Chief of Staff, CEO

About this role

At Lyft, our purpose is to serve and connect. We aim to achieve this by cultivating a work environment where all team members belong and have the opportunity to thrive.

Lyft is in a defining moment — from turnaround to international growth, from traditional rideshare to the autonomous future. The Chief of Staff to the CEO sits at the center of that transformation, serving as a force multiplier for CEO David Risher and the senior leadership team. This is a rare opportunity for a builder, strategist, and trusted advisor who can operate at altitude while staying close to the detail.

The Chief of Staff to the CEO is the CEO's most trusted operational and strategic partner. You will:

• Own the rhythms, narrative, strategy, and operations of the Executive Office, translating the CEO’s vision into organizational execution across Lyft.

• Work in lockstep with our Executive Business Partner to ensure the CEO and executive team operate at their highest and best use at all times.

• Lead the internal community of Chiefs of Staff that act as the operational backbone for the company

This role demands exceptional range: you'll build organizational frameworks, draft corporate strategy, manage high-stakes communications, run executive meetings and offsites, hold confidential context with grace, and know when to drive decisions and when to get out of the way. You are here to make the organization smarter, faster, and more aligned.

Responsibilities:

Executive partnership & decision support

• Serve as a strategic thought partner and sounding board for the CEO on organizational strategy, business priorities, and leadership effectiveness

• Prepare the CEO for high-stakes meetings, board sessions, investor engagements, and external appearances — including briefing materials, talking points, and post-meeting follow-through, whether drafted by you or in partnership with cross-functional partners

• Identify decisions that need to be made, surface the right information at the right time, and ensure the CEO's attention is on the highest-leverage work

• Manage confidential initiatives with discretion, including sensitive personnel matters, corporate development activity, and board-level communications

Strategy & operations

• Lead the design and execution of the annual planning process, including corporate rhythms, leadership offsites, goal-setting frameworks, and cross-functional alignment mechanisms

• Drive organizational design projects and leadership assessment frameworks in partnership with the People team and senior leaders

• Build and maintain standards for the Executive Office — including operating norms for Chiefs of Staff and Executive Business Partners across the company

• Serve as an advisor for major initiatives (including M&A) requiring structured governance, transformation, and cross-functional coordination

• Drive special projects from inception to delivery, including those that are undefined at the start and require creating structure from ambiguity

Communications & narrative strategy

• Own and evolve the CEO's internal and external voice — developing a coherent throughline across strategic priorities, town halls, shareholder letters, all-hands, offsites, and key announcements

• Draft and refine high-visibility written communications including shareholder letters, executive blog posts, CEO remarks, CFO promotions, and press materials

• Build and maintain a clear narrative architecture connecting Lyft's strategic pillars so that employees, investors, and partners understand how the pieces fit together

• Support the CEO's presence at external events including conferences, investor roadshows, and media engagements

Stakeholder management & cross-functional leadership

• Represent the CEO's interests and priorities across the senior leadership team, ensuring alignment, accountability, and follow-through

• Build trusted relationships with Lyft's executive team, team members, Board members, investors, and key external partners

• Manage logistics, preparation, and follow-through for executive leadership team meetings, Board meetings, and leadership summits

• Partner with the Executive Business Partner to manage the Executive Office as a cohesive, high-performing unit

Experience:

• 14+ years of experience in a combination of strategy, operations, communications, management consulting, or a high-complexity operating role

• Prior Chief of Staff or equivalent experience supporting a C-suite executive at a public company or high-growth technology business, strongly preferred

• Demonstrated experience in executive communications — you've written or shaped content that reached public markets, board rooms, or large employee audiences

• Background in organizational design, annual planning, or large-scale cross-functional program management

Skills & capabilities:

• Exceptional written communication — you write with clarity, economy, and voice; you can draft a shareholder letter, a Slack message, and a board memo with equal facility

• Systems thinker with strong analytical instincts — comfortable with financial models, competitive analysis, and strategic frameworks

• Excellent judgment about when to push, when to listen, when to escalate, and when to hold things lightly

• High emotional intelligence and the ability to build trust quickly with senior leaders, operators, and individual contributors alike

• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple high-priority workstreams simultaneously without dropping detail

• Comfort operating in ambiguity — you build structure when none exists and adapt fluidly when priorities shift

• Ease with frequent domestic and international travel, often with limited advance notice — you thrive on a dynamic schedule that regularly extends beyond standard business hours

Who you are:

• You are motivated by making others great, not by personal visibility — you are energized by a principal's success more than your own spotlight

• You hold yours

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