Chief of Staff

Schoolhouse; United States; Remote; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Work-from-home stipend

Unlimited PTO

Professional development budget

Health, dental, vision

Semesterly retreats

Monthly regional meetups

Job summary

Schoolhouse is seeking a Chief of Staff to accelerate our 2028 vision by building core systems, projects, and partnerships that drive impact for students worldwide.

Reporting to the President, you will own strategic initiatives, manage external relations with major partners and donors, and run the operating rhythm across HR, legal, and finance, while championing clear communication and high-output execution in a fast-growing nonprofit.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in a Chief of Staff, operating, or strategy role.
• Experience taking something from 0 to 1: a new program, product, or partnership.
• Comfort in high ambiguity and working with executives.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic projects that advance the 2028 vision from idea to early traction.
• Manage external relations with donors, partners, and stakeholders.
• Run the operating rhythm of the organization and support HR, legal, and finance.
• Plan two company retreats end to end, from objectives to logistics.

Skills

Chief of Staff experience

Strategy execution

External relations

Leadership across functions

Executive communication

Job description

About Schoolhouse

Founded by Sal Khan, Schoolhouse is a peer-to-peer learning platform that delivers human connection and develops durable skills through online learning to best prepare students to thrive in the age of AI. So far, we’ve reached 200k+ learners from 180+ countries and we plan to grow to millions.

About the Vision

Our vision is to provide an education safety net to ensure that no talent goes undiscovered and that every student feels empowered in our changing world. We do this by bringing high school students together around learning to create an environment where they can develop and showcase academic mastery and durable skills.

At Schoolhouse, learning is academic, civic, and global. Students join tutoring sessions where peers help them reach academic goals through personalized support. They participate in Dialogues to discuss challenging issues and empathize across divides. Above all, students belong to a global community centered around human connection.

We believe this vision is ambitious, so we need a team that can move quickly in the face of ambiguity. We work with sincerity and empathy and believe deeply in the power of human connection. We step in to help each other out, we think big but start small, we uplift each other, and we’re all learners at heart.

Learn more about our vision and our values here:

• Schoolhouse TED Talk
• Teen Helps 52-Year-Old Man Earn His High School Diploma
• Schoolhouse’s Public Roadmap
• What are Schoolhouse's community values?

About the Role

We're looking for a Chief of Staff to take our ambitious 2028 vision and launch the key systems, projects, and partnerships that get us there.

This is a rare generalist role for someone who wants to operate at the center of a fast-growing nonprofit that is already the largest free human tutoring organization in the world. You'll have genuine exposure to leaders across the education ecosystem — from Sal Khan and board members like Arne Duncan to partners like College Board and Google Gemini — and the opportunity to put their reach to work for students.

Reporting to the President, you'll take our most important 0-to-1 bets from idea to early traction, represent Schoolhouse to our most important stakeholders, and run the operating rhythm that keeps the organization on track. The work touches nearly every part of the organization and it will evolve as we do.

You'll own three things:

• Strategic projects. Lead high-impact, 0-to-1 projects that advance our 2028 vision like fundraising or growth strategy. Run validation experiments, read the signal honestly, and build the case for whether to scale into a full initiative, pivot the approach, or cut it entirely.
• External relations. Serve as a trusted liaison for high-stakes partners, donors, and stakeholders. Understand and articulate our goals and vision clearly, judge how a new partner or project fits our ecosystem and resourcing, and turn that into recommendations for the relationships we should cultivate and secure.
• Business operations. Run the operating rhythm of the organization and the follow-through that turns decisions into outcomes. Support critical work across HR, legal, and finance, and drive the people operations that keep us healthy, like hiring processes and our biannual team retreats.

Some examples of what this could look like in your first year:

• Design and pilot a suite of new fundraising channels, then write the roadmap that decides which channels we scale and how
• Run point on a new organizational growth partnership (akin to the College Board) from first conversation through scoping, agreement, and pilot launch
• Revamp an existing operational workflow, like our term planning or hiring process, into an improved version that the whole team uses
• Plan two company retreats end to end, from strategic objectives to agenda to logistics

About You

• At least 5+ years in a Chief of Staff, operating, or strategy role — as a founder / early operator at a high-growth startup or in a consulting / banking / strategy role with hands-on operating experience since.
• You’ve helped take something from 0 to 1: a new program, product, or partnership.
• You thrive in high ambiguity. You can take a vague, high-stakes problem with no clear owner and turn it into a plan, momentum, and a result.
• You shine in external, high-stakes settings and have operated closely with executives. Your writing and speaking are high-polish, and you can represent Schoolhouse credibly to a funder, a partner, or the whole team.
• You’re high-output across both breadth and depth. You context-switch without dropping balls, create clarity amid the noise, and build high-quality things fast.
• You are an exceptional communicator who builds trusted relationships easily — internally across every function, and externally with partners and stakeholders.
• You have sound judgment about people and priorities, and the discretion to handle sensitive situations well.
• You have a strong ownership mentality. You fill gaps, ask for help when you need it, and follow through without being managed.
• You’re available to work in a US timezone.

Bonus points

• You have experience with fundraising, development, or board and donor relations.
• You have experience in education, ed-tech, or another mission-driven organization.

Life at Schoolhouse

• Work with an amazing team. We’ve got folks with backgrounds in education, consulting, astrophysics, startups, and more.
• Fully remote with flexible working hours. Meetings are in US Pacific Time mornings.
• Take real time off. We have unlimited PTO & use it. Folks regularly take time off throughout the year.
• Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits. Work-from-home stipend. Professional development budget. Health, dental, vision (for US employees).
• Semesterly retreats and monthly regional meetups
• Make an impact you can see. Check out our community stories page. Watch students help each other learn. See tutors grow into leaders. Your will help real people learn and grow.

About the Application Process

We might make some adjustments, but our previous interview process has consisted of:

• A 30 minute intro call
• A 45 minute hiring manager interview
• A 45 minute strategy case with the leadership team
• A 45 minute panel-style discussion with team members across functions
• Reference calls

We’re building an inclusive and equitable platform for learners across the world, and it’s important our core team reflects these principles too. We strongly encourage people from underrepresented groups apply!