Chief of Staff Job Description (2026): Duties, Skills and Salary
A chief of staff extends an executive's attention. They run the cadence of meetings and reviews, track the handful of priorities that matter most, chase decisions that have stalled, and make sure the right people have the right information before a deadline arrives.
The job sits close to leadership but pulls little formal authority of its own, so chiefs of staff get things done by building trust with department heads, writing clearly, and knowing when to push and when to let a team solve its own problem. Backgrounds range from consulting and finance to operations and the military.
Chief of Staff job description template
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Chief of Staff
[Company] · [City and office days, or remote with the countries or time zones you hire in] · [Full-time]
About [Company]
[Two or three sentences on what your company does, who it serves and why this team matters now.]
About the role
[Company] is hiring a chief of staff to work directly with [CEO / executive] and help run the company day to day. You'll track priorities, prepare [executive] for key meetings, and keep cross-team projects moving without becoming a bottleneck.
What you'll do
- Run the weekly and quarterly cadence of leadership meetings, agendas and follow-ups.
- Track company or department priorities and flag the ones at risk of slipping.
- Prepare briefings, decks and talking points for [executive] ahead of key meetings.
- Coordinate cross-team projects that don't belong to a single department.
- Act as a trusted sounding board and filter for requests reaching [executive].
- Run point on special projects such as [an offsite, a reorg or a board meeting].
- Gather context from department heads so [executive] walks into meetings informed.
- Represent [executive]'s priorities in rooms they can't attend.
What you'll bring
- [X]+ years in consulting, finance, operations or a prior chief of staff or EA role.
- Strong writing: clear memos, agendas and summaries that save the executive time.
- Comfort moving between strategy conversations and logistics in the same day.
- Discretion with sensitive, confidential or politically delicate information.
- Project management across teams that don't report to you.
- Judgment about when to escalate a problem and when to resolve it quietly.
Nice to have
- An MBA or consulting background.
- Experience in [industry, e.g. SaaS, healthcare or manufacturing].
- Fluency with a BI or project tool such as Looker, Asana or Monday.
- Prior experience as an executive assistant or program manager.
What we offer
- [Pay range: e.g. $X–$Y base salary, plus bonus or equity if offered]
- [Direct exposure to leadership, bonus tied to company performance, flexible hours]
- [Health cover, retirement or pension plan, paid time off, parental leave]
- [Work authorization: whether you can sponsor a visa or hire through an employer of record]
[Our process: a recruiter call, an interview with the executive, a case on prioritizing competing requests, and reference calls.]
[Your equal opportunity statement, and how candidates can ask for adjustments during the process]
Put the pay range in the ad. Several US states, including California, Colorado, New York and Washington, require it in job postings, and the EU Pay Transparency Directive gives applicants the right to know the starting pay or its range before the interview.
Chief of Staff duties by seniority
What the job usually looks like at each level. Pitch the ad at one level and say which in the title.
Junior
- Supports the cadence: agendas, notes and follow-up tracking.
- Handles one or two defined projects under guidance.
- Learns the business by sitting in on leadership meetings.
Mid-level
- Owns the meeting cadence and chases priorities across departments.
- Runs cross-team projects end to end, including ones with friction.
- Drafts briefings and communications the executive sends with light edits.
Senior
- Acts as a true extension of the executive, trusted to decide in their absence.
- Shapes company-wide priorities and the process for setting them.
- Mentors other chiefs of staff or program managers and may build the team.
Chief of Staff career path
- Associate / Deputy Chief of Staff
- Chief of Staff
- Chief of Staff to the CEO
- VP of Operations or General Manager
Chief of staff is usually a second or third job, reached from consulting, investment banking, operations or a prior executive assistant role rather than entered straight from school. It's often a deliberate stepping stone: many chiefs of staff move into a general manager, VP of operations or founder role after a few years close to leadership.
Similar roles
- Executive Assistant job description
Manages the executive's calendar and logistics without the strategy scope.
- Program Manager job description
Runs defined programs rather than the full breadth of an executive's agenda.
- Management Consultant job description
Advises from outside the company instead of operating inside one team.
- Operations Manager job description
Owns day-to-day operations for one function rather than cross-company priorities.
Chief of Staff job description FAQ
What does a chief of staff do?
Works directly with an executive to run meeting cadences, track company priorities, prepare briefings and keep cross-team projects moving. The role has little formal authority, so it depends on trust and judgment rather than reporting lines.
What skills should a chief of staff job description require?
Strong writing, project management across teams, discretion with sensitive information and comfort moving between strategy and logistics. Specific industry experience is useful but usually secondary to judgment and trust.
Is chief of staff a step toward becoming an executive?
Often, yes. The role gives broad visibility into how a company runs, and many chiefs of staff move into general manager, VP of operations or founder roles after a few years. Not every chief of staff seeks that path, though, so job descriptions should avoid assuming it.