Chief of Staff
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Chief of Staff plans and directs all administrative, financial, and operational activities for the organization's President, CEO or other executive. Organizes and prioritizes critical issues and required information for the executive to facilitate efficient decision making. Acts as a point of contact or gatekeeper between top management and other stakeholders. Provides oversight and guidance to projects of high importance. May act as an advisor to the chief executive, or responsible for the management of executive support staff. Develops major goals to support broad functional objectives. Approves policies developed within various sub-functions and departments.
Job Outlook
There were 124 Chief of Staff job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 5982 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the General Manager industry, which includes the Chief of Staff career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Chief of Staff jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $148,591.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $138,878.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Chief of Staff postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $114,788.
Education and Experience
Posted Chief of Staff jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 2.22% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 48.16% |
| Master's Degree | 31.63% |
| Doctoral Degree | 14.68% |
| Other | 3.74% |
Posted Chief of Staff jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 9.76% |
| 3 to 5 years | 48.78% |
| 6 to 8 years | 19.21% |
| 9+ years | 22.25% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Chief of Staff positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Leadership (72.92%)
- Communication (72.6%)
- Management (60.85%)
- Operations (54.91%)
- Coordinating (39.92%)
- Planning (38.88%)
- Problem Solving (34.9%)
- Presentations (31.19%)
- Strategic Planning (26.81%)
- Decision Making (25.78%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Project Management (45.02%)
- Continuously Variable Transmission (11.64%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Auditing (16.85%)
- Conflict Management (14.34%)
- Drug Enforcement Agency (11.6%)
- Public Administration (5.38%)
- Finance (23.51%)
- Anesthesias (13.22%)
- Surgery (17.88%)
- Business Operations (14.27%)
- Small Animal Care (11.67%)
- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) (24.01%)
- Employee Onboarding (14.14%)
- Management Consulting (9.61%)
- Medical Equipment (12.61%)
- Quality Management (12.63%)
- Veterinary Medicine (13.42%)
- Biological Hazards (13.15%)
- Marketing (14.12%)
- Data Analysis (11.32%)
- Business Strategies (12.26%)
- Radiation Protection (11.82%)
- Competency-Based Development (11.69%)
- Effective Communication (8.75%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Continuously Variable Transmission (100%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Chief of Staff skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Deputy Chief of Staff
- Vice Chief of Staff
- Physician Chief of Staff
- Chief Staff Officer
- Practice Manager
- Associate Chief of Staff
- Physician/Deputy Chief of Staff
- Director of Business Operations
- Food Service Team Member
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Chief Executive Officer
- Director of Operations
- Vice President (General)
- Business / Management Consultant
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Chief of Staff jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Banfield Pet Hospital (667)
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs (281)
- Lumen Technologies (103)
- Elevance Health (74)
- Wells Fargo (55)
- KPMG (54)
- University of California (49)
- Cozymeal (48)
- Chief Of Staff (47)
- Flagstar Bank (47)
North Carolina
- Wells Fargo (13)
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs (8)
- Elon University (6)
- Banfield Pet Hospital (5)
- Elevance Health (5)
- TIAA (4)
- Curves (3)
- Equitable (3)
- Lenovo (3)
- University of North Carolina (3)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Business Administration Master's Degrees
- Professional Communication and Managerial Skills Graduate Certificates
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.