INTERNAL ONLY Chief of Staff
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Job Location:
Lawrence, KS - USA
Monthly Salary:
Not Disclosed
Posted on:
14 hours ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
50% Strategic Leadership and Executive Partnership
Disclaimer
The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race color ethnicity religion sex national origin age ancestry disability status as a veteran sexual orientation marital status parental status gender identity gender expression and genetic information in the universitys programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and is the Title IX coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Room 1082 Dole Human Development Center 1000 Sunnyside Avenue Lawrence KSTTY.
Work Schedule
M-F 8a-5p
Hybrid Schedule requiring an on-site presence of at least three (3) days per week.
Contact Information to Applicants
Ashley Lonnberg
Position Overview
The University of Kansas seeks a dynamic and strategic Chief of Staff (COS) to support the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Executive Vice Chancellor for Finance. As a key member of the CFOs leadership team the COS provides high level strategic partnership executive coordination and operational leadership across all KU campuses. This position serves as the CFOs principal advisor and chief strategic assistant ensuring alignment of financial priorities advancing major initiatives and strengthening collaboration among administrative academic and operational units.
The COS leads cross-institutional coordination of financial activities policy development and operational initiatives and partners closely with finance leaders across the Lawrence Edwards and KU Medical Center campuses. The position plays a central role in the execution of key finance-related strategic initiatives and works closely with project managers and leaders throughout the institution to ensure effective planning communication and execution of key initiatives.
The COS also serves as the CFOs primary communication liaison and will be responsible drafting executive-level correspondence and presentations ensuring financial communications are accurate and accessible and representing the CFO in meetings to promote strategic alignment and continuity of leadership. This role requires exceptional judgment confidentiality and the ability to synthesize complex information for internal and external audiences.
In addition the COS oversees all Kansas Board of Regents related activities including budget inquiries preparation of the annual tuition and comprehensive fee schedule development of meeting materials and other Board required submissions. Furthermore the position coordinates and develops legislative fiscal impact requests to determine the impact of potential legislation. These responsibilities involve managing time sensitive requests coordinating with campus partners analyzing financial data and preparing materials that reflect the universitys fiscal strategy and priorities.
This position reports directly to and serves the pleasure of the CFO. The incumbent must satisfactorily complete a university background check requirements and is expected to maintain confidentiality due to access to privileged financial personnel and strategic information.
Additional Candidate Instruction
In addition to the online application the following documentsare required tobe considered for this position:
Application review beginsWednesday March 25 2026 and will continue until a qualified pool of applicantsisidentified.
- Serves as the CFOs chief strategic assistant and logistics manager demonstrating strategic foresight and executive judgment while coordinating across the VC/VP Finance offices on all campuses to anticipate needs advance priorities and ensure alignment with the CFOs strategic agenda.
- Participates as an active member of the CFOs leadership team applying systems thinking and situational awareness to remain informed on evolving priorities risks and policy issues and representing and articulating the CFOs position with clarity and credibility when needed.
- Represents the CFO in meetings and strategic discussions demonstrating leadership presence relationship-building skills and the ability to communicate priorities drive alignment and ensure continuity of decision-making.
- Ensures timely follow-through commitments by managing complex workflows and high-priority issues with professionalism confidentiality and accuracy.
- Supports efforts to build and sustain a collaborative engaged purposedriven organizational culture that reflects and reinforces the University of Kansas vision mission and values.
- Fosters a positive service-oriented culture that supports effective executive operations smooth workflow and strong communication within the CFOs office.
- Builds trusted relations across administrative academic and operational units to support joint problem-solving alignment of priorities and progress on strategic initiatives.
- Oversees preparation of reports and required documentation for external entities including the Kansas Board of Regents exercising meticulous attention to accuracy compliance and institutional stewardship.
- Drafts high-quality correspondence and executive communications using exceptional written communication and audience centered framing to convey complex concepts; monitors the CFOs inbox and responds on their behalf with discretion and sound decision-making.
- Serves as the primary liaison for the CFO across all campuses fostering trusted partnerships promoting consistent communication and ensuring effective engagement and collaboration among a variety of stakeholders.
- Serves as the central communication hub for CFO communications and outreach using strategic communication and stakeholder engagement skills to ensure clarity consistency and alignment with institutional goals.
- Creates and maintains a comprehensive project management tracking system demonstrating organizational excellence by monitoring progress identifying risks and briefing the CFO regularly on the status of key initiatives and commitments.
- Responds to inquiries conducts issue-specific research and analyzes data to provide actionable recommendations and support timely decision-making and effective problem resolution.
- Supervises administrative staff providing leadership coaching mentoring and performance development to support a collaborative high-performing team.
- Performs additional duties as assign including expanded supervisory responsibilities as institutional needs evolve.
Disclaimer
The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race color ethnicity religion sex national origin age ancestry disability status as a veteran sexual orientation marital status parental status gender identity gender expression and genetic information in the universitys programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and is the Title IX coordinator for all KU and KUMC campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Room 1082 Dole Human Development Center 1000 Sunnyside Avenue Lawrence KSTTY.
Work Schedule
M-F 8a-5p
Hybrid Schedule requiring an on-site presence of at least three (3) days per week.
Contact Information to Applicants
Ashley Lonnberg
- Bachelors degree and five (5) years of experience in a leadership/management/executive role project management and communication skills.
- Experience that required working independently while managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment with strong attention to detail accuracy and consistent follow-through as evidenced in application materials.
- Excellent written communication skills as evidenced by application materials.
- Experience with handling and maintaining confidential and sensitive information with sound judgment and discretion as evidenced in application materials.
- Experience developing and delivering communications to audiences including translating complex financial or operational information into clear accessible content as shown in application materials.
- Experience representing leadership in meetings public settings or formal contexts including public speaking and professional presentation as shown in application materials.
- One (1) year of experience overseeing fulltime staff that included fostering professional growth overseeing workload assignments and providing ongoing performance feedback as evidenced in application materials.
- Experience in higher education government or complex public-sector organizations especially in roles requiring coordination across multiple divisions campuses or operational areas as shown in application materials.
- Experience building strong trust-based relationships with internal and external stakeholders including academic leaders administrative units system offices and governing bodies as evidenced in application materials.
- Experience analyzing complex issues and data and presenting conclusions and recommendations in a concise systematic and understandable manner as shown in application materials.
- Experience in policy analysis legal research methods interpretation and application of state and federal statutes as evidenced in application materials.
Position Overview
The University of Kansas seeks a dynamic and strategic Chief of Staff (COS) to support the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) & Executive Vice Chancellor for Finance. As a key member of the CFOs leadership team the COS provides high level strategic partnership executive coordination and operational leadership across all KU campuses. This position serves as the CFOs principal advisor and chief strategic assistant ensuring alignment of financial priorities advancing major initiatives and strengthening collaboration among administrative academic and operational units.
The COS leads cross-institutional coordination of financial activities policy development and operational initiatives and partners closely with finance leaders across the Lawrence Edwards and KU Medical Center campuses. The position plays a central role in the execution of key finance-related strategic initiatives and works closely with project managers and leaders throughout the institution to ensure effective planning communication and execution of key initiatives.
The COS also serves as the CFOs primary communication liaison and will be responsible drafting executive-level correspondence and presentations ensuring financial communications are accurate and accessible and representing the CFO in meetings to promote strategic alignment and continuity of leadership. This role requires exceptional judgment confidentiality and the ability to synthesize complex information for internal and external audiences.
In addition the COS oversees all Kansas Board of Regents related activities including budget inquiries preparation of the annual tuition and comprehensive fee schedule development of meeting materials and other Board required submissions. Furthermore the position coordinates and develops legislative fiscal impact requests to determine the impact of potential legislation. These responsibilities involve managing time sensitive requests coordinating with campus partners analyzing financial data and preparing materials that reflect the universitys fiscal strategy and priorities.
This position reports directly to and serves the pleasure of the CFO. The incumbent must satisfactorily complete a university background check requirements and is expected to maintain confidentiality due to access to privileged financial personnel and strategic information.
Additional Candidate Instruction
In addition to the online application the following documentsare required tobe considered for this position:
- Cover letter describing how you meet the required and preferred qualifications.
- Resume.
- List of three (3) professional references.
Application review beginsWednesday March 25 2026 and will continue until a qualified pool of applicantsisidentified.
- Travel <25% required foroccasional sameday trips to other campus locations for onsite meetings and coordination. Additionally overnight travel may be required to attend professional conferences.
Required Experience:
Senior IC
Key Skills
- Compliance Management
- Customer Retention
- Quality Assurance
- Customer Service
- Extensive Knowledge
- Account Management
- Front Office
- Telephone Calls
- Needs Analysis
- Cold calls
- Business Relationships
- Customer Complaints
- Sales Goals
- Sales Process
- New Clients
About Company
Thank you for your interest in employment with the University of Kansas. If you need assistance with the application process please contact Human Resources at [email protected] or 785-864-4946.
