Chief of Staff - School of Law

About this role

Location ST. LOUIS, MO 63130

 Scheduled Hours 37.5

Position Summary The Chief of Staff serves as the Dean’s principal deputy and strategic advisor, providing executive-level leadership in support of the School of Law’s mission, priorities, and external representation. This position advises the Dean on institutional strategy, sensitive issues, and cross-functional initiatives; serves as a senior liaison to internal and external stakeholders; and ensures alignment and follow-through on Dean-level decisions. The Chief of Staff leads high-level communications and strategically significant initiatives requiring Dean oversight, while day-to-day administrative operations, scheduling logistics, and routine execution are delegated to the Director of Law Operations and administrative support staff.

Job Description

Primary Duties & Responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership & Executive Advising: Serve as the Dean’s principal deputy and strategic advisor on institutional priorities, emerging issues, and major initiatives. Recommend and help refine Dean-level priorities, goals, and action plans aligned with the School of Law’s mission and strategic direction. Advise the Dean on sensitive matters requiring executive judgment, discretion, and timely escalation. • Dean representation and stakeholder relations: Represent the Dean in internal and external meetings, committees, and partnerships as delegated. Serve as a senior liaison with University leadership, faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors, and external partners. Support the Dean’s public-facing and relationship-building efforts by preparing briefings, background materials, and talking points. • Executive Communications: Lead development and review of high-level communications on behalf of the Dean, including sensitive, high-visibility, or institutionally significant messages. Ensure Dean-level communications reflect strategic priorities, institutional messaging, and appropriate tone and content. Coordinate with administrative staff on drafting, routing, and distribution of communications as appropriate. • Cross-functional alignment and initiative management: Lead or sponsor strategically important cross-functional initiatives and ensure alignment across offices and departments. Remove barriers to implementation by coordinating with the Director of Law Operations and other stakeholders. Monitor progress on Dean-priority initiatives and ensure timely escalation of issues requiring executive attention. • Executive decision-making and escalation: Serve as the Dean’s delegated authority for matters requiring executive judgment, prioritization, and resolution. Resolve competing demands on the Dean’s time, attention, and office resources. Escalate operational, personnel, financial, or policy matters to the Dean when decisions exceed delegated authority • Leadership councils, committees, and task forces: Manage the monthly Law School Leadership Council and the Senior Administrative Leadership meetings to advance institutional priorities and strategic plan objectives. Along with the Dean and Dean’s Office staff, support the Law National Council and other leadership groups, task forces, and strategic committees as assigned. Coordinate agendas, follow-up, and action tracking for key leadership groups to ensure accountability and progress. • Governance and accountability: Establish executive-level expectations for follow-up, documentation, and accountability on Dean priorities. Ensure major decisions, commitments, and action items are tracked through appropriate office systems. Provide oversight of office-level governance structures and ensure alignment with institutional expectations. • Budget and resource oversight: Review and approve, as delegated, priority use of Dean’s office resources and expenditures. Monitor resource allocation at a high level to ensure alignment with Dean priorities and office needs. Coordinate with the Director of Law Operations on budgetary and operational matters requiring execution or tracking.

Working Conditions: Job Location/Working Conditions • Normal office environment.

Physical Effort • Typically sitting at desk or table. • Repetitive wrist, hand or finger movement. • Ability to move to on and off-campus locations.

Equipment • Office equipment.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all job duties performed by the personnel so classified. Management reserves the right to revise or amend duties at any time.

Required Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree Certifications /Professional Licenses : No specific certification/professional license is required for this position.

Work Experience: Progressively Responsible Leadership (5 Years) Skills: Supervision Driver's License: A driver's license is not required for this position.

More About This Job Required Qualifications: • Bachelor’s degree in higher education, business, public administration, law, or related field. • Five years of directly related experience in progressively responsible senior-level administrative or executive leadership roles. • Previous supervisory experience.

Preferred Qualifications: • Experience in a complex higher education or similarly structured organization preferred • Seven years of directly related experience is preferred. MSW, MPH, MBA, MPP, J.D. or other appropriate graduate professional degree. • Five years’ experience in a university, public service, and/or policy environment with responsibilities for academic administration, board support, faculty management, operations management, external relations, and/or communications. • Direct experience with academic programs, faculty, university administration, development, and external relations. • Experience supporting a senior dean, vice president, president, or other executive leader in a complex academic or nonprof

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