Position: Vice President of Organizational Effectiveness and Chief of Staff to the CEO
Position Type: Internal/External
FLSA Classification: Exempt
Reports to: Melissa Connelly, CEO
Start date: February 2026
Location Classification: Location-flexible
‍Application Deadline: December 18, 2025


‍About OneGoal                                                                                    

OneGoal transforms postsecondary advising and support, enabling every student to define their own future. Together with our partners, we’re building a movement to close the opportunity gap. We work closely with partner schools and districts to enhance their knowledge and capacity. The result is more effective support for all students. Our unique approach, honed over 15 years, prioritizes strong human relationships. And it has been proven to deliver real student impact: An independent study by the University of Chicago found that OneGoal students are approximately 40% more likely to earn their postsecondary degrees than students from similar backgrounds. At OneGoal, you’ll be immersed in a culture of collaboration, shared purpose, and collective impact.


The Role

This dual title role is intended to reflect the need for a unique candidate with a breadth of executive experience and professional aspirations.  Many traditional Chief of Staff-like roles are more administrative in nature. This role breaks the mold because the person who accepts this position will have two key levers for success, influencing the conditions for the CEO’s success while also serving as a critical linchpin to the effectiveness of our entire executive team. An important aspect of the role will be to best utilize the resources of the Office of the CEO, but the right candidate is also someone who looks across the full organizational system to maximize impact. They will work closely with the seniormost leaders in the organization to collectively focus them on capitalizing on the right opportunities and resolving the most pressing challenges. They will support the effective planning and execution of executive team meetings and create processes for effective delegation of workstreams and deliverables across the organization. They will also be a thought partner to the CEO on key organizational decisions. They are the consummate professional who communicates effectively with all staff, executives, and board members. They are deeply mission-driven and possess all the skills and judgment necessary to stand side by side with the CEO, both internally and externally.


The person who is right for this job sees themselves as a(n):

Partner

• You are a trusted confidant who always operates with a deep sense of discretion and care.
• You recognize leadership can be lonely, so bring joy when things are going well and levity when they are not.
• You serve as a conduit between the CEO and staff, acting as a trusted resource and sounding board for staff across the organization.
• You act as a gatekeeper and filter for the CEO’s time and priorities, ensuring the CEO is focused on the highest-leverage activities aligned with strategic goals.
• You help surface issues to the CEO and promote a culture of transparency and collaboration.
• Others look to you for thought partnership because you have excellent judgment and ability to prioritize and make the complex simple.

Integrator

• You design, plan, and facilitate productive and results-oriented leadership team meetings, including creating agendas, positioning the right folks to lead each space, managing follow-ups, and ensuring that key decisions are documented and communicated effectively.
• You oversee the preparation and execution of all Board of Directors meetings, including delegation of content creation, materials review, and ensuring a consistent narrative and communication flow from the CEO.

Systems Thinker

• You think like a CEO, constantly aware of the intersection of program, people, and finance.
• You help the CEO and broader leadership team consider the downstream effects and impact of day-to-day decisions.
• You lead executive team meetings by grounding in progress to goal and supporting facilitation of discussions to identify the biggest gaps and opportunities.

Conductor

• You drive accountability, ensuring that cross-functional commitments are met and potential roadblocks are proactively identified and resolved
• You provide direction for staff on how to gather and leverage CEO’s input.

Qualifications:

• Experience on an executive team in a national organization (Required)
• Previous executive-level experience and/or significant Chief of Staff experience (Strongly Preferred)
  • Previous management experience (Strongly Preferred)
  • Previous experience in non-profits and/or education institutions (Strongly Preferred)
• Minimum of 7 years of work experience, including experience leading work at the organizational level and managing work through a group of executives
• Incredibly strong interpersonal skills to manage a broad range of relationships with care, to read situations well, and to treat others with respect and humility
• Superb judgment and integrity; maturity to handle sensitive information with care and confidentiality
• Able to travel approximately 4-6 times a year (once a quarter minimum)

Salary Range

$176,000 – $200,000 is the hiring salary range (i.e. the range a candidate would be offered to start). Please note: OneGoal aligns salaries with the Cost of Labor, so the actual salary offered will depend on the Cost of Labor in the candidate’s location.‍

The Tangible Good

OneGoal offers competitive compensation based on the market for nonprofits our size. Our benefits package* includes: over eight weeks of paid time off (or 43 business days), between vacation days, wellness time, and holidays; paid medical or parental leaves should you have need; medical, dental, vision, short-term and long-term disability, and life insurance; as well as a 401(k) with a 3% match.

We believe in compensating staff members fairly in relation to each other, their qualifications, and their impact on behalf of the organization, and take internal and external fairness seriously. OneGoal does not negotiate salary offers; instead, each salary offer is determined carefully using external and internal benchmarking. You will have an opportunity to discuss salary in more detail after you begin the hiring process.

*OneGoal reserves the right to change benefits at any time according to business need.

Location

Remote- Preferred within a OneGoal region: Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; Boston, MA; New York City, NY; Bay Area, CA, or flexible within the following locales only: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin
‍

Our Team

Guided by a clear set of core values and beliefs, you will join an impressive group of more than 200 OneGoal staff across the country who believe in the untapped potential within students. The OneGoal team challenges themselves and others to regularly ask, “Is there a better way?” We believe that in order to create the change we seek, each person we hire brings a remarkable and diverse set of experiences, skills and characteristics that individually and collectively, will contribute to the radical change needed to move us towards a more just nation.


If you require a reasonable accommodation to submit an application or to participate in the application or interview process, please reach out to our Human Assets Team to request an accommodation. Our Human Assets Team can be contacted at 773-321-2630 or HumanAssets@onegoalgraduation.org.


‍OneGoal does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of actual or perceived sex, race, color, ancestry, citizenship, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, disability (mental or physical), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy, breastfeeding or related medical condition, parenthood, genetic characteristic or information, military or veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law.