Interim Chief of Staff & Strategic Initiatives

The Umoja Community Education Foundation (UCEF) is a statewide nonprofit organization advancing culturally responsive, equity-centered student success across California's community colleges, universities, and educational partners. Serving more than 16,000 students annually through a growing network of 80+ college and university partnerships, Umoja is implementing an ambitious strategic plan focused on organizational growth, systems building, and expanding its impact across California and beyond.

Position Overview

The Interim Chief of Staff & Strategic Initiatives serves as the CEO's senior strategic partner and organizational integrator. Working across the Executive Leadership Team, the Chief of Staff ensures alignment, disciplined execution, and enterprise-wide follow-through on Umoja's highest strategic priorities. Acting as a force multiplier for the CEO, this executive helps transform strategy into measurable results by coordinating initiatives, monitoring execution, identifying organizational risks, and supporting executive decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

• Translate CEO priorities into enterprise-wide implementation plans, timelines, and performance measures
• Monitor progress toward Umoja's Strategic Plan and Executive Leadership Team priorities
• Identify organizational risks, bottlenecks, competing priorities, and capacity challenges requiring executive attention
• Lead CEO-directed strategic initiatives spanning multiple departments and functional areas
• Prepare executive analyses, presentations, briefings, and recommendations for CEO and Board decision-making
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO on organizational effectiveness, executive priorities, and strategic opportunities
• Help maximize executive effectiveness through thoughtful planning, prioritization, and follow-through

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; Master's or other advanced degree preferred
• Eight to twelve years of progressively responsible executive leadership, strategy, consulting, or Chief of Staff experience
• Demonstrated success partnering directly with CEOs, presidents, executive directors, or executive leadership teams
• Exceptional analytical, organizational, communication, and project leadership skills
• Outstanding judgment, discretion, political acumen, and executive presence
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex cross-functional initiatives without relying on formal authority
• Experience in higher education, nonprofit leadership, philanthropy, public policy, organizational development, or statewide initiatives is strongly preferred

Leadership Profile

The ideal candidate is: A strategic thinker who enjoys transforming vision into execution, a systems thinker capable of connecting people, priorities, and organizational outcomes, highly organized and execution-oriented, comfortable operating in complex and evolving environments, skilled at building trust, influence, and alignment across diverse stakeholders, and passionate about educational opportunity, equity, and systems change.

Appointment Information

• This is a limited-term executive appointment intended to provide executive leadership capacity during a period of organizational transition.
• The appointment is anticipated to last approximately six (6) to nine (9) months and may be extended or conclude earlier based on organizational needs.

Compensation

$120,000-$135,000 annualized salary, commensurate with qualifications and experience. Compensation will be prorated based on the duration of the appointment.

Benefits

This position is eligible for benefits consistent with Umoja's policies for limited-term executive employees.