Chief of Staff, Civil Society & Philanthropy

OpenAI Foundation•San Francisco, CA

About The Position

The OpenAI Foundation is hiring a senior Chief of Staff for its Civil Society & Philanthropy (CSP) team. This person will be a detail-oriented operating partner, strategic thought partner, and trusted deputy to the Head of Civil Society & Philanthropy. The role supports priority-setting, effective systems, and team execution, with a detailed understanding of the portfolio and relationships across teams. The Chief of Staff will exercise sound judgment and represent the Head when needed. The role focuses on team operations and systems, strategic partnership and representation, and end-to-end project ownership. The Chief of Staff will help the team translate goals into plans and results, improve workflows using AI, support strategy and resource allocation, lead cross-functional initiatives, and contribute to hiring and team development. The position requires in-person collaboration in line with the Foundation’s office schedule, flexibility for team needs, and occasional travel. The successful candidate is expected to serve as the team’s full-time Chief of Staff for at least two years.

Requirements

Prior Chief of Staff experience is strongly preferred, though candidates at different career stages may qualify with compelling evidence of comparable operating responsibility.
Track record of independently leading ambiguous, cross-functional projects from strategy to results, including budgets and resource allocation.
Low-ego, hands-on approach and desire to serve as the team’s full-time Chief of Staff for at least two years.
Exceptional attention to detail, strong organizational instincts, and consistent follow-through.
Practical, hands-on AI fluency, including experience applying AI in real workflows, understanding its limitations, and verifying its outputs.
Must pass an AI fluency test as part of the hiring process.
Clear communication, discretion, and senior judgment; ability to build trust, challenge constructively, and credibly represent a leader.
Ability to collaborate in person in line with the Foundation’s office schedule, with flexibility for team needs and occasional travel.

Nice To Haves

Experience assessing new opportunities, weighing tradeoffs, and turning ideas into practical plans.
Experience working across complex subject matter, functions, and communities.
Familiarity with civil society, philanthropy, or the societal impacts of AI.

Responsibilities

Own selected projects end to end, translating goals into priorities, plans, owners, milestones, and deliverables.
Maintain visibility across the portfolio and Foundation teams, connect dependencies, and sustain momentum.
Identify dropped commitments and blockers early, and resolve or escalate them with sound judgment.
Build and maintain practical systems for planning, tracking, communication, and accountability.
Own the team meeting rhythm, preparation, and follow-up to ensure decisions become action.
Use AI to improve team workflows, including building or adapting internal tools and processes where useful, and verifying their outputs.
Partner on team strategy, planning, priorities, and allocation of people and resources.
Represent the Head in leadership discussions, offsites, and partner meetings, surfacing risks and decisions and ensuring follow-through.
Help shape the team’s contributions to leadership discussions and offsites.
Build trusted relationships across Foundation teams, including finance, legal, communications support, and other Foundation teams, as well as external partners.
Lead cross-team initiatives as needed, spanning technical enablement, grantmaking, and AI-native philanthropy.
Support hiring and onboarding as the team expands.
Help build a strong, collaborative, and mission-driven team environment.