Chief of Staff

About the Role

Karam Foundation is seeking a Chief of Staff to partner closely with our CEO and help lead the organization through its next phase of growth and impact. The position reports to the CEO. 

This is a senior, high-trust role for someone who thrives at the intersection of strategy and execution — someone who can translate big ideas into action, create clarity amid complexity, and ensure that priorities move forward without bottlenecks.

The Chief of Staff will work as the CEO’s thought partner, owning high-impact cross-organizational projects, enabling the CEO to focus on vision, mission growth, fundraising, and external leadership while the organization executes effectively and cohesively. The Chief of Staff will drive alignment across departments, manage key initiatives, and be a central integrator for the leadership team.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategic Leadership & Partnership
   • Act as a trusted thought partner to the CEO: help translate strategic goals into concrete operational plans.
   • Prepare briefing materials, memos, and decision-making documents for high-level meetings.
   • Identify priority areas and help set CEO focus — proactively flag opportunities, risks, and critical issues.
   • Oversee special projects that don’t have a clear owner but are mission-critical (e.g., events, risk mitigation, process redesign).
2. CEO Focus, Priority & Strategic Time Stewardship
   • Partner with the CEO to actively shape and protect strategic priorities — ensuring focus, energy, and time are aligned with organizational goals, donor strategy, and long-term impact.
   • Exercise judgment over what rises to the CEO’s attention, proactively assessing requests, opportunities, and commitments for strategic value and timing.
3. Project Management & Execution
   • Lead and coordinate cross-functional, high-impact initiatives from planning through execution.
   • Serve as project lead on strategic priorities, tracking progress, managing roadblocks, and ensuring key deliverables are met.
   • Define metrics for initiatives, monitor performance, and report on outcomes.
4. Process & Systems Building
   • Design, implement, and refine frameworks for organizational planning, decision-making, and accountability.
   • Establish and manage leadership meeting rhythms (e.g., planning meetings, review cycles).
   • Create systems to synchronize work across teams (status dashboards, shared planning tools, decision-tracking).
   • Identify operational risks and inefficiencies; propose and implement solutions.
5. Stakeholder Management
   • Help shape and maintain a strong leadership culture by facilitating cross-team collaboration, trust, and transparency.
   • Act as a connective tissue across departments, surfacing misalignment early and helping leaders resolve issues before they escalate.
   • Support board operations: prepare board meeting materials, agendas, and follow-up. 
     

Decision-Making Authority & Leadership Partnership

The Chief of Staff operates with delegated authority from the CEO on agreed-upon initiatives and internal matters. While the CEO retains ultimate decision-making authority, the CoS is empowered to drive execution, make operational decisions within scope, and represent the CEO internally to ensure momentum, clarity, and alignment across the organization.

The Chief of Staff works closely with department leads as a partner and facilitator — not as a replacement for functional leadership — helping translate strategy into execution, remove blockers, and strengthen coordination, accountability, and follow-through across teams.

What Success Looks Like 

In your first year, success would look like:

• The CEO’s time is primarily focused on strategy, fundraising, and external leadership rather than internal coordination
• Cross-functional initiatives move forward with clear ownership, timelines, and fewer bottlenecks
• Leadership meetings are well-structured, actionable, and outcome-oriented
• Board interactions are smooth, well-prepared, and low-stress
• The organization operates with clearer priorities, stronger rhythms, and greater alignment across teams

Qualifications

Required Skills & Experience:

• Proven experience (5+ years) in strategic planning, operations, or project management (preferably in a nonprofit, mission-driven, or startup environment)
• Higher education degree, graduate degree preferred
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; comfortable preparing senior-level briefs, presentations, and reports
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple, complex priorities
• High emotional intelligence: ability to build relationships, influence without authority, and maintain confidentiality
• Demonstrated problem-solving ability and proactive decision-making
• Experience working cross-functionally with senior leaders
• Ability to work independently and take initiative in ambiguous settings
• Fluent in Arabic
  
  

Preferred:

• Experience working with boards (board prep, governance, communications) 
• Familiarity with nonprofit operations (or relevant sector)
• Experience building or scaling internal systems (planning, dashboards, meeting rhythms)
• Experience working on missions serving displaced and/or Syrian communities 

ABOUT KARAM FOUNDATION

Karam means generosity in Arabic. Founded in 2007 in Chicago, Karam Foundation has impacted and improved the lives of 350,000+ Syrians and Syrian refugees since 2011. As a Syrian-led organization with a team of more than half refugees, we provide tools and opportunities to Syrian youth and families so that they can reach their potential. Our programming is implemented in Syria and Turkiye.

Karam is a visionary organization that deeply invests in the futures of Syrian youth, fueled by innovation and creativity, with a focus on education and leadership. Building co-authored solutions with communities who have survived conflict and displacement, our goal is to create a future where Syrian youth lead their lives with agency and dignity, wherever they are. 

We are reviewing applications on a rolling basis. 

Karam Foundation is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and a work environment free of discrimination, bias, or harassment.  All hiring decisions are based on mission needs, and applicant qualifications are reviewed without consideration of race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sex, ancestry, citizenship status, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, or military status.