Chief of Staff

Chief of Staff to CEO - Mission-Driven Food & Agriculture Startup

Location:

Hybrid (Glencoe, IL - 3 days a week)

Reports to:

Co-Founder/CEO

Type:
Full-time

We are seeking a strategic and highly organized Chief of Staff to partner directly with our CEO in driving the mission and operations of a fast‑growing food and agriculture company. This role is critical to maximizing leadership effectiveness in a high‑volume, fast‑paced environment where every decision impacts farmers, communities, and sustainable food systems. The ideal candidate is a proactive problem‑solver who can juggle strategic initiatives, operational coordination, and executive communications while maintaining focus on what matters most.

• Frame options and facilitate decision‑making for the CEO on high‑priority initiatives
• Coordinate strategic projects across departments and ensure completion
• Prepare materials for key meetings and track follow‑up actions
• Oversee critical projects from inception to completion
• Enforce priorities and act as gatekeeper for the CEO's calendar and focus time
• Identify bottlenecks and drive decision velocity across the organization

• Triage and manage CEO email flow, drafting responses and reducing reactive work by 50%+
• Track meeting outcomes and ensure follow‑through on action items
• Coordinate internal communications to improve team alignment and goal clarity
• Manage external partner communications on behalf of the CEO
• Create systems to reduce the CEO's communication burden while maintaining relationships

• Lead cross‑functional projects that require coordination across multiple teams
• Identify and implement process improvements to increase organizational effectiveness
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and team alignment across departments
• Support the leadership team in maintaining focus on strategic goals
• Create visibility into company priorities and progress

• Coordinate complex travel and high‑stakes event preparation
• Support board and investor relations activities
• Manage strategic documentation and organizational knowledge
• Handle special projects as needed to support the CEO and leadership team

• Increase CEO's strategic focus time from current baseline to 15+ hours/week
• Reduce meeting load by 20‑30% through better prioritization and preparation
• Eliminate or significantly reduce after‑hours administrative work for leadership team
• Improve decision velocity (track time from issue identification to resolution)
• Increase team visibility into priorities (target: 4.0/5 in quarterly survey)

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Operations, or related field (or equivalent experience)
• 3‑5+ years of experience in operations, strategy, consulting, or chief of staff roles
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast‑paced, dynamic environment
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Strong project management capabilities with attention to detail and follow‑through
• Experience working directly with C‑level executives
• Comfortable with ambiguity and building processes from the ground up
• Mission‑aligned with sustainable agriculture and food systems
• Proficiency with productivity tools (Google Workspace, project management software, etc.)

Planet Harvest is a mission‑driven food and agriculture company focused on creating incremental supportive revenue for farmers through sustainable operations and waste monetization. We operate multiple business lines including ingredient supply, community food boxes, and more. Our team is talented, passionate, and growing rapidly and we’re looking for a candidate who can continue to help us scale.

Salary range: $80,000‑$125,000 depending on experience, plus benefits