Director & Chief of Staff-Design

eBay•San Jose, CA

2d•$195,200 - $260,600•Remote

About The Position

As Chief of Staff and Head of Business Operations, you will serve as a strategic partner to the VP, Head of Design and as a key operational leader for the broader Design organization. You will oversee and run the organization’s staff, business, and strategy operations—creating the clarity, systems, and operating rhythms that enable Design to focus on its highest-impact work. As a member of the Design Leadership Team, you will help shape how the organization operates at scale, anticipate emerging needs and risks, and turn strategy into coordinated action. The ideal leader is a trusted advisor and systems thinker who brings exceptional judgment, integrity, and organization to complex and ambiguous environments. You are equally comfortable operating at the strategic level and getting into the details required to make things happen. You will lead a small, high-impact Operations team and design and operate simple, lightweight processes and programs across budgeting, staffing, planning, execution, strategy, and employee engagement. You will also serve as a critical connector across Design and partners in Finance, People, Recruiting, Communications, Product, Engineering, and the broader business, helping drive alignment, synchronization, and sound decision-making across the organization.

Requirements

12+ years of experience in Design Operations, Design Program Management, Product Operations, Business Operations, Chief of Staff, or a related discipline within a complex product or technology organization.
A track record as a trusted advisor to senior executives, translating strategy into priorities, decisions, and coordinated action.
Exceptional systems thinking, operational judgment, and business acumen, with the ability to see across an organization, evaluate tradeoffs, and make data-informed resource and investment decisions.
Demonstrated success leading complex, cross-functional initiatives and organizational change in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
Exceptional execution and communication skills, with the ability to move fluidly between strategy and detail, manage competing priorities, and build alignment across senior stakeholders.
Experience building and developing high-performing teams, while driving impact well beyond the size of your team.
High integrity, judgment, and discretion, coupled with a forward-looking perspective on how AI, automation, and new ways of working can increase organizational effectiveness.

Responsibilities

Partner with the VP, Head of Design and Design Leadership Team to translate strategy into execution, establishing clear priorities, operating rhythms, plans, and decision-making mechanisms that keep the organization focused on its most important ambitions.
Lead Design’s business operations and investment strategy, including headcount and capacity planning, staffing forecasts, budget allocation, procurement, and resource prioritization in partnership with Finance, Recruiting, and central planning teams.
Serve as a primary operational partner across the company, connecting Design with Finance, People, Recruiting, Communications, Product, Engineering, and other critical functions to drive alignment and coordinated action.
Orchestrate complex, cross-functional priorities and initiatives, bringing leaders together around shared outcomes, dependencies, risks, tradeoffs, and decisions. Shape communications that clearly articulate Design’s vision, strategy, impact, and progress to executive, internal, and external audiences.
Run and continuously improve Design’s operating cadence and organizational programming, including leadership meetings and offsites, all-hands, communications, enablement, recognition, and other forums that strengthen alignment and engagement.
Anticipate organizational needs and champion new ways of working, using AI, automation, data, and employee insights to simplify operations, increase leverage, and help the organization navigate change.
Lead and develop a high-performing Operations team, setting a high bar for strategic thinking, operational excellence, judgment, and organizational impact.