The Human Growth Project builds education, research and tools that help people grow well. We are small, the work is varied, and the quality of our internal operations decides how much of our effort actually reaches people. This role exists to make that machinery good.As Chief of Staff you own the internal side of the organization: how we plan, how we run meetings and decisions, how we hire, and how commitments made at the top become finished work on the ground. You will sit close to leadership and to the board, preparing the materials they need, tracking what was decided, and following through when something stalls.
You will also own talent. That means writing clear roles, running a fair and well-paced hiring process, bringing new people in properly, and making sure the first ninety days of a new hire are not left to chance. Our people are the budget, and how we recruit and support them matters more than almost anything else we do.
We keep a written playbook of how we work — planning cycles, decision rights, hiring steps, operating rhythms. You will know it better than anyone, teach it to new people, and keep improving it as we learn. Much of the job is noticing where the organization rubs and fixing it before it becomes a problem.
This is a full-time director-level position with real ownership. You will work across every part of the organization, with senior staff who have deep subject-matter expertise and limited patience for process that does not earn its keep. The right person is comfortable being the one who holds the thread.
What you'll do
- Run the operating rhythm: planning cycles, leadership meetings, decision records and follow-through on what was agreed
- Own recruiting end to end — role definition, sourcing, interview process, offers and onboarding
- Prepare board materials, agendas and briefing documents, and track commitments made in board and leadership sessions
- Maintain and improve the internal playbook so our ways of working are written down, taught and actually used
- Spot friction across functions and lead the fixes, from small process changes to larger reorganizations of how work flows
- Support budget planning and spending oversight, flagging where money and attention are out of step with priorities
- Act as a trusted second pair of hands for senior leaders, taking on projects that have no obvious owner
- Help new staff and new managers get up to speed quickly and well
What we're looking for
- Five or more years in operations, chief of staff, program leadership or a similar role with broad internal ownership
- A track record of running hiring processes that produced good people and treated candidates fairly
- Strong written communication — you can turn a messy discussion into a clear one-page decision
- Comfort with budgets, planning documents and the numbers behind an organization's choices
- Judgment about when process helps and when it gets in the way, and the confidence to say so
- Discretion with sensitive information about people, pay and strategy
Nice to have
- Experience inside a nonprofit, research group or mission-driven organization
- Work with a board of directors or similar governing body
- Background in education, learning science or human development
- Experience building an internal handbook or operating manual from scratch
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