Empower the Next Generation to End Factory Farming

What would it mean to dedicate your time, talent, and energy to creating a more just and sustainable food system?

New Roots Institute is a growing nonprofit dedicated to ending factory farming by empowering the next generation of advocates. Our fellowship programs train students to lead real-world campaigns that create structural and behavioral change in their communities. 

We're seeking a Chief of Staff to keep New Roots operating at peak effectiveness. Working in close partnership with the Managing Director (MD), you will sharpen organizational thinking and ensure that strategy moves reliably into execution. You will sit within senior management as the connective tissue between departments, owning the meetings, communication flows, and planning processes that keep directors coordinated and the organization moving with clarity. You are someone who reads the room before the room knows it needs reading, catching misalignments early, naming what others have left unsaid, and moving quickly to resolve what stands in the way of good execution. When work stalls, priorities collide, or information breaks down, you step in, find the path forward, and make sure the right people are moving on it. You will build and maintain the systems that enable effective execution, protect the MD's time for strategy and leadership development, and serve as the organization's primary liaison to the board. This is a role for someone who communicates with precision, and who can align an organization without the leverage of formal power.

Is New Roots Institute the right place for you? Here’s what you should know:

• We value having the opportunity to make a difference and aren’t afraid of working hard. We’re looking for people who possess the resilience and determination to excel in fast-paced and demanding roles while understanding how to differentiate between working really hard (good) and unsustainable self-sacrifice (not so good).

• We continuously question our own biases and assumptions and adapt when we recognize we’re wrong. We’re looking for people who are keenly self-aware and know how to put their ego aside to achieve shared goals.

• We're results-oriented, strive for excellence, and are looking for people who can say they never miss deadlines.

• Giving and receiving honest and direct feedback is foundational to our culture. We're looking for people who are eager to use constructive feedback to grow, and help others to grow, both personally and professionally.

• Because we work remotely, proactive communication and quick responses are key to building trust and working effectively together. We’re looking for people who excel at keeping everyone updated.

• We genuinely enjoy working together and look for ways to have fun, despite the tragic nature of what we are up against.

How You’ll Make an Impact

Organizational Planning & Execution

• Design and facilitate the annual and quarterly planning cycle, including OKR development, roadmap coordination, and progress tracking, working closely with the MD to ensure organizational strategy is reflected at every level.

• Proactively coordinate cross-departmental problem-solving when deliverables are delayed or misaligned, surfacing issues before they escalate.

MD Partnership & Support

• Serve as the MD's closest organizational partner, helping sharpen priorities, stress-test decisions, and translate strategic thinking into focused action.

• Prepare the MD for high-stakes meetings and conversations by providing relevant context and clear framing.

• Filter and route requests, correspondence, and decisions to determine what genuinely requires MD attention versus what can be handled or delegated elsewhere.

• Manage the MD's time as a strategic asset, ensuring it is allocated in proportion to organizational priorities and protected from the accumulation of low-leverage demands.

Senior Management Coordination

• Design agendas and facilitate weekly senior management syncs, ensuring meetings are purposeful, time-efficient, and produce clear decisions and next steps.

• Drive cross-team collaboration, anticipating misalignment risks and surfacing tradeoffs early so the senior team can make clear, well-informed decisions.

• Resolve operational issues that don't require MD involvement, escalating only what genuinely requires strategic leadership judgment.

Organizational Systems & Infrastructure

• Identify where systems, processes, or information flows are creating inefficiencies and address them in partnership with relevant departments.

• Coordinate hiring processes across departments, ensuring each search runs efficiently and candidates have a consistent, high-quality experience.

• Oversee the performance management cycle, ensuring systems function and managers have the support they need to execute effectively.

• Serve as board liaison, preparing materials and coordinating logistics for board engagement.

Culture & Communication

• Maintain organizational communication rhythms, ensuring teams are informed, decisions are documented, and context flows across the organization.

• Support onboarding and transitions so new team members are set up to contribute quickly and departing staff leave institutional knowledge behind.

What We’re Looking For

Required Skills & Experience

• Highly skilled and experienced in complex project management; comfortable with leading an organization’s annual planning and OKR creation

• Highly skilled at facilitating complex conversations and meetings with multiple stakeholders, including senior leaders with competing priorities.

• Experienced in organizational operations, program management, or a chief-of-staff function within a remote nonprofit or mission-driven organization.

• Skilled in systems thinking: able to see how pieces connect, anticipate where breakdowns are likely, and design processes that get ahead of them.

• Able to manage complexity and ambiguity without losing clarity on what matters most.

• Skilled in written communication: able to synthesize information clearly, draft clean documentation, and communicate decisions with precision.

• Able to work in close partnership with an executive, exercising sound judgment about when to act, when to consult, and when to escalate.

Other Requirements

• Shared vegan and anti-speciesist values. No one on our team consumes animals or animal products or believes that non-human animals can ethically be treated as resources for human use.

• Ability to commit to attending the annual in-person team meeting, which typically takes place during the first full week of June (Monday through Friday).

Compensation and Benefits 

This is a full-time, remote position with a salary of $103,000 per year, plus a comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental, and vision insurance, and unlimited PTO with a minimum of two weeks. 

Please note, we have a no-negotiation salary policy to ensure transparency and equity across the team.

View more of our benefits on our Join Our Team page.

Hiring Process

If a candidate is moved forward, the hiring process will include a skills task, screening interview, competencies interview, work history interview, and reference checks. See our Join Our Team page for more details.

Ready to Make a Difference?

• To Apply: Please click the “Apply for this position” link to tell us why you are interested in New Roots Institute and to submit your resume. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We hope to fill this position as soon as possible.

• We value diversity, equity, and inclusion and are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels welcome and respected. We strongly encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, especially those who identify as Black, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, and people from the global majority. 

• By submitting your application, you are indicating that you have read our Privacy Policy and accept its terms.

• Please note that we are only considering applicants based in North America at this time.