Chief of Staff

Philo•New York, NY

11d•$220,000 - $300,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Philo launched a significant operating reset in 2026 — new leadership structure, new meeting cadence, and a sharper focus on strategic clarity and accountability. A dedicated Chief of Staff is a core part of that reset. This is a strategic Chief of Staff role. It exists to make Philo's most senior leaders more effective— not to absorb the operational work of the business. The right person sharpens the thinking, structures the agenda, keeps leadership aligned, and ensures that decisions made in the room actually happen. Execution of the company's work lives with the functional and program management teams. This role makes sure those teams have the right direction, the right inputs, and the right forums to do it. The role reports to the SVP of Strategy & Operations and operates in service of the Strategy & Operations, COO, and CEO functions, with lighter-touch support for the CFO. It anchors to Strategy & Operations initially (~50% strategic and analytical agenda), supports the company operating rhythm (~35%), and provides CEO/CFO executive support including board coordination (~15%). This is a hands-on role. We're looking for someone with high ownership and low ego—someone who sees no task as beneath them. One day you may be framing a strategic recommendation for the executive team; the next you may be building the analysis, writing the memo, creating the deck, or coordinating the follow-through needed to get the work across the finish line. Success comes from a willingness to both think strategically and execute exceptionally. This role is not a program manager or a catch-all for unowned execution work. Sustained program delivery lives with the Programs organization, and functional work lives with functional owners. The distinction: this role solves the problems that sit between functions and above programs — alignment, decision clarity, success criteria and measurement, prioritization conflicts — and hands the execution back with a clear path forward. It unsticks; it does not inherit.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in strategy, chief of staff, business operations, or executive program management roles
Experience in media, streaming, or consumer subscription businesses — you understand the economics of subscriber acquisition, retention, and engagement, and you can speak the language of this industry from day one
Experience working directly alongside C-suite or senior VP-level leaders in a high-trust, high-proximity environment
Demonstrated track record of owning strategic research, synthesis, and analysis — not just coordinating it: structuring ambiguous problems, working with data, and turning it into decision-ready framing for leadership
Experience designing or improving operating rhythm and planning processes — leadership reviews, planning cycles, goal-setting frameworks — in a fast-moving environment
Exceptional written communication: research briefs, agendas, decision framing, and async updates are the core work product of this role, and the quality of your thinking shows up in the quality of your writing
The instinct to know when to solve a problem yourself and when to sharpen it and hand it back — you can unstick a cross-functional issue without becoming its permanent owner
Confident but not territorial: strong enough to push back and offer a point of view, secure enough to support rather than lead, and clear-eyed about where your role ends and others' begins
High discretion and professional judgment — this role sits close to sensitive conversations including board materials, personnel, strategy, and transactions
Comfort with ambiguity: the operating model at Philo was rebuilt this year, and this person will help build and refine infrastructure that is still taking shape
Meticulous where it counts — board decks go to a board, leadership agendas go to a dozen senior leaders, and the work that goes out from this role needs to be right

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting a strategic transaction process (M&A, fundraise, partnership) a plus

Responsibilities

Conduct research and analysis at the direction of the SVP of Strategy & Operations to support strategic planning, competitive intelligence, growth opportunity evaluation, and packaging and pricing decisions
Synthesize inputs from across the business — data, external research, vendor outputs — into clear, decision-ready framing for the executive leadership team. Build and maintain awareness of the competitive landscape, market trends, and strategic context relevant to Philo's key bets
Structure ambiguous problems, build a clear point of view, and present it concisely to senior leaders
Partner with the executive leadership team to coordinate annual planning, quarterly prioritization, and the development of company goals and strategic initiatives
Help develop implementation plans, milestones, and success metrics for new initiatives — ensuring strategic decisions translate into clear plans with owners
Support the design and ongoing improvement of planning processes, goal-setting frameworks, and accountability mechanisms
Ensure the right people are in the room at the right points in the planning cycle, and that outputs are clearly documented and communicated
Drive cross-functional alignment by ensuring every strategic initiative has clear objectives, success criteria, accountable owners, defined decision rights, and an agreed execution plan, resolving ambiguity where ownership or accountability is unclear.
Support SVP of Strat and Ops with owning the weekly business performance meeting agenda: collect inputs, ensure anomalies are pre-researched and flagged before the meeting, coordinate pre-reads, and keep the meeting focused on diagnosis and action — not status recaps. Develop and maintain a consistent cadence of KPI analyses that explain performance trends, uncover root causes, and highlight opportunities for action.
Support the COO in running the senior leadership team: prep agendas, distribute pre-reads, and track decisions and commitments through the operating infrastructure
Coordinate leadership async updates after key decision-making meetings — ensuring decisions, priorities, and next steps are clearly communicated to the right people
Own the leadership operating calendar — right meetings at the right cadence, right people in the room, preparation requirements communicated in advance
Maintain Philo's core operating infrastructure: decision logs, commitment trackers, and related systems that keep the leadership team accountable
Ensure executive review meetings have clear agendas, decision objectives, and expected outcomes. Partner with cross-functional leaders to distill materials into concise executive summaries and drive alignment on decisions, owners, and next steps.
Act as an extension of the executive leadership team to identify opportunities, resolve operational challenges, and remove barriers to execution across the organization
Partner with the Programs organization on cross-functional initiatives: this role unblocks and aligns at the leadership level; sustained program delivery stays with Programs
Facilitate leadership offsites, annual planning sessions, company bi-annual gathering, and strategic reviews — owning the design, preparation, and follow-through for forums that shape company direction
Support board meeting preparation: coordinate slide ownership, track contributors, manage review timelines, and ensure materials are complete and polished
Coordinate preparation for other high-stakes leadership moments — all-hands materials, due diligence requests, executive briefings — where quality and timing matter
Own async communication when key leaders are offline, ensuring nothing falls through

Benefits

Full health, dental and vision coverage for you and your family
401(k) plan with employer contributions (we match 100% of deferrals up to 3% of pay and 50% of the next 2% of pay)
Flexible working hours
Up to 20 weeks of fully paid parental leave
Unlimited paid time off for vacation and sick leave
$2,000 annual vacation bonus (we pay you to take a two week vacation)
$5,250 annually for professional development and educational assistance
$1,250 annual home office + TV stipend during first year of employment ($250 annually thereafter)
$500/month ($6,000/year) bonus for employees who commit to working at least 3 days per week in our offices, plus generous commuter benefits ($315/month towards transit, rideshare, bike rental, or parking at our HQ office in San Francisco)
Free Gympass subscription — an all-in-one corporate benefit that gives employees the largest selection of gyms, studios, classes, training and wellness apps
Dog-friendly office