Chief of Staff

CEO Leverage &
Strategic Agenda

· Act as a trusted strategic
partner, adviser and extension of the CEO, helping prioritise strategic
attention, engagements, interventions and decisions.

· Translate emerging CEO thinking
into structured options and test strategic ideas for operational implications,
dependencies, sequencing and organisational readiness without taking over
execution.

· Surface competing priorities,
alternative perspectives, material risks and inconvenient information in a
clear, evidence-based and solution-oriented form.

· Create disciplined feedback
loops so the CEO can see whether strategic decisions have landed as intended,
including when the pace or volume of change risks exceeding absorptive
capacity.

· Lead a highly effective Office
of the CEO and coordinate the CEO’s strategic agenda, including high-quality
preparation for critical internal, Board and external engagements.

· Translate CEO decisions and
commitments into clear ownership, routing and follow-through, ensuring matters
are appropriately triaged between CEO, MD, CFO and functional leadership.

· Coordinate a small number of
CEO-sponsored, time-bound strategic initiatives and transition sustained
execution to the appropriate owner.

· Help institutionalise CEO
insight and relationships into organisational systems and capability rather
than allowing SmartStart to rely excessively on individual leadership.

Executive Governance,
Legal & Institutional Integrity

· Support the design and
effectiveness of SmartStart’s executive governance architecture, including
clarity on decision authorities, delegated authority, reserved matters and
escalation.

· Ensure executive forums are
appropriately constituted, focused on the right level of questions and
disciplined in tracking material decisions and commitments to closure.

· Maintain clear boundaries
between CEO, MD, CFO, Chief of Staff and functional leadership
accountabilities.

· Provide executive stewardship
of SmartStart’s legal, regulatory and corporate governance capability, ensuring
access to appropriate specialist legal advice and protecting independent
professional judgement.

· Oversee the organisational
approach to legal risk, material contracts, regulatory compliance and
governance frameworks, ensuring significant risks are identified, escalated and
managed.

· Coordinate Legal with People
& Organisational Capability on employment-law and people-policy interfaces,
and with Finance on commercial, procurement and financial-risk interfaces.

Enterprise Operations,
Board Enablement & Future Readiness

· Provide executive ownership of
core institutional administration and corporate operational support, setting
fit-for-purpose standards, systems and service expectations.

· Ensure corporate operational
processes are efficient, appropriately governed, simplified and fit for scale,
with relevant procurement governance coordinated while financial controls
remain with Finance.

· Coordinate the CEO’s Board
agenda and decision-ready preparation of strategic Board materials, connecting
Board priorities, decisions and actions to accountable executives.

· Coordinate with the CFO on
financial, Audit & Risk and funder-assurance matters and help ensure Board
engagement remains appropriately strategic rather than unnecessarily
operational.

· Lead exploration and
institutional readiness for potential expansion beyond South Africa, including
early market, institutional, legal, governance and operating-model assessments.

· Coordinate cross-functional
expertise and produce decision-quality information for CEO and Board
consideration, developing appropriate replication, partnership and market-entry
guardrails.

· Own exploration and readiness
rather than unilateral market entry; major entry decisions remain CEO/Board
reserved decisions and sustained execution transfers to appropriate operating
leadership.

· Act as a strategic thought
partner to the CEO on SmartStart’s continued operating-model and institutional
evolution, surfacing structural barriers and supporting major changes requiring
CEO sponsorship.

· Work closely with the MD and
People & Organisational Capability leadership while respecting their
execution and specialist accountabilities.

Executive Partnership
& Leadership Standard

· Challenge the CEO
constructively when required, and align behind decisions once made.

· Bring analysis, options and
recommendations; maintain appropriate alignment without excessive
permission-seeking.

· Use proximity to the CEO as a
responsibility, not as organisational status or power, and maintain credibility
across EXCO and the organisation.

· Exercise significant influence
without becoming territorial, factional, bureaucratic or a gatekeeper.

· Lead portfolio resources and
senior professionals with clear accountability, discretion and strong
judgement.

· Create calm, structure and
closure when pace, complexity or tension increases.

· Model high agency,
simplification, adaptive pace and disciplined follow-through.

· Protect clear accountability:
the MD owns enterprise execution; the CFO owns financial stewardship; People
& Organisational Capability owns people strategy and organisational
capability; functional leaders retain specialist mandates.

Requirements

Qualifications
& Experience

· Relevant postgraduate qualification or equivalent senior
professional experience in strategy, business, law, governance, public policy,
organisational leadership or a related field.

· Significant senior leadership experience in a complex, mission-led,
public-interest or multi-stakeholder environment.

· Demonstrated experience advising and working closely with CEOs or
senior executives, with strong experience in strategy, executive decision
support and institutional governance.

· Demonstrated ability to lead across functions and disciplines
without unnecessarily centralising authority, including experience working with
Boards and/or senior governance structures.

· Strong understanding of organisational risk, governance and
institutional accountability, with experience managing highly sensitive and
confidential matters at executive level.

· Experience leading senior professionals and/or specialist
portfolios. Exposure to legal/regulatory environments, government,
philanthropy, development, social-impact ecosystems, international expansion or
networked operating models is highly advantageous.

Specific
Knowledge

· Strong understanding of executive governance, decision rights,
delegated authority and institutional accountability.

· Strong strategic and organisational judgement, including the ability
to assess dependencies, sequencing, risk and organisational readiness.

· Sufficient legal and governance literacy to steward specialist legal
capability while respecting independent professional judgement.

· Understanding of Board governance, executive decision support and
high-level stakeholder environments.

· Understanding of enterprise operations, administrative
infrastructure and fit-for-scale institutional systems.

· Understanding of organisational transformation, operating-model
evolution and the dynamics of complex change.

· Knowledge of multi-stakeholder, partnership-based or networked
operating environments.

· Exposure to international expansion, market entry or multi-country
organisations is advantageous.

· Experience within ECD, education, public systems or another
social-impact environment is advantageous.

Skills
and Competencies

· Exceptional executive judgement, discretion and ability to handle
sensitive information.

· High agency and structured thinking, with the ability to move from
issue to analysis to recommendation to action.

· Constructive courage and the ability to challenge senior leaders
while retaining trust.

· Excellent communication, synthesis and interpersonal skills.

· Strong relational intelligence across CEO, EXCO, Board, partners and
organisational contexts.

· Low ego, low territoriality and strong organisational neutrality.

· Excellent execution discipline, prioritisation and follow-through.

· Ability to simplify complexity and create structure without
unnecessary bureaucracy.

· Non-defensiveness, learning agility and willingness to change
position when evidence requires it.

· Ability to influence without formal authority and route work to the
right accountable owner.

· Adaptive pace - able to move quickly while recognising when
sense-making, alignment or absorption time is needed.
Deep commitment to SmartStart’s mission and to
increasing enterprise capacity.

### Benefits
Total Cost to Company (Medical Aid, Provident Fund & Risk Benefits)