Chief of Staff at Harvard Hillel

Chief of Staff

Harvard Hillel

Location: On‑Site, Cambridge, MA

Employment Status: Exempt salaried team members

Reporting: Executive Director

Salary Range: $100,000 - $110,000 plus generous benefits

The mission of Harvard Hillel is to be a Jewish home, both physical and virtual, on the Harvard University campus. Harvard Hillel welcomes all students to experience the variety of Jewish identity, tradition, practice, values, culture, and community and to inspire and enable connections on campus and beyond. Harvard Hillel students find meaningful connections and friendship while engaging in unique opportunities to make Jewish thought and culture integral in the life of the University.

The Chief of Staff (COS) is a newly created role, reporting to the Harvard Hillel executive director who has been in the role less than two years. The COS engages effectively with the many constituent groups and priorities associated with the Harvard Hillel executive office, moving between strategic decision‑making, governance requirements of the Board, the public profile of the executive director, and everyday tactical implementation of planning, coordination, and projects across the organization.

The COS is also a highly empathetic and positive contributor to a collaborative and engaging organizational culture. The role is established to ensure the organization’s strategy, culture, and executive operations are planned, coordinated, and tracked with and for the executive office in close collaboration with Harvard Hillel colleagues.

The successful ownership of the COS role will add capacity to the executive director, allowing the director to focus on leadership, vision, and goal setting, and working with the Board and stakeholders to build the organization’s future.

A primary accountability for the COS is to serve as a trusted advisor and thought partner to the executive director on organizational priorities, strategic goal setting, and effective project coordination. Key to the success of the COS is also their ability to translate strategic goals into an operational plan, timelines, and accountability structures.

• Work closely with the executive director, Board Chair, and Committees to plan and coordinate virtual and in‑person Board and Committee meetings; serve as liaison with the Board as needed.
  • Support development of calendars, invites, agendas, material document coordination and production; record Board meeting minutes and manage post‑meeting follow‑up.
  • Support Committee development, structures, and governance principles and processes using the organization’s bylaws to drive governance timelines and decision‑making.
  • Ensure strong compliance, documentation, and institutional records.

• Lead annual planning and cross‑departmental coordination processes.
• Establish dashboards and learning mechanisms to engage colleagues around annual and project planning, implementation, and tracking.
• Develop systems, tools, and schedules to operationalize and track annual work plans and quarterly and monthly activities against annual plans.
  • Facilitate team progress reviews with department heads and wider teams.
  • Ensure organizational priorities remain visible and actionable.
  • Lead and directly manage internal communications related to institutional planning and coordination, working closely with colleagues across the institution to ensure alignment between the Board, leadership, and staff.
  • Serve as a trusted colleague and coach across the institution around execution and accountability.

• Oversee financial and administrative functions of the executive director’s office.
• Manage workflows, priorities, and communications on behalf of the executive director.
• Manage discretionary budgets, fiscal sponsorship operations, and executive office expenditures.
• Prepare briefings, reports, and presentations for internal and external engagements of the executive director; support positioning and materials for executive director’s public‑facing activities.
• Ensure timely follow‑through of executive director’s commitments; build and maintain systems…