Chiefs of staff · the role
What does a chief of staff do?
The short answer · updated
A chief of staff runs the office of a chief executive or another senior leader. They set the leader’s priorities and rhythm, run the leadership team’s agenda and follow-up, move information and decisions between the leader and the business, and drive the projects the leader cares about most. Unlike an executive assistant, they work on the business, not the diary.
What is a chief of staff?
A chief of staff is a senior adviser and operator attached to one leader, most often the chief executive.
The role has no function of its own: it exists to make the leader, and the team around them, more effective.
Most chiefs of staff serve a chief executive; some serve another C-suite executive, a regional managing director or the chair.
Research published in LSE Business Review describes the chief of staff as the chief executive’s sounding board and thought partner, and as the person who turns strategy into plans and bridges the departments that have to deliver them.
Chief of staff role and responsibilities
The remit is set by the leader, so no two roles are the same.
The LSE research found chiefs of staff acting as the leader’s adviser, as the glue that holds the top team together, and as the person who translates big-picture plans into action across departments.
In practice that means:
- Priorities and time. Turning the leader’s goals into a calendar, an agenda and a list of decisions, and protecting time for what matters.
- The leadership team. Running the executive meeting: the agenda, the papers, the decisions taken and the follow-up on each.
- Strategic projects. Leading or coordinating the initiatives that cut across functions and sit with the chief executive.
- Information flow. Filtering what reaches the leader, and making sure the leader’s decisions reach the people who have to act on them.
- Board and investors. Preparing board packs and investor updates, and tracking the actions that come out of them.
- Communication. Drafting and sharpening the leader’s messages to staff and outside audiences.
- Honest feedback. Telling the leader what the organisation thinks, including what nobody else will say.
Chief of staff vs executive assistant vs COO
An executive assistant manages the leader’s diary, inbox, travel and logistics.
A chief of staff works on priorities, decisions and projects, and leaves the routine correspondence and the schedule to the EA.
The LSE research found the role commonly mistaken for a glorified executive assistant, though its duties call for far more strategic leadership experience.
Our page on what an executive assistant does sets out that role.
A COO owns operations and has teams and a budget of their own.
A chief of staff usually has neither: their authority comes from the leader they serve.
See what a COO does.
In a small company the three roles can blur, and one person may cover parts of each.
Compare the remit, the reporting line and the decisions the role can take, not the title.
How senior is a chief of staff?
Seniority varies more than in most roles.
At the lightest, the job is time management and information flow for a leader in a stable business; in the middle, research, analysis and programme management; at the most senior, a full member of the leadership team helping a new chief executive drive a change in strategy or culture.
The right level depends on what the leader faces, on the person hired and on the trust between them.
Many roles grow upwards as that trust builds.
Write down which level you are hiring for before you search.
It decides the experience you need, the pay, and whether the role suits a high-potential manager or an experienced executive.
Skills a chief of staff needs
The foundations are the same at every level: project management, business understanding, an eye for the pressures on the leader, a sense of which relationships matter most, and clear communication.
The LSE research singles out versatility and political skill, because a chief of staff has no reporting line over the top team they work with.
Judgement and discretion matter as much: a chief of staff hears everything and acts with the leader’s authority without holding it.
No qualification is required.
Chiefs of staff come from consulting, finance, operations, the military, government and from inside the business; the common thread is a record of getting cross-functional work done without formal authority.
Fractional, interim and permanent chiefs of staff
A permanent chief of staff is employed full-time and suits a leader whose office needs running every day.
A fractional chief of staff works part of the week, usually for a founder whose company has outgrown informal management but not yet built a leadership team.
See what a fractional chief of staff does.
An interim chief of staff covers a fixed period: a new chief executive’s first months, a transformation or a gap between appointments.
A fractional or interim chief of staff working through their own company may fall within the off-payroll working rules (IR35).
Status turns on how the engagement runs in practice, and a medium or large client makes the determination.
Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
Pay depends on the level of the role and the size of the business.
Our chief of staff salary page sets out published pay, each figure with its source.
How to hire a chief of staff
Start with the leader.
Write down what they want taken off their plate, which decisions the chief of staff may take alone and what the first year must deliver.
Acas’s job description templates give the headings; our chief of staff job description is a template you can adapt.
Test candidates on a real problem from the leader’s desk, and let the leader meet the shortlist early: the working relationship decides whether the role succeeds.
We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent executives, and non-executive directors.
For a chief of staff brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after our five-stage vetting.
To hire a chief of staff, start with our hire a chief of staff page.
Questions people ask
What is the role of a chief of staff?
To make a senior leader, usually the chief executive, more effective: setting priorities, running the leadership team’s agenda and follow-up, managing information and decisions, and driving the leader’s strategic projects.
Is a chief of staff the same as an executive assistant?
No. An executive assistant manages the diary, inbox and logistics; a chief of staff works on priorities, decisions and projects.
Many leaders have both.
Who does a chief of staff report to?
To the leader they serve, most often the chief executive.
Some serve another C-suite executive, a regional managing director or the chair.
Does a chief of staff manage a team?
Often not.
Their authority comes from the leader.
In larger companies a chief of staff may lead a small office of the CEO, or the strategy and programme management teams.
Can a chief of staff work part-time?
Yes.
A fractional chief of staff works part of the week, usually for a founder or a growing company.
How much does a chief of staff earn?
It depends on the level of the role and the size of the company.
Our chief of staff salary page sets out published figures with their sources.
How do I hire a chief of staff?
Agree the remit and the level with the leader, write the job description, test candidates on a real problem and let the leader meet them early.
We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
