Chief of Staff

A leadership-enablement role focused on priorities, decisions, stakeholder alignment and execution. It is related to senior EA work but not simply the next automatic promotion.

Written and reviewed by Kristy McLeodLast reviewed 24 September 2026Report a correction

Role purpose

What the organisation is really buying

Increase the executive’s and leadership team’s ability to set direction, make decisions and deliver cross-organisational priorities.

Core responsibilities

Enterprise priority and decision management
Leadership-team effectiveness
Strategic projects and stakeholder alignment
Executive communications and issue resolution

Evidence that proves readiness

Organisation-wide influence
Strategic analysis and recommendation
Delivery through several accountable leaders

Challenges and red flags

High ambiguity and political exposure
Success depends heavily on executive trust
Role boundaries vary across organisations

Common environments

Where this role appears

TechnologyGovernmentFinanceNonprofit

Compare industries

Progression map

Where the evidence can lead

Executive leadership

Strategy or operations director

Portfolio leadership

Test the next vacancy

Compare the advertised title with the actual scope.

Use the vacancy checker