Chief of Staff
Description
Join us in Telling the Stories of Santa’s North Pole!
The Lumistella Company is a global intellectual property company dedicated to bringing Santa’s North Pole to life for children around the world through consumer products, original entertainment and brand experiences. We are home to the most iconic and beloved Christmas brands of this generation including The Elf on the Shelf, Elf Pets, and Elf Mates.
The Chief of Staff is a strategic advisor and operational leader who supports the President (Chair of the Executive Management Committee and member of the Executive Board) in driving alignment, execution, and accountability across the organization. By acting as a key representative of the President, the Chief of Staff ensures seamless communication, coordinates cross-functional initiatives, and oversees the timely execution of key projects and action items crucial to carrying out the directives of the Executive Board.
This role is responsible for managing information flow, facilitating decision-making, and ensuring that Executive Board priorities are effectively communicated and implemented across all departments and at the direction of the President.
The ideal incumbent is a highly organized, proactive, and strategic thinker with strong leadership and communication skills. They must be able to synthesize complex information, drive operational efficiency, and hold teams accountable while maintaining a high level of discretion and professionalism.
The Chief of Staff will be responsible for:
1. Driving execution, alignment, accountability and information flow on critical activities:
- Strategic Execution & Organizational Alignment Ensures company initiatives and projects align with the Executive Board’s strategic priorities.
- Acts as a central coordination point across the business, ensuring cross-functional collaboration on activities directed by the President.
- Translates high-level strategies into operational plans. Facilities the activity necessary to ensure execution.
- Driving Accountability & Project Management
- Tracks key initiatives, action items, and projects, ensuring accountability and on-time completion.
- Sets up systems and processes to monitor deliverables.
- Follows up with teams to ensure that commitments made to the President or other Executive Board members are fulfilled.
- Identifies bottlenecks and works with teams to remove roadblocks to execution.
- Information Flow & Communication Hub
- Acts as a bridge, when necessary, between the President, the Executive Board and others within the organization, ensuring effective communication.
- Information Consolidation & Synthesis
- Collects, organizes, and synthesizes key updates from executives, department / section heads, and project teams into digestible briefings for the President and the Executive Board.
- Ensures that the President is informed about critical issues before meetings and that decisions are made with the necessary context.
- Prepares executive summaries, status reports, and dashboards to streamline information exchange between leadership levels.
- Consolidates and synthesizes updates, data, and reports for the President and the Executive Board.
- Ensures that key messages from the President and the Executive Board are effectively communicated across the organization.
- Facilitates Two-Way Communication
- Acts as a liaison, ensuring that directives and priorities are clearly communicated to department / section heads and teams.
- Gathers input from internal teams and presents it to the President in a structured manner, ensuring leadership is aware of concerns, challenges, and progress.
- Ensures messages from leadership do not get diluted or misinterpreted as they move through the organization.
- Knows when to hold teams in place pending the President’s input and when to push action forward. Elevates critical information to the President immediately.
- Attends meetings with Executive Management Team / leadership teams, department / section heads, or project teams to ensure continuity of operations and decision-making.
- Ensures discussions remain aligned with strategic objectives. Provides post-meeting briefings to the President, summarizing discussions, decisions, and outstanding issues.
2. Meeting Facilitation & Decision Support:
- Supports the President and COO (Chief Operating Officer) in preparing for Executive Board meetings;
- Supports the President and COO (Chief Operating Officer) in preparing for Executive Management Team meetings. Assembles agendas and briefing materials. Ensures that key decisions and action items are documented and communicated across the relevant teams. Tracks follow-through on commitments made in these meetings and holds teams accountable for timely execution.
- Provides the President with necessary pre-reads, summaries, and talking points.
- Ensures that board requests for data, reports, or updates are managed efficiently and delivered on time.
- Attends meetings on behalf of the President and/or Executive Board to capture key takeaways and convey critical updates promptly, as well as ensure that the Board’s perspective and priorities are conveyed and represented in the meeting;
- Ensures follow-through on decisions made in meetings.
3. Ensures Transparency and Organizational Alignment:
- Implements communication frameworks that provide visibility into key initiatives, company goals, and leadership priorities.
- Ensures that communications are delivered in a clear, timely, and effective manner.
- Monitors potential misalignment between departments and escalates issues to leadership before they become roadblocks.
- Escalates critical concerns that require top-level decision-making while filtering out minor issues that can be resolved at lower levels.
4. General Administrative Responsibilities:
- Handles correspondence, drafts communications, and prepares reports on behalf of the President and, as necessary, members of the Executive Board.
- Assists with prioritizing tasks, ensuring the President’s time is optimized.
- Provides executive-level support for special projects and confidential matters.
- Coordinates other support needs with the Executive Assistant(s).
5. Leadership & Organizational Stewardship:
- Supports the President in driving the desired company culture and leadership expectations.
- Serves as a sounding board and advisor to the President.
- Act as a trusted partner to the President and Executive Board, ensuring alignment and execution of the company’s vision.
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:
- Cross-Functional Collaboration – Experience working across multiple functional departments.
- Communication & Change Management – Experience driving alignment and managing change within an organization.
- Corporate Governance & Executive Support – Familiarity with executive leadership dynamics, executive management team and board interactions, and corporate governance best practices.
- Project & Program Management – Ability to manage multiple initiatives, track progress, and ensure on-time execution.
- Business Strategy & Operations – Strong understanding of business operations, organizational strategy, and project execution, preferably in the consumer products industry.
- Financial & Business Acumen – Understanding of financial statements, budgeting, and performance metrics to support executive decision-making.
- Technology & Systems Knowledge – Proficiency in productivity tools (Microsoft Office, Google Suite), project management platforms, and data visualization tools (Power BI) is a plus
REQUIRED SKILLS:
- Engages as the Consummate Diplomat – Understands when and how to pursue aggressive objectives but also diplomatic enough to get what is needed (levers between forcefulness and proactive on the one hand and diplomatic / galvanizing on the other – and knowing when to lever one set of tools over another)
- Strategic Thinking & Problem-Solving – Ability to analyze complex situations, anticipate challenges, and develop actionable solutions.
- Executive-Level Communication – Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills to effectively communicate with the President and senior leadership. Clear and concise. Active listener.
- Organization & Prioritization – Strong ability to manage multiple projects, competing priorities, and tight deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
- Leadership & Influence – Ability to lead without formal authority, drive accountability, and ensure follow-through on key initiatives.
- Interpersonal & Relationship Management – Strong ability to build trust and relationships across all levels of the organization, from executives to frontline employees.
- Crisis Management & Decision-Making – Ability to make informed decisions under pressure and provide timely guidance to leadership.
REQUIRED ABILITIES:
- Confidentiality & Discretion – Must handle sensitive company information with the highest level of integrity and confidentiality.
- Adaptability & Agility – Must be able to pivot quickly in response to changing priorities and business needs.
- Attention to Detail – Must be meticulous in tracking deliverables, action items, and communications.
- High Emotional Intelligence (EQ) – Ability to read situations, manage conflicts, and influence outcomes in a professional and diplomatic manner.
- Proactive & Self-Motivated – Must be highly independent and take initiative without constant direction while also knowing when to seek counsel before taking action.
- Results-Driven Mindset – Must have a strong bias for action and a focus on delivering measurable results.
- High Sense of Urgency
If you want to be one of us...
The ideal candidate will bring:
- 10+ years of professional experience, with at least:
- 5+ years in a leadership, project management, or strategic advisory role supporting senior executives.
- Experience in executive support and cross-functional collaboration required; experience in business operations and/or corporate strategy preferred.
- Must be able to demonstrate experience effectively working as a diplomat to balance and lever the need to achieve results with the method for getting there;
- Experience in a mid-size or growing organization, preferably in the consumer products, retail, or manufacturing industry.
- Prior experience working closely with C-suite executives, an executive board, or senior leadership teams.
- Strong track record of managing cross-functional initiatives, driving accountability, and ensuring operational efficiency.
- Experience in change management, business transformation, or organizational development is a plus.
- Background in consulting, finance, or operations management may be beneficial.
Education requirements:
- Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Management, Finance, Communications, or a related field (required)
- Master’s degree (MBA) or equivalent (preferred but not required)
The above is intended to describe the general content of and requirements for the performance of this job. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of essential functions, responsibilities or requirements. A full and complete copy of the Job Description is available upon request.
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The Lumistella Company is an equal employment opportunity employer.