Chief of Staff

About Prevention Institute:

Prevention Institute (PI) is a national nonprofit dedicated to championing equitable health, safety, and wellbeing through upstream prevention and community-driven solutions. Since 1997, we have partnered with communities, local and state governments, public health agencies, advocates, and national organizations to advance our mission. Our work focuses on creating healthy communities, advancing systems of prevention and health equity, bridging health equity and racial justice, building power with community, addressing adverse community experiences and resilience, shaping land use and the built environment, promoting safety, mental health and wellbeing, and preventing substance misuse. We do this across four strategies: community-centered practice, practitioner knowledge and skill development, transforming policies and systems, and momentum building. We believe lasting change requires transforming the conditions that shape health. Our work prioritizes communities that are most impacted by structural inequities, and builds the evidence and practice needed to drive systemic change.

Learn more at www.preventioninstitute.org

About this position:

Reporting to the Executive Director and serving as a member of the newly constituted Executive Team, the Chief of Staff plays an essential role in strengthening alignment, advancing strategic implementation, and supporting organizational effectiveness throughout Prevention Institute. The Chief of Staff works across PI’s core functions to ensure our priorities are clearly articulated, well-resourced, and effectively executed.

The Chief of Staff translates vision into action, strengthens internal infrastructure, and helps build a culture of accountability, learning, and continuous improvement. The ideal candidate brings both the strategic vision to see the organization as a whole and the operational discipline to strengthen the systems that make it run. This is a role for a collaborative, systems-minded leader who applies business rigor to mission driven work, navigates complexity, and brings others along through change with clarity and care.

Direct reports to the chief of Staff are: Senior Director of Practice and Impact, Director of Finance, Manager of Project Administration and HR, and Operations Manager.

Chief of Staff responsibilities include:

Strategy, Alignment & Organizational Effectiveness

Drive organizational clarity and cohesion while strengthening the internal systems and culture that enable staff to do their best work.

• Strengthen shared understanding of PI’s vision, mission and strategies across the organization
• Advance mission-alignment across PI’s four core functions: practice and impact; policy, narrative and partnerships; operations; and finance
• Ensure cohesion across program and organizational functions
• Leverage deployment planning and forecasting to strengthen Executive Team decision-making, organizational capacity building and resource allocation
• Partner with senior leadership to ensure development and communications infrastructure effectively supports organizational goals
• Directly supervise 4-6 staff members while offering ongoing coaching and cross-functional support both within and beyond the formal supervision line to strengthen organizational effectiveness

Operations, Finance & Risk

Provide strategic operational and financial leadership and ensure the organization has the accountability structures and risk awareness needed for sustainability.

• Provide strategic leadership across operations and HR, including oversight of people systems, performance management, and supervision practices
• Oversee operations and administrative functions, including contract management, IT and facilities, to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in support of staff success
• Ensure accountability for budgeting, forecasting, audit readiness, and contracts; monitor revenue and expenditures and ensure clear communication of financial health to leadership and the Board
• Identify and address capacity gaps; support staff in taking a more strategic view of financial compliance and resource utilization
• Ensure responsible stewardship of organization resources within board-approved budgets and funder requirements
• Lead risk identification and mitigation efforts in alignment with PI’s Risk Management Framework

Organizational Leadership

Contribute to strategy and decision-making at the highest level while ensuring operational continuity and strong cross-functional partnerships

• Serve as a member of the Executive Team, contributing to organizational strategy and decision-making
• Stand in for the Executive Director during extended or unexpected absences
• Strengthen organizational accountability and informed decision-making at the leadership level and across the organization
• Support the Board Personnel Committee and coordinate operational updates for Board reporting

Who You Are

You know that organizations do their best work when their internal systems are as strong as and aligned with their external vision. You know that in professional services organizations like ours, our people are our most important asset, and you are passionate about empowering people to achieve their best work.

You are a systems thinker and a relationship builder. You are strategic and think cross-functionally.You make decisions with clarity and get results. You know how to make complex systems work and make people feel supported within them. You bring deep knowledge of nonprofit finance and operations.

You are committed to the same values we are: equity and justice, dignity, interdependence, and accountability and you understand that organizations rooted in this work must reflect their values both internally and externally.

You have led through growth and change. You know how to balance the strategic and the operational, bring people along through change, and strengthen an organization without losing what makes it work. You like keeping an organization humming.

Required Qualifications:​​

• 10+ years of relevant equity-centered leadership experience, ideally in a nonprofit organization, with a demonstrated track record of strategic leadership at the executive team level and experience managing cross-functional teams
• 5+ years of supervisory experience, with demonstrated ability to develop senior staff through coaching and direction setting and to promote an engaging, inclusive work culture
• Comprehensive knowledge of nonprofit financial and administrative management, including accounting, compliance, audits, and HR practices, with the ability to integrate finance and operations in service of mission
• Strong understanding of internal systems and organizational capacity, with the ability to thoughtfully steward and strengthen structures that support sustainable operations
• Skilled project manager with the ability to identify what needs improving, design better systems and bring staff along through implementation
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting key information to staff, senior leadership, boards and external partners
• Sound judgement and the ability to prioritize competing demands in a fast-paced environment, working effectively across functions and with senior leadership
• Genuine commitment to or interest in upstream prevention, health equity and racial justice, and community transformation

Desired Qualifications:

• Familiarity with or experience in a Professional Services Organization, managing multiple concurrent projects, diverse clients and funders, and staff whose time is allocated across a portfolio of projects
• Familiarity with movement driven organizations and understanding of how they operate to advance equity and inclusion within organizational systems, practices and leadership approaches
• Experience strengthening supervision practices, performance management systems, and/or organizational culture
• Experience supporting organizational growth, scaling systems, or leading infrastructure improvements during periods of change
• Experience ensuring that staff have the technology infrastructure and supports they need to do their jobs

Compensation and Benefits

This is a full-time exempt position based in our Oakland office. PI is currently a hybrid workplace with staff working in-office two days per week.

The salary range for this position is $193,000 - $225,000. The typical hiring range for this position is $193,000 (minimum) to $210,000 (midpoint). Salary is determined by a review of relevant experience and qualifications in relation to the range, as well as to others in comparable roles and in balance with other positions in the organization.

Prevention Institute is committed to offering a competitive compensation package that centers our values and mission. To support equity and consistency in our compensation approach, PI extends our strongest salary offer upfront and does not typically negotiate starting salaries.

PI offers a generous benefit package including:

• • Medical Insurance: 100% of employee premium covered, or 80% of premium covered for family
  • Dental Insurance: up to $3,000 / year for employee with a plan available for family
  • Paid Time Off: 3 weeks/year for new exempt employees
  • Paid Holidays: 12 days, plus a collective weeklong closure at Thanksgiving and a second weeklong collective rest closure at year-end
  • Retirement: 3% guaranteed and independent of employee contribution, plus up to an additional 7% based on organizational capacity
  • Wellness Benefit: up to $100 monthly reimbursement for wellbeing and self-care expenses
  • Flexible Spending Accounts and Commuter Checks: set aside pre-tax dollars for health, dependent care or commuting expenses

Application and Hiring Process:

Prevention Institute is deeply committed to building a staff that is rich with cultural, social, and experiential diversity. Candidates who want to join us on this journey and can contribute to that goal are encouraged to apply and identify their strengths and experiences in this area.

To apply: Please email a cover letter and resume to jobs@preventioninstitute.org and include “Chief of Staff” in the subject line of your email. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.

Applications will be considered as they are submitted, and interviews will be scheduled on a rolling basis.

Key Dates:

• Priority Application Deadline: June 12, 2026
• Final Application Deadline: June 30, 2026
• Target Hire Date: July 17, 2026
• Planned Start Date: August 17, 2026