POSITION OVERVIEW
Title: Chief of Staff
Company: #HalfTheStory
Reports to: Founder, Larissa May
Location: Bay Area, CA (Hybrid)
ABOUT #HALFTHESTORY
In May 2015, Larissa May shared her struggle with mental health on social media and #
HalfTheStory was born, pioneering the leading digital wellbeing movement for the next generation. The organization works with educational institutions, State and Federal governments, and fortune 500 companies to create new standards for our future.
#HalfTheStory focuses its work on the following impact pillars:
· Education: We believe knowledge is power. Serving schools, non-profits, and corporations, we create programs like Social Media U, which helps teens to take back control of their tech use.
· Advocacy: From lobby efforts to our Global Day of Unplugging to student clubs across the country, we give the next gen the tools to turn their interest into action.
· Community: We create screen-free social events for teens to connect offline and strengthen IRL relationships.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Chief of Staff will act as a key strategic and operational partner to the Founder while playing a key role in supporting the mission of #HalfTheStory. The Chief of Staff will serve as a trusted operator, implementer and proxy to the Founder, with a primary focus on optimizing the Founder’s time and delivering results on behalf of the Founder. We are seeking an experienced and skilled implementer with demonstrated success in supporting executive leadership, building strong relationships, and managing special projects for an organization.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
The Chief of Staff’s responsibilities will encompass three primary areas:
Ensure Founder's Highest and Best Use of Time
- Ensure that the CEO is tapped only for high-priority, mission-critical issues, protecting their time for strategic focus.
- Act as the gatekeeper for all communications, ensuring only mission-critical matters are escalated to the CEO.
- Provide concise, clear executive summaries for meetings to keep the CEO informed without overwhelming them with details.
- Attend meetings and events with or on behalf of the Founder; ensure prompt follow-up on all action items
- Provide consistent and relevant briefing information to the Founder
- Anticipate needs and prepare solutions for the Founder
- Maintain alignment with organizational goals and priorities, serving as a champion for culture and accountability
- Facilitate internal meetings, ensuring smooth execution and preparing team members in advance
Team Development and Management
- Develop and implement systems to improve efficiency and productivity across all functions, including finances, goal setting, employee engagement, and project planning.
- Establish formalized processes and standard operating procedures to ensure consistent, accurate, and timely task completion
- Foster a collaborative, cohesive team aligned with shared goals
- Provide guidance, training, and alignment for current and future team members
- Manage and develop EA and align to top priorities
Deliver Results on Behalf of the Founder
- Translate the Founder’s visions and ideas into actionable steps, gain buy in from stakeholders, and project manage initiatives through to completion
- Manage strategic projects on behalf of the Founder, ensuring progress with minimal need for her direct involvement
- Track performance, research new solutions, and escalate issues or updates as needed
- Ability to both strategize and execute effectively
- Assist with filming and managing content for key content partnerships if needed.
- Oversee and ensure all compliance needs are met for the NGO business, maintaining organizational and legal standards.
Key Qualifications
- 6-8 years of professional experience, ideally partnering with a fast-paced entrepreneur managing diverse interests, priorities, and responsibilities
- High emotional intelligence and adeptness at building strong relationships
- Professionalism, poise, and discernment to operate across a wide range of stakeholders
- Strong systems-thinking mindset, with expertise in process improvement and the discernment to know when and how to implement changes
- Demonstrated ability to anticipate needs and proactively plan ahead
- A track record of integrity and ethical decision-making
- Exceptional cross-functional collaboration skills, with a diplomatic approach to engagement Strong project management abilities with a high attention to detail
- A self-starter who requires minimal oversight, leveraging past experiences to contribute strategically and add immediate value
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- A genuine interest for the work of #HalfTheStory, coupled with a curiosity to continuously learn and grow in support of its mission
- An understanding of nonprofit operations, but preferably with experience across diverse sectors
SALARY
$140,000 - $155,000
*Relocation support will be offered if needed*
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
We know that innovation thrives on teams where diverse points of view come together to solve hard problems. As such, we explicitly seek people that bring diverse life experiences, diverse educational backgrounds, diverse cultures, and diverse work experiences. Please be prepared to share with us how your perspective will bring something unique and valuable to our team.
