Chief of Staff - Brookhaven National Laboratory

Brookhaven Lab's Chief of Staff serves as an advisor to the Laboratory Director and is a member of the laboratory Senior Leadership Team.  The Chief of Staff will assure attainment of strategic and tactical lab-wide priorities and commitments either directly or indirectly and handle complex situations and multiple responsibilities simultaneously, mixing long-term projects with the urgency of immediate demands.  The Chief of Staff will facilitate and sustain key relationships on behalf of the Laboratory Director and represent the Laboratory Director on a wide variety of substantive issues. Must be able to collaborate with and achieve actionable results through others and manage/lead initiatives.   

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Serve as an advisor and “right hand” to the Laboratory Director in setting priorities, supporting the execution of key strategies, taking actions in support of the Director’s objectives, and acting as a facilitator for the effective flow of information.

• Distill and organize information coming to the Laboratory Director. 

• Work with the Laboratory Director, Deputy Director for Science and Technology, and Deputy Director for Operations in supporting the implementation of the lab agenda.

• Oversee daily operations of the Laboratory Director’s Office through collaboration with the Leadership Team and other leaders to ensure deliverables are completed. 

• Work with the Director’s Office team to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Director’s Office.

• Work with the Communications team, coordinates communication materials for the Director’s Office, including presentations, brochures, announcements meetings/messages, remarks, or speeches, and reviews the final product before consideration by the Laboratory Director.

• Assist the Laboratory Director with internal and external communications. 

• Conduct research and benchmarking on emerging issues.

• Be a liaison for the Laboratory Director’s Office, the laboratory Leadership Team, and other key managers within the laboratory.

• Ensure continuity and quality of timely communications, coordinate planning and preparedness for executive meetings, events, and decision making.

• Support the management of key lab projects and tasks.  Maintain delegated authority for certain tasks within the Lab Director’s office.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Leadership:  Able to formulate strategies and plans and to guide and motivate others to accomplish them. Leadership skills include influencing laboratory leadership in accomplishing tactical and strategic goals as well as managing the Lab Director’s Office staff to work as a team to support the executive suite. Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with a diverse group of people having a wide range of administrative, technical and scientific backgrounds.

• Task Management:  Demonstrated task-management skills involve planning, anticipating deadlines and delegating and monitoring completion of work -- challenging and pushing individuals, the organization and themselves to excel and achieve desired outcomes.  Able to flawlessly manage significant amounts of detail. 

• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to anticipate and represent senior management’s point of view on a wide variety of substantive issues without benefit of prior consultation.  Able to formally communicate and present ideas through written products and executive briefings. 

• Problem Solving: Using logic and reasoning, ability to identify strengths and weaknesses and seek alternative solutions, conclusions, and approaches to problems.  Must be patient yet create a sense of accountability. 

• Judgement: Exercise discretion, sound judgement, and the highest professional ethics.  Must have a sensitivity and orientation to identify systemic issues.  Ability to weigh issues in an unbiased manner and provide advice on problems and issues that are not sharply defined and for which there is no precedent.

• Relationship Management:  Able to develop and maintain positive relationships, anticipate and understand stakeholders’ needs and deliver initiatives that address their needs.

• Champions Innovation:  Seeks to continually improve current processes, systems, methods and themselves to ensure world-class science and operations.

Education and Experience:

A Bachelors’ degree and a minimum of 8 years of relevant professional experience, including at least 4 years of demonstrated management/ leadership experience.   Candidate must have a record of increasing responsibilities and superior job performance.

Other Information:

• This is a fully onsite position located at BNL that may require occasional travel.

Brookhaven Laboratory is committed to providing fair, equitable and competitive compensation. The full salary range for this position is $137400 - $219600 / year. You will be placed at the level and salary commensurate with your experience.  Salary offers will be commensurate with the final candidate’s qualification, education and experience and considered with the internal peer group.