Chief of Staff

Chief of Staff

Filoli is a 654-acre historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, located on the San Francisco Bay Peninsula near Woodside, CA, and one of the finest remaining country estates of the early 20th century. As a team member here, you will be able to connect rich history with a vibrant future through beauty, nature and shared stories. You have the opportunity to preserve, build upon and share the wonder of this place.

In our daily interaction with guests, we envision a time when all people honor nature, value unique experiences and appreciate beauty in everyday life. The Chief Financial Officer actively plays a part in creating a vibrant future through our 2019-2023 Strategic Plan. Embedding the core principles of Diversity & Inclusivity, Sustainability and Organizational Excellence into each pillar of the plan, we are focusing on five main pillars of our organization: People & Culture, Fundraising & Financial Strength, Infrastructure Investments, Visibility & Branding and Engagement & Education. We welcome and appreciate your contributions to Filoli.
 

SUMMARY 

The Chief of Staff is a member of the senior management team and a partner to the Chief Executive Officer, supporting the CEO, the C-Team and the Board of Directors to ensure strategic and aligned organizational growth.  The Chief of Staff (COS) provides leadership to the office of the President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Filoli, serving as a strategic advisor, managing logistics of day-to-day needs, and ensuring timely communication and flow of information among senior leadership, Board of Directors, staff, and other internal and external partners. 

The COS is critical in ensuring effective communication and information flow, providing critical information for effective and timely decision making, monitoring, and resolving issues and problems, and coordinating organizational initiatives and projects. The COS is a primary ambassador for Filoli and is a critical internal and external leader for the organization.

The COS is a thought partner to the CEO, proactively and strategically anticipates needs before issues arise and provides solution-oriented alternatives and options.  The COS enables the CEO to focus more of their time on high-level fundraising, board development, and strategic goals and partnerships.  The COS also serves as the primary board liaison, overseeing board logistics and details, providing communications, and ensuring board documentation is in order.  

The COS is a central member of the leadership team and catalyzes strategy through the alignment of operations, programming, and all departments to maximize impact.

This is a full-time, exempt position at a beautiful historic house and garden.  Depending on candidate experience, the annual salary range for this position is $124,000 to $143,000.  This position is also eligible for employee benefits: medical, dental, vision, life, LTD, Flex Plan, 401(k), vacation, sick leave and holiday pay.  The COS’s schedule may change to meet the needs of the organization so flexibility is important.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

Leadership

• Partner with the President & CEO, Senior Leadership, and Board of Directors to create and implement a bold vision that builds a sustainable organization for future generations;

• Serve as an independent senior leader of Filoli and act in the best interests of the organization as needed serving as an internal and external ambassador;

• Act as a strategic advisor to the President & CEO, actively identifying potential challenges and presenting solutions;

• Participate as a member of the Senior Leadership in the development and implementation of organization-wide policies, strategies and programs that will contribute to its overall success;

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with senior leaders, board, and colleagues at all levels to achieve strategic objectives and deliverables and positively impact Filoli’s goals and culture;

• Ensure that there is good flow of communication between departments, programs, and functions, facilitating teamwork and communication at all levels;

• Act as the liaison between the CEO, Board of Directors, leadership team, staff, and stakeholders to ensure consistent communication;

• Coordinate institution-wide projects with skillful active management, including serving as a primary leader on strategic initiatives and knowledgeable partner for fundraising;

Board Coordination

• Serve as the primary Staff Liaison to the Board of Directors and Board Committees;

• Responsible for meeting planning and coordination, including event and program planning and implementation;

• Ensure regular and effective communications to maximize engagement;

• In coordination with Staff Leadership, oversee the development of meeting materials, minutes, and presentations and for proper filing to ensure compliance;

• Identify technology, tools, and resources to streamline communications and information sharing;

• Support the annual Board Nomination Process in coordination with Development;

Administration

• Manage the CEO’s calendar and prioritize their time and schedule, as well as other administrative tasks including materials for meetings and presentations;

• Represent the CEO in meetings, email, phone calls, and other correspondence as needed with internal and external audiences, including the Board of Directors;

• Support CEO in leadership team meetings, assuming responsibility for completion of action items and ensuring others timely and effectively complete projects and initiatives;

• Oversee executive budget including budget planning, coding, tracking, and reporting;

• Provide administrative support for C-suite;

• Oversee office management for the organization;

• Actively support a culture of accountability for execution and results, develop reporting programs and collect information as needed from peers;

• Provide ongoing internal communication to staff to ensure distribution of critical information; partner with Marketing to maintain the Filoli Intranet;

• Lead ongoing benchmarking and other engagement in national initiatives;

• Oversee the successful on-boarding of new senior leaders who report to the CEO as well as the onboarding of new board members;

• Ensure Filoli is in compliance with all state, local, and federal requirements, and actively engage in partnership with National Trust for Historic Preservation;

• Oversee partner and relationship tracking including contact management, invitations, and filings;

• Serve as a primary representative in institutional programs and committees, including the DEAI Task Force, to ensure effective organization-wide communication and equitable access to information and program opportunities;

General

• Provide the highest quality service to internal and external customers in every interaction;

• Uphold all Filoli's policies, procedures, guidelines and standards;

• Maintain flexibility and perform other duties as assigned to respond to the needs of the organization;

• Ensure attention to attendance and punctuality are essential to work and all work-related functions.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

This position has one direct report, Administrative Assistant, with the responsibility of general office management and support for the organization.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

An individual must be able to perform each essential duty listed above and any additional responsibilities as directed as well as satisfy the educational and skill requirements listed below:

Education:  A Bachelor’s Degree is required.  

Core Competencies:  

• ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE – Ideally 3-5 years of experience serving as a member of a leadership team, and experience successfully implementing the overall vision, strategy, and organizational priorities. Experience developing creative structures of support/accountability among peers and teams. Strong administrative skills. Ability to multitask, see many sides to complex issues, and perform at high standards with a collegial team.

• PEOPLE, PROJECT, AND PROGRAM SKILLS – Exemplary people skills, strategic leadership abilities, and the ability to link people with achievement of organizational outcomes. Effective team development skills. Cross-functional collaborative capacity. Ability to either take direction or work independently as the situation requires. Demonstrated experience organizing, managing and evaluating projects, including strategic planning.

• LEADERSHIP – Flexible, energetic, and outcomes-oriented self-starter who brings a creative approach to solving problems. Proactively and strategically anticipates needs before issues arise. Capacity to interact effectively with Filoli’s many constituencies including staff, Board members, community partners, individual and institutional donors, and community supporters. Demonstrates emotional intelligence and self-awareness; inspires confidence and trust.

• CULTURAL COMPETENCIES – Model a responsibility to self-awareness and awareness of others to recognize that individuals bring unique backgrounds, beliefs, values, and world-views. View racial and cultural differences as assets to the organization.

• DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION – Commitment to integrate accountability across all efforts to support and sustain a racially equitable organization. Demonstrate a passion of advancing organizational DEAI objectives and influencing others to approach all work with an equity lens. Promote processes and communication that encourage organizational cultural competence and inclusion.

• COMMUNICATION SKILLS – Exceptional oral and written communication skills including the demonstrated ability to create communications, publications, and presentations.

• DECISIVE NATURE – Well-honed ability to independently anticipate and analyze situations, define problems and objectives, recognize viable alternatives and formulate rapid solutions, with understanding of the inherent risks and the implications of decisions.

• COMPUTER SKILLS – Strong capacity for using databases. Proficiency with Google Suite and Microsoft Office applications. Highly skilled in publications and presentations.

• AVAILABILITY – Maintain a flexible work schedule that includes evenings and weekends to meet the demands of executive management. Out of office work is optional on occasion.

Skills and Abilities: 

• Demonstrate a deep commitment to and enthusiasm for the mission and vision of Filoli;

• Able to think strategically with a big picture, outcome-driven focus, staying connected to broad institutional goals, while also being detail oriented;

• Highly collaborative; a leader and team player able to motivate and organize staff and understand intersections of departments within the institution to work towards shared goals;

• Demonstrated success, with the ability to think strategically while executing tactically within a resource-constrained environment;

• Effective communicator who is articulate and persuasive in written and spoken communications with the ability to present complex information to multiple audiences;

• Excellent organization and time management skills with proven ability to take initiative and work independently;

• Highly motivated and energetic, takes initiative and works independently;

• Experience partnering with a team of professionals, including the ability to create and maintain a collegial and positive work environment with high morale, professional standards and productivity; 

• Display a high level of integrity with a strong sense of customer service, urgency, results-orientation, diplomacy, confidence and good humor;

• Ability to respectfully ask questions, challenge, and communicate both positive and difficult messages to subordinates, superiors, and peers; Speaks about issues truthfully and without blame;

• Exemplifies high level of professionalism, discretion, integrity, and judgment to handle highly confidential and critical matters;

• Ability to work in a fast-paced, change oriented environment; faces challenges with patience, perseverance, and flexibility; 

• Enthusiasm for improving systems and supporting and implementing organizational change;

• Commitment to follow-through to successful completion of all projects and communications.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, REGISTRATION

A valid Driver’s License is required.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job including:

• Lift/carry up to 20 pounds;

• Direct customer interaction;

Stand, walk across uneven terrain, climb stairs, reach, lift, carry and bend as well as sit for long periods of time at a computer and talk on the phone.

HOW TO APPLY

1. Candidates with the above prerequisites are invited to submit their resumes along with a cover letter outlining their related experience and background to: https://filoli.applicantstack.com/x/openings

2. Possession of minimum requirements does not guarantee an interview.

3. Please, no phone calls.

4. Thank you for your interest in Filoli!

Please visit our website for more information: www.filoli.org

Filoli is an equal opportunity employer who values diversity in the workplace.

Salary : $124,000 - $143,000