plays to their strengths while extended "preferred" qualifications encourage applications from overachievers.
Providing compensation and benefits details improves response rates from qualified candidates that match your full package. Even wide ranges bring valuable transparency.
Integrating these best practices, here is a sample chief of staff job description template you can build on:
Chief of Staff to [Executive Title]
[CompanyX]’s global growth initiatives require expanded support for [Executive Name], our [Executive Title]. As Chief of Staff you will serve as a strategic advisor, oversee special projects and ensure seamless daily operations enabling leadership to focus on high-level decisions and external relationships.
Core Responsibilities
Requirements
Preferred
This template provides an overview of typical chief of staff duties while emphasizing must-have competencies like analysis, communications, project management and discretion. Preferred qualifications encourage applications from candidates with advanced education or related experience.
Now let’s explore two real-world chief of staff job description examples showcasing how companies position the role.
Chief of Staff, Venture Capital Investments LLC
Venture Capital Investments seeks an innovative, data-driven Chief of Staff to support the Chief Investment Officer in expanding our global portfolio. As Chief of Staff, you will employ advanced analytics translating raw data into strategic recommendations for capital allocation and due diligence initiatives, while spearheading key expansion projects. Exceptional relationship building and communication skills are essential in this influential coordination role spanning functional teams and external partners.
Chief of Staff, CloudPlatform International
CloudPlatform seeks an energetic Chief of Staff to support our innovative Chief Product Officer. As trusted advisor, you will enable leadership to operate at peak impact by focusing bandwidth on high-level decisions, providing institutional knowledge through recommendations grounded in data analysis, while building camaraderie across product development teams to align priorities balancing assertiveness with approachability.
Both samples provide further context on typical chief of staff duties - from amplifying leadership through data-driven insights to relationship building, project oversight and daily operations management.
Detailing these responsibilities helps top candidates assess how their competencies may or may not align. This increased transparency ensures a tighter fit between employer needs and applicant capabilities so outstanding talent applies.
In our fast-paced business landscape, capable chiefs of staff are invaluable force multipliers empowering top executives through impeccable organization, forward-thinking analysis and seamless coordination. A well-crafted job description clearly captures your needs and priorities for this role - helping exceptional candidates self-select for your opportunity to support mission-critical productivity inside your organization.