REPORTS TO

CEO

ORGANIZATION

Living Cities We are working in partnership with Nonprofit HR. To apply for this position, please visit this link.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION

Founded in 1991, Living Cities is a collaborative of prominent foundations and financial institutions. We foster transformational relationships across sectors and connect leaders, stakeholders, and policy influencers committed to closing racial income and wealth gaps in America’s cities. We partner with cross-sector leaders in cities across the country to imagine and create an America in which all people are economically secure, building wealth, and living abundant, dignified, and connected lives. Our staff, investments, convenings, and networks support efforts that operationalize racial equity and inclusion in local government, create inclusive narratives, bring communities together to strategically address systemic racial inequities and build wealth among BIPOC communities through specific tactical pathways, i.e., entrepreneurship, homeownership, and access to capital.

ABOUT THE POSITION

Living Cities is currently seeking a Chief of Staff to report directly to the CEO and work collaboratively with Executive team members and departmental leaders to determine and prioritize business strategies to ensure alignment and effective communication across the organization. This role will provide analysis,

context, and clear problem statements to the CEO for decisions and direction. This role acts on behalf of the CEO and help maintain partnerships with stakeholders, clients, and staff members.

A successful candidate will be self-motivated, decisive, and resourceful. The Chief of Staff must possess a strong understanding of Living Cities business strategy, priorities and practices, and knowledge of Living Cities programs, and policies, coupled with exceptional communication skills and a customer-focused mindset. The role requires being results-oriented, attuned to nuance, adaptive to change, and able to deal with complexity and ambiguity while representing the organization and executive office with the highest level of professionalism and integrity. Working effectively with the CEO in this role requires engaging in creative problem-solving and solutioning, sharing feedback and failures transparently to preserve a high degree of trust, and maintaining a focus on continuous improvement.

The candidate should be able to translate strategic goals into actionable plans, solve ambiguous problems and address obstacles to achieving full implementation, and analyze information to present options and make recommendations to the CEO. They will be a relationship builder and institutional thinker, with a strong curiosity in all areas of the Living Cities organization.

Primary functions may include: Oversee the Office of the CEO

· May provide support to the CEO’s executive assistant and other staff members where deem appropriate.

· To provide consultation and support as needed to staff while preparing talking points, speeches and briefing memos and oversee development of background materials by others.

· Partner with CEO to enhance and build public profile and deepen engagement with partners and high-level audiences.

· Supervise a team of staff and serve as an alternate team leader for other teams.

Partner with Senior Leadership

· Manage the office of the CEO, serving as the central coordinator establishing clear priorities and ensuring all critical functions are executed in a timely and professional manner.

· Work closely with the CEO and executive leadership team to ensure alignment of priorities, effective communication, and fulfillment of executive and organizational commitments.

· Provide regular briefings and analyses to the CEO on organizational progress and issues and create agendas for regular and special meetings with ETL, Leadership, and staff.

· Prepare the CEO for internal and external meetings, presentations, and events, and ensure timely completion of all follow-up/action items.

· Support time-sensitive requests from the Board, members, partners, and stakeholders.

· Monitor and advise the CEO and executive leadership team on thought leadership opportunities related to emerging trends, process optimization, policy improvements, and strategic partnerships.

· Coordinate executive communications and ensure presentations, articles, press releases, and correspondence reflect CEO voice, organizational vision, messaging, priorities, and standards.

· Represent the CEO in meetings and events with partners, funders, and other stakeholders. · Serve as a member of the Executive Leadership Team [ELT], exemplifying the highest level of discretion, integrity, and professionalism.

· Partner with leadership on special projects that align with organizational goals.

Guide Board Affairs · Set objectives and plan content for the board of members, including semi-annual board meetings, regular committee meetings, and a semi-annual high-profile public event.

· Support board development efforts.

· Maintain a collection of resources for onboarding new board members.

Manage Special Projects

· Lead, research, and track special projects and initiatives.

· Lead special projects on behalf of the CEO.

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

· Requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree preferred.

· A minimum of 10 years’ work experience in a related role or field, showcasing proficiency in performing the duties described above · A demonstrated track record of progressive leadership responsibility, ideally in a fast-paced environment within public policy, philanthropic and/or non-profit sector. a non-profit or similar organization.

· A strong background of understanding and execution in Change Management practices. A track record of coordinating activities across multiple teams with diverse interests, while promoting a collaborative and supportive environment.

· Working knowledge and experience within hiring, supervising, and evaluating staff. REQUIRED SKILLS:

· Proven ability to manage multiple demands across various projects.

· Ability to collaborate and effectively interact with a wide variety of stakeholders and build partnerships with common goals.

· Demonstrated success managing multiple priorities at the same time, connecting dots across projects and issue areas, and executing in service of results.

· Excellent interpersonal and relationship management skills, including strong social listening (in person and digital) to understand sentiment, needs, and questions of partners and stakeholders, and the ability to diplomatically communicate complex messages to a range of audiences.

· Proven ability to anticipate and address issues as they arise.

· Ability to travel as needed.

Racial Equity & Inclusion (REI)

· Foundational knowledge and core concepts.

· Understands why racial equity is an integral part of Living Cities’ approach, inside and outside the organization.

· Displays clear willingness to learn and apply REI history and concepts REI Practice and Analysis.

· Engages with curiosity, humility and openness in discussions about race, equity and power inside and outside of the organization.

· Understands how the construct of race has impacted the distribution of power and resources and recognizes its impact on current and future outcomes across systems.

· Applies REI to inform discussions and decision-making.

· Upholds racial equity outcomes, goals, and performance measures with team and on projects.

· Able to incorporate REI ideas, concepts, and history into project work and methodology.

SALARY

$115,760 – $144,700

This is the minimum range for this position. Experience and locality are taken into consideration when determining a salary offer.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

This job operates in a professional office environment. We currently operate in a hybrid environment, with time split between Living Cities’ offices and remote environments.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

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

As much of our work is performed on a computer, the employee must be able to remain in a position that allows them to do so effectively. Additionally, they may require some movement around the office to access files or other equipment or technology. As collaboration and communication are a large part of our work, the employee must also be able to accurately exchange information in these situations, whether verbally or written.

We will work with each employee to provide reasonable accommodations as needed.

POSITION TYPE

This is a full-time position.

TRAVEL

Conference or our Living Cities travel is primarily local during the business day, although some out-of-area/out of state overnight travel may be required.

AAP/EEO POLICY STATEMENT

Living Cities is committed to building a culturally diverse and inclusive team at all levels. We are an equal opportunity employer and provide opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

OTHER DUTIES

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.