Chief of Staff

About Tides 

Tides is a nonprofit and philanthropic organization committed to advancing social justice. We work across the social sector to shift power to communities of color and other groups historically denied power. 

Centering equity and justice in everything we do, we collaborate in deep partnership with movement leaders, nonprofits, donors, foundations, and corporations to amplify the impact of their work by providing services like fiscal sponsorship, donor advised funds, grant making, and a variety of innovative solutions. Learn more at tides.org. 

About the Role  

Tides is seeking a Chief of Staff to play a central role facilitating collaboration between the CEO and the organization’s Executive Team (Chief Financial Officer, Chief People Officer, Chief Impact Officer, Chief Partnerships Officer, Chief Digital and Transformation Officer, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer, and Senior Executive Assistant). This role will support the CEO’s effectiveness and capacity by informing priorities with cross-functional input, facilitating data and information gathering to inform decisions, and communicating needs and direction across teams and the organization. This role will function as:

• Integrator by serving as a CEO liaison between functions and business units on key initiatives and flagging competing priorities.
• Implementor by serving as the CEO liaison to support executive team members in implementing organization-wide projects and initiatives.
• Operator by supporting Executive Team decision making. This will include: 
  • Counseling the CEO before internal meetings on relevant items and assisting with follow-ups and timely delivery.
  • Advising on external communications in partnership with the Marketing and Communications team to capture the CEO’s voice.
  • Drafting, reviewing, and coordinating Board materials.  
  • Coordinating agenda and ensuring materials are appropriately prepared.
• Advisor by sharing values-aligned points-of-view regarding areas of exposure.
• Goalkeeper by prioritizing the demands of the CEO, ensuring time is allocated to produce the highest value. This will include: 
  • Serving as point-of-contact and triaging tasks on behalf of the CEO.
  • Communicating on behalf of CEO, as needed

As a member of Tides’ Executive Team, the Chief of Staff will participate in strategy development and decision-making aimed at long-term organizational and industry success, facilitating clarity and coordination of the organization’s resources, and exemplifying a deep commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

What you will Do 

Executive Leadership 

• Link the Executive Team, External and Internal Communications, and overall organization through proactive communication, feedback loops, and values-aligned messaging on behalf of the CEO and Executive Team around priorities, challenges, outcomes, and changes. 
• Serve as a confidante to the CEO and liaison between executives, and senior leaders, and staff regarding organizational climate, project updates, proposals, and planning efforts. 
• Provide back-up for the CEO and represent the CEO in preparing for, responding to, and participating in critical internal and external events and meetings, projects and efforts, or other priorities.  
• Inform executive decision-making by leading the development of agenda items for Executive Team meetings, ensuring items are well formed and meeting participants are prepared to lead agenda items. 
• Champion key organizational initiatives on behalf of the CEO and Executive Team by stewarding updates, insights, and integration into interdependent work streams.  
• Develop a strong partnership with Executive Team members, Senior Executive Assistant, and project stakeholders to support implementation of operational and administrative processes and improvements across the organization. 
• Coordinate monthly and ongoing communications with Tides Boards of Directors.  

Resource Coordination  

• Provide project management for a portfolio of Executive Team and Senior Leadership Team projects that increase organizational effectiveness and outcomes.
• Participate in the development of key performance indicators and track progress and outcomes to inform changes to programs or strategies in partnership with the Strategy & Impact team
• Respond to inquiries about organizational projects and plans, develop action plans to address concerns, and participate in the preparation and dissemination of communications. 
• Connect work efforts, priorities, and resources across departments and silos in collaboration with senior leadership. 
• Elevate challenges related to resourcing, progress, and priorities to the Executive Team for resolution. 
• Follow-up and follow-through on action items from leadership meetings, ensuring action and implementation.
• Manage day-to-day tasks that enable CEO to focus on larger strategic organizational initiatives and meetings with stakeholders. 
• Manage support needed for the CEO’s participation in external events, boards, and other engagements. 
• Occasionally, serve as a member of cross-functional project teams, bringing organization-wide perspective and linking work across project teams and departments.  

Organizational Connectivity

• Keep the CEO informed and position the CEO to be constantly engaged and up-to-speed on organizational happenings and interactions.
• Anticipate organizational problems, elevate concerns, and take actions in collaboration with Executive Team, People Team, and people leaders to resolve sensitive issues.
• Provide perspective and confidential input to the CEO and Executive Team at organization-wide level.
• Participate in change leadership and enablement activities by assessing communications and processes, anticipating and addressing resistance.
• Serve as the CEO’s (and/or Executive Team’s) voice, empowered and entrusted to communicate information, occasionally of a sensitive nature, to internal and external stakeholders, as needed.

Develop presentations, written correspondence, and talking points on behalf of the CEO in alignment with internal and external communications for the purpose of advancing the Tides mission, and values including ongoing coordination of Board of Director communication.

What you will Bring 

• Ability to establish credibility and rapport with senior leaders, managers, and team members in all roles across the organization.
• Demonstrated experience influencing and achieving alignment across senior leaders with a range of different opinions and interests.
• Exceptional ability to lead and collaborate with people across the organization, with differing viewpoints and strengths, to accomplish outcomes in the best interest of the organization.
• Extensive experience articulating and managing key performance indicators, and using metrics to drive performance and provide data in support of key decisions.
• Ability to use judgment to influence decisions and escalate or delegate tasks.
• Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple projects with competing priorities, meet deadlines, and adapt to change.
• Strong communication, listening, and negotiation skills; ability to convey important messages in a clear and compelling manner.
• Ability to represent the organization in public settings, including strong public speaking and presentation skills while balancing transparency and confidentiality.
• Proven track record integrating justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion through all workstreams and work practices. Demonstrated commitment to contributing to an equitable and inclusive work environment.
• Ability to work with people of diverse backgrounds and at all levels of the organization, as well as the ability to effectively mitigate conflict or other difficult situations.

Ideal Experience

• 4+ years of senior-level experience in project or program management, business planning and analytics. Experience must include responsibility for organizing and influencing cross-functional teams or workgroups.
• Prior Chief of Staff and/or management experience in a matrixed organization, preferred.

Compensation 

Tides is committed to providing a competitive compensation package. We value pay equity and account for factors such as your location within the U.S., your skills and your relevant experience, and we will not ask for your salary history. 

Your starting salary will fall into one of three ranges: 

● $159,200 - $199,000 (Most of the United States) 

● $173,600 - $217,000 (Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. metro areas) 

● $191,000 - $238,800 (New York City & San Francisco metro areas) 

Please note, these metro areas are examples and not a complete list. Our Talent Acquisition team will review your application and confirm your placement within this structure with you at the beginning of the interview process.  

Application Instructions  

Please submit your application by Wednesday, October 16, 2024 at 11:59pm ET. For this role, we ask that you please include a brief cover letter that helps us to understand how your background aligns to this opportunity & your motivation to join us at Tides.   

Life at Tides  

Working at Tides connects you with world-class teammates, enduring relationships, and an inspired sense of purpose - while our employee benefits support our team’s talent and well-being. Our hybrid work model supports staff who are based across the United States, in addition to maintaining our offices in New York & San Francisco. 

Equal Employment Opportunity 

We look forward to reviewing applications from all qualified jobseekers. We strongly encourage applications from women, people of color, and bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the LGBTQIA+ communities. No applicant will be discriminated against because of their race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, or medical condition including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we encourage and will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Where required by state law, we utilize E-Verify as a part of our employment authorization process. 

Applicants with Disabilities 

Reasonable accommodations will be made so that all who are interested may participate in our interview process. If you are in need of an accommodation, please advise in writing at the time you apply.