Deputy Chief of Staff

About the role

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate and creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

Responsibilities

• Operational Execution and Presidential Support
  • Serve as the primary operational and advance lead for the Office of the President, ensuring meetings, events, travel, and other engagements are thoughtfully planned and executed
  • Anticipate the President’s needs and prepare people, places, materials, schedules, and logistics to support successful engagements
  • Ensure President’s priorities and direction are translated into clear operational plans, timelines, and follow-through
  • Coordinate across teams to ensure commitments and action items originating from the President’s Office are appropriately tracked and advanced
  • Maintain operational rhythms, systems, and standards that support a disciplined and effective Office of the President, in partnership with the Deputy Chief of Staff
  • Identify potential issues or gaps in advance, develop solutions, and escalate matters appropriately
  • Provide day-of and real-time support for high-priority meetings, events, and engagements as needed
• Advisory Board and Stakeholder Engagement
  • Stand-up, coordinate and manage operational support for the Corporation’s advisory board, including recruitment, meeting preparation, materials, logistics, communications, and follow-through
  • Partner with internal stakeholders to ensure advisory board members have a thoughtful, well-organized experience and that commitments are appropriately advanced
  • Maintain awareness of key stakeholder relationships, preferences, and engagement history to support effective interactions
  • Help coordinate external engagements and visits involving the President and Advisory board members
  • Ensure the details surrounding important stakeholder engagements reflect the professionalism, priorities, and vision of WGU and the President
• Salt Lake City Headquarters and Community Building
  • Help cultivate a strong sense of community and connection for WGU’s Salt Lake City headquarters
  • Support experiences, events, and touchpoints that bring leaders, employees, and visitors together and reflect the President’s vision for the WGU community
  • Coordinate with internal partners to ensure the President’s presence and engagements with the headquarters is purposeful, well planned, and connected to broader organizational priorities
  • Develop strong relationships across the headquarters community and serve as a connector between the Office of the President and university teams
• Meeting and Executive Support
  • Support preparation for executive and leadership meetings by coordinating agendas, briefing materials, logistics, and follow-up
  • Ensure key outcomes, decisions, and commitments are documented and appropriately communicated
  • Prepare briefing materials, talking points, schedules, run-of-show documents, and other materials needed for presidential engagements
  • Provide hands-on support during high-profile meetings, events, and other engagements
• Cross-Functional Coordination
  • Serve as a trusted point of coordination between the Office of the President and teams across WGU
  • Build and maintain strong working relationships with executive assistants, chiefs of staff, project managers, communications partners, and leaders across the university
  • Clarify responsibilities, timelines, and expectations to keep work moving
  • Influence outcomes through strong relationships, communication, organization, and follow-through rather than formal authority
  • Help resolve coordination challenges and ensure the right people are connected at the right time

Qualifications

• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
  • Exceptional organization and execution — able to manage numerous moving pieces simultaneously, anticipate dependencies, and ensure details are handled without losing sight of the desired outcome
  • Strong advance instincts — naturally thinks several steps ahead, anticipates what could go wrong, and prepares people and environments accordingly
  • Bias for action and follow-through — takes ownership of work, moves quickly to resolve issues, and sees commitments through to completion
  • Highly proactive — does not wait to be told what needs to happen; identifies needs, clarifies ambiguity, and takes appropriate action
  • Sound judgment and discretion — handles sensitive information, executive conversations, and high-stakes situations with maturity and professionalism
  • Calm under pressure — serves as a steady, solutions-oriented presence when plans change or unexpected issues arise
  • Relationship-oriented — builds trust quickly and works effectively with people at all levels of the organization
  • Strong collaborator — understands that successful execution depends on bringing together the right people and resources
  • Influential without authority — able to coordinate and drive action across teams through clarity, relationships, and persistence
  • Clear and concise communicator — able to translate information into clear instructions, updates, briefings, and action items
  • Strong interpersonal awareness — reads the room, understands stakeholder dynamics, and adjusts approach appropriately
  • Executive presence — represents the Office of the President with professionalism, confidence, warmth, and sound judgment
  • Highly detail-oriented — understands that small details can materially affect the experience and effectiveness of an executive engagement
  • Adaptable and resourceful — comfortable operating in a dynamic environment where priorities and circumstances can change quickly
  • Mission-oriented — understands WGU’s mission and uses that understanding to inform priorities, decisions, and interactions
  • Discerning — understands what requires immediate attention, what can wait, and when to escalate
  • Service-oriented — approaches executive and stakeholder support with humility, responsiveness, and a commitment to creating excellent experiences
• Education
  • Bachelor’s degree
• Experience
  • 7+ years of progressive experience in operations, executive support, project management, events, communications, chief of staff functions, or a related field
  • Experience supporting senior executives, complex events, high-profile stakeholders, or similarly high-touch environments
  • Experience operating effectively in a matrixed organization with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities
• Preferred Qualifications
  • Master’s degree
  • Experience in higher education, a mission-driven organization, government, or another complex institutional environment
  • Experience in an executive office, advance function, event operations, or stakeholder engagement role

Travel

This position requires occasional travel, 20% or more, including required attendance at designated company summits. Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed.

Pay

The salary range for this position takes into account a wide range of factors considered in compensation decisions, including skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs. At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is: Grade: Management_Executive 610 Pay Range: $ - $

Benefits

• Full-time regular position eligible for bonuses
• Medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare
• Health savings account and flexible spending account
• Basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage
• Accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages
• Legal and identity theft coverage
• Retirement savings plan
• Wellbeing program
• Discounted WGU tuition
• Flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no accrual requirement
• Flexible paid sick time with no accrual requirement
• 11 paid holidays
• Other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave