Chief of Staff - School of Law

# **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…