Chief of Staff

Position Summary: The past five years have been a period of tremendous growth in service delivery from 6.8M to 39M people facing hunger. GFN’s Vision 2030 is in place and the Global FoodBanking Network is now seeking to drive overall food system change through both reducing food loss and waste and improving food access. In addition to these changes, over the past five years GFN’s staff has doubled in size and its budget has increased tenfold. The organization is seeking a Chief of Staff to work in partnership with the President & CEO. This role will champion strategic initiatives internally, forge organization-wide collaboration to achieve strategic objectives, develop and track progress against annual workplans, aid the CEO in all internal communication matters, and partner with the CEO in communicating with the Network, donors, thought leaders, and other external stakeholders. Essential responsibilities include: Model GFN Values: Lead with Inspiration, Champion community-led solutions, create sustainable impact, honor our commitments, center diversity, equity, and inclusion, and learn and innovate. Executive Management: The Chief of Staff reports to the CEO and will be an active member of the senior management team.

• Support the CEO in setting a charter and work plan for the senior management team that keeps the mission at the forefront of all work. Support the CEO and team on strategy, monitoring organizational progress towards strategic goals, navigating risks, advancing the brand, and advancing a strong workplace culture.
• Collaborate with senior leaders and staff to develop systems to effectively monitor, analyze, forecast, and learn key initiatives.
• Collect information and advise the CEO on the progress of key initiatives and where intervention would be useful across the organization.

Strategy & Coordination:

• Lead the coordination and development of annual goal-setting, work planning, and budgeting
• On behalf of the CEO, oversee high-priority, often cross-functional organization-wide projects
• Create an organizational calendar and high-level work plan to ensure that annual work planning, budgeting, and quarterly strategy reviews are conducted in a predictable and efficient manner
• Proactively jump into the debate and share opinions, work collaboratively across the organization in the development of strategy, goals, and priorities, drive strategy implementation and clear barriers to action.
• Identify opportunities to integrate across functional teams; leverage strengths to take advantage of new opportunities and/or address organizational challenges
• Together with senior leaders, through project management and key initiative oversight, work to meet strategic goals with clear communication, elimination of silos, integrated work plans, and implementation with coordinated accountabilities, objectives, and associated budgets
• In partnership with the CEO, plan and execute all staff retreats and planning meetings

Internal Communications:

• Support the CEO in regularly communicating the vision and the organization’s priorities, developments, and progress against the strategic plan internally. Ensure regular promotion and accountability of values. This includes creating a regular pattern of communications, creating content, providing content, and helping connect the dots across all teams in a way that is centered on GFN’s mission.
• Refine and maintain an internal communications system to ensure staff have the information needed to successfully perform responsibilities.
• Improve internal meeting culture by refining meeting structures, frequency, communications, and decision-making processes.

Executive Support:

• Support the CEO in her engagement with the Network, current and potential partners, donors, and other key stakeholders.
• In partnership with the CEO EA and other staff, ensuring the CEO is well equipped for meetings with external stakeholders so that GFN is represented well. Tracking follow-up from meetings, communicating and delegating any follow-on tasks, and ensure all work is done.
• Partner with the CEO in getting the information needed to move work forward. Represent the CEO’s voice faithfully and accurately.
• Partner with the CEO and VP of Development to manage the relationship with the Board of Directors, including planning and preparing materials for quarterly board meetings, partnering with the EA to the CEO to plan quarterly board meetings, and supporting the CEO in the management of the Governance and Steering Committees of the Board.

Candidate Profile: Essential/Required Qualifications: Leading Through Influence and Relationship Building:

• Highly skilled at building relationships at multiple levels within a dynamic environment
• Possess demonstrated ability to quickly build trust and credibility with people
• Bring a natural inclination for developing strong relationships and networks
• Strong skills as a persuasive communicator: written, oral, interpersonal and presentation
• Experience successfully fostering collaboration and partnership across the organization
• Ability to inspire others to think entrepreneurially and embrace new ideas

Action-oriented Leader with Strong Execution Skills:

• Proven record of converting strategy into effective execution
• Experience setting priorities within an organization, reliable organizational and process management skills, and a strong ability to collaborate and create efficiencies across departments. Results-oriented leader with the ability to translate GFN’s priorities and goals into clear objectives for the organization leadership and staff.
• The Chief of Staff will be a builder with the ability to set priorities decisively, delegate responsibilities, assure accountability and allocate resources to ensure results

Operations and Communications Acumen: The Chief of Staff will be an intelligent self-starter and finisher who is resourceful and entrepreneurial, yet team-oriented. A tactical executor, they will have a strong data and analysis orientation and a proven ability to use metrics to drive decisions and achieves strategic objectives. With the ability to engender trust, honesty, and integrity, the Chief of Staff’s management style will be organized and efficient while at the same time inclusive, allowing for the building of consensus and recognition of teamwork. They will partner closely with the CEO and the senior management team and will be a calm and proactive communicator at all times. A Passion for the Mission: The Chief of Staff will embody the values and mission of GFN and, as a result, will inspire and motivate others. They will thrive in an innovative, collaborative environment, with people who are passionate about their work and mission. One of their greatest skills is building and cultivating strong multi-cultural relationships. The ideal candidate will be results-oriented and tirelessly committed to inspiring new and continuing partners to join the fight against global hunger and food waste. The Chief of Staff will be driven by a deeply rooted passion for making a positive difference in the lives of others. They will have an eye consistently focused on the future and how to best adapt the organization to its changing environment. The Chief of Staff will be an individual of unquestioned integrity, ethics, and values someone who can be trusted without reservation. GFN is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, age, or other legally protected characteristics. The position can be based at GFN’s global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, USA or remotely in a location that is either in the CT time zone or a closely related time zone. Occasional travel to Chicago will be required on a monthly basis; occasional global travel will be required when public health conditions permit. GFN is partnering exclusively with Montague & Associates to fill this role. If you are interested, please send your resume to Nancy DeMoss at nancy@mlmontague.com.