Chief of Staff

About Tides

Tides is a nonprofit and philanthropic organization committed to advancing social justice. We work across the social sector to shift power to communities of color and other groups historically denied power. Centering equity and justice in everything we do, we collaborate in deep partnership with movement leaders, nonprofits, donors, foundations, and corporations to amplify the impact of their work by providing services like fiscal sponsorship, donor advised funds, grant making, and a variety of innovative solutions. Learn more at tides.org.

About This Role

Tides is seeking a Chief of Staff to work closely with our CEO, facilitating collaboration among its Executive Team (Chief Financial and Operations Officer, Chief People Officer, Chief Advancement Officer, Executive Director of Tides Foundation, Executive Director of Tides Center, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer, and Senior Executive Assistant). This role will support the CEO’s effectiveness and capacity by informing priorities with cross-functional input, facilitating data and information gathering to inform decisions, and communicating needs and direction across teams and the organization. As a member of the Tides Executive Team, this role participates in strategy development and decision-making aimed at long-term organizational and industry success, supporting clarity and coordination of the organization’s resources while exemplifying a deep commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

This Chief of Staff role will function as a:

• Goalkeeper: prioritizing the demands of the CEO, ensuring time is allocated to produce the highest value. As a goalkeeper, the Chief of Staff triages tasks on behalf of the CEO in order to maximize time and improve efficacy.
• Operator: supporting Executive Team decision-making by developing agendas, ensuring materials are appropriately prepared for leadership and Board/Committee meetings, and providing updates on key actions needed to inform decisions. As an operator, the Chief of Staff:
• counsels the CEO before internal meetings on relevant items and assists with follow-ups and timely delivery.
• reviews, drafts and coordinates ongoing communications with Tides’ Board of Directors, with oversight from CEO and Chief Legal & Compliance Officer.
• advises on external communications to capture the CEO’s voice, in partnership with Marketing and Communications.
• Integrator: serving as a CEO liaison between functions and business units on key initiatives and flagging competing priorities for the CEO.
• Implementor: as the CEO liaison supporting executive team members to implement organization-wide projects and initiatives.
• Advisor: sharing values-aligned points of view regarding areas of exposure directly with the CEO.

This role is expected to consistently demonstrate Tides’ JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) beliefs and core values of future focus, accountability, transparency, respect and collaboration in all aspects of their work. As a senior leader the Chief of Staff is responsible for modeling and demonstrating Tides’ core competencies of Leading Self, Leading People and Leading Results.

What You Will Do

Executive Leadership

• Champion the Executive Team, External and Internal Communications, and overall organization through regular and proactive communication, feedback loops, and values-aligned messaging on behalf of the CEO and Executive Team around priorities, challenges, outcomes, and changes.
• Serve as a confidante to the CEO and liaison between employees, executives, and senior leaders, regarding organizational climate, project updates, proposals, and planning efforts.
• Provide back-up for the CEO and represent the CEO in preparing for, responding to, and participating in critical internal and external events and meetings, projects and efforts, or other priorities.
• Inform executive decision-making by leading the development of agenda items for Executive Team meetings, ensuring items are well formed and Executive Team members and meeting guests are prepared to lead agenda items.
• Champion key organizational initiatives on behalf of the CEO and Executive Team by stewarding updates, insights, and integration into interdependent work streams.
• Develop a strong partnership with executive leaders, Senior Executive Assistant, and operational stakeholders to support implementation of operational and administrative processes and improvements across the organization.

Resource Coordination

• Manage day-to-day tasks that enable the CEO to focus on larger strategic organizational initiatives and key meetings with stakeholders.
• Connect work efforts, priorities, and resources across departments in collaboration with senior leadership.
• Follow-up and follow-through on action items from leadership meetings, ensuring action and implementation.
• Participate in the development of key performance indicators for the Executive Team and track progress and outcomes to inform changes to programs or strategies in partnership with the Strategy and Impact team.
• Provide project management for a portfolio of Executive Team and Senior Leadership Team projects that increase organizational effectiveness and outcomes.
• Respond to inquiries about organizational projects and plans, develop action plans to address concerns, and participate in the preparation and dissemination of communications.
• Occasionally, serve as a member of cross-functional project teams, bringing organization-wide perspective and linking work across project teams and departments.
• Elevate challenges related to resourcing, progress, and priorities to the Executive Team for resolution.
• Manage support needed for the CEO’s participation in external events, boards, and other engagements.

Organizational Connectivity

• Keep the CEO informed and position the CEO to be constantly engaged and up-to-speed on organizational happenings and interactions.
• Anticipate organizational problems, elevate concerns, and take actions in collaboration with Executive Team, People Team, and people leaders to resolve sensitive issues.
• Provide perspective and confidential input to the CEO and Executive Team at the organization-wide level.
• Participate in change leadership and enablement activities by assessing communications and processes, anticipating and addressing resistance.
• Serve as the CEO’s (and/or Executive Team’s) voice, empowered/entrusted to communicate information, occasionally of a sensitive nature, to internal and external stakeholders, as needed.
• Develop presentations, correspondence, and talking points on behalf of the CEO in alignment with Internal and External Communications for the purpose of advancing Tides’ mission and values, including ongoing coordination of Board of Director communication.

What You Will Bring

• Proven track record integrating justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion through all workstreams and ways of working. Demonstrated commitment and ability to contribute to an equitable and inclusive work environment.
• Demonstrable experience influencing and achieving alignment across senior leaders with a range of different opinions and interests.
• Extensive experience articulating and managing key performance indicators and using metrics to drive performance and provide data in support of key decisions.
• Ability to work with people of diverse backgrounds and at all levels of the organization, including the ability to effectively diffuse conflict or other difficult situations.
• Exceptional ability to lead and collaborate with people across the organization and with differing viewpoints and strengths to accomplish outcomes in the best interest of the organization.
• Ability to use judgment to influence decisions and escalate or delegate tasks, while balancing transparency and confidentiality.
• Ability to work under pressure, manage multiple projects with competing priorities, meet deadlines, and adapt to change.
• Strong communication, listening, and negotiation skills; ability to convey important messages in a clear and compelling manner.
• Ability to establish credibility and rapport with senior leaders, managers, and team members in all roles across the organization.
• Ability to represent the organization in external settings, including strong public speaking and presentation skills.

Education & Experience

• Ten years of direct experience in project or program management, business planning and analytics, administrative management, or prior Chief of Staff experience in a matrixed organization and a relevant bachelor’s degree; or 12 years of relevant experience.
• Experience must include responsibility for organizing and influencing cross-functional teams or workgroups.

Application Instructions

Please submit your resume and a cover letter expressing why you are well-qualified for this role and your motivation for joining the team at Tides. For best consideration, apply by Friday, March 6, 2026 at 11:59pm ET.

Equal Employment Opportunity

We look forward to reviewing applications from all qualified job seekers. We strongly encourage applications from women, people of color, and bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the LGBTQIA+ communities. No applicant will be discriminated against because of their race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, color, marital status, or medical condition including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we encourage and will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Where required by state law, we utilize E-Verify as a part of our employment authorization process.

Applicants With Disabilities

Reasonable accommodation will be made so that all who are interested may participate in our interview process. If you are in need of an accommodation, please advise in writing at the time you apply.

Key skills/competency

• Executive Leadership
• Strategic Planning
• Cross-functional Collaboration
• Project Management
• Stakeholder Management
• Communication
• JEDI Principles
• Data-driven Decision Making
• Organizational Effectiveness
• Board Relations