Chief of Staff

Job title:  Chief of Staff

Type: Full-Time

Start Date: Summer 2023

Location: Hybrid/NYC area 

SUMMARY

Relay Graduate School of Education is positioned to bring about transformational change in teacher and school leader preparation on a national scale. In support of our mission to ensure that all students are taught by outstanding educators, Relay seeks an experienced Chief of Staff to join our Executive Team and serve as an essential deputy to our President, Dr. Mayme Hostetter.

Reporting to the President, the Chief of Staff will be an active member of the Executive Team and steward for Executive and senior leadership engagement and collaboration. In order to build the President’s capacity to serve as the face of Relay in engagement with external stakeholders, the Chief of Staff will serve as a representative of the President across a variety of internal workstreams and projects. The Chief of Staff will also lead a Special Projects team as they work across Executive and senior leadership support, internal communications planning and execution, legal and risk management, and other workstreams and projects that cross Relay teams and functions. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced Chief of Staff who has a track record of supporting executive leaders and working across complex organizations to coalesce workstreams and stakeholders to maximize impact.

 

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Executive Stewardship (50%)

• Create and manage structures that support the President’s capacity to lead and collaborate effectively internally while freeing up more of her time to serve as the face of Relay to key external stakeholders
• Represent the President internally, serving as her voice or liaison in meetings and other internal engagements when necessary
• Plan and lead all Executive Team meetings, ensuring that the team’s use of time is efficient, aligned with strategic priorities, and appropriately action-oriented
• Support the development and maintenance of a strong Executive Team culture, with all team members reporting high levels of accountability, engagement, and belonging for themselves and others in meetings and other communication
• Set the vision for and manage the triennial strategic planning process in partnership with others on the Executive Team, the Board of Directors, and consultants
• Establish and manage structures for the Executive Team that support progress-monitoring and communication related to the strategic plan; Advise key Relay leaders on progress-monitoring and communication related to the strategic plan within their vertical or team
• Collaborate with the Executive Team to prioritize and plan for institutional leadership supports and resources such as strategic planning consulting, executive and leadership coaching, the President’s travel, Board expenses, etc.; Set and manage the budget for institutional leadership supports and resources

Relay Senior Leadership Collaboration (20%)

• Set vision, tone, and expectations for Relay Senior Leader (RSL) collaboration and engagement
• Plan and lead quarterly RSL meetings, including preparing senior leaders for strong engagement and facilitation
• Oversee the management of RSL meeting operations (ensuring attendance, prepping materials and technology, managing Zoom participation, etc.)
• Serve as a key advisor to RSL and Executive Team members as they collaborate on various cross-institution workstreams and projects

Internal Communications Planning (10%)

• Set the vision for comprehensive internal communications strategy with input from communications consultant and other key stakeholders
• Collaborate with communications consultant and Special Projects team to develop and implement the internal communications plan including talking points for key internal communications for other senior leaders
• Serve as a lead author/voice for key internal communications (e.g., comments at Community Meetings, emails from the Executive Team to the Relay community, etc.) when necessary
• Establish and maintain a high level of visibility and influence throughout the Relay community

Legal and Risk Management (10%)

• Manage the Vice President, Legal as they work to raise, navigate, and resolve key legal issues and risks with the Executive Team and Board of Directors
• Collaborate with the Vice President on the design and oversight of an annual institutional risk audit
• Manage the Vice President as they liaise with external lega