Chief Of Staff To The Ceo/Principal

Description

The Chief of Staff is a trusted partner to the CEO and Principal, responsible for creating the structure, clarity, and follow-through that allow him to operate at his highest level across design, development projects, clients, leadership, and the business of Pfeffer Torode and Collected.

This role requires exceptional organization, discretion, and professional judgment. The Chief of Staff understands the CEO's priorities, anticipates what requires his attention, and exercises sound judgment about what can be resolved without it. They bring order to a complex and fast-moving environment, ensuring commitments are honored, decisions are carried forward, and important details are never lost between conversations. While the Chief of Staff owns the systems surrounding the CEO's time, communication, travel, meetings, and priorities, the role extends beyond administration. This person creates the structure around the CEO's priorities and serves as a trusted filter and representative, protecting his capacity for the work that requires his direct attention, particularly design thinking, relationships, leadership, and decisions where his involvement creates the greatest value.

The successful candidate will be meticulous without becoming rigid, proactive without overstepping, and confident enough to make decisions within established parameters. They will develop a deep understanding of the CEO, the firm, its clients, and its leadership, earning the trust required to operate with increasing independence.

Reports to: Jamie Pfeffer, CEO / Principal

Works closely with: Managing Principal, Managing Director, Principals, Operations, Finance, Firm Leadership and Collected Development Partners

Location: Nashville Studio, with regular coordination across PTA studios and travel as required

Executive Partnership and Prioritization

• Maintain a comprehensive understanding of CEO's priorities across design, development efforts,

client relationships, firm leadership, business development, and external commitments, translating

them into a disciplined operating rhythm

• Exercise exceptional judgment in determining what requires CEO's attention, what can be

delegated, what can be resolved independently, and when additional direction is needed

• Anticipate needs, conflicts, deadlines, and changing priorities, recalibrating schedules and

expectations before issues become urgent

• Prepare CEO for meetings and decisions with concise, relevant context, identifying the

essential question or desired outcome

• Track commitments and decisions made in meetings and conversations, ensuring appropriate

follow-through and protecting focused time for the responsibilities that require CEO's direct

involvement

• Synthesize project and business context into concise, decision-ready information so the CEO can

engage quickly without having to reconstruct background or history

Executive Operations

• Own CEO's calendar with exceptional attention to detail, context, sequencing, travel,

preparation time, and competing priorities

• Establish and maintain reliable systems for open items, follow-ups, deadlines, correspondence,

meeting preparation, and commitments

• Coordinate complex travel, meetings, client engagements, studio commitments, and external

events

• Ensure CEO has the right information at the right moment without requiring him to locate,

reconstruct, or repeatedly request it

• Identify recurring friction in CEO's workflow and develop practical systems that improve

clarity, efficiency, and follow-through

Communication and Representation

• Manage and triage communication with a strong understanding of priority, sensitivity, and

appropriate response

• Draft correspondence and communications in Jamie’s voice when appropriate
• Communicate on CEO's behalf with clients, consultants, collaborators, leadership, and external

partners with professionalism, discretion, and an understanding of context

• Build trusted relationships across the firm so that information moves efficiently without creating

unnecessary layers around CEO

Leadership and Firm Coordination

• Serve as a connective point between CEO and firm leadership, helping priorities, decisions, and

information move clearly in both directions

• Coordinate leadership meetings and recurring executive rhythms, ensuring discussions are

prepared and resulting decisions and responsibilities are clear

• Follow significant initiatives across the firm on CEO behalf, identifying where progress has

stalled or his involvement is required

• Develop enough fluency in PTA’s work, clients, projects, and business to understand context and

implications rather than treating requests as isolated tasks

Discretion and Stewardship

• Handle confidential client, employee, financial, business, and personal information with absolute

discretion and an understanding of what should be shared, protected, or clarified before acting

• Exercise mature judgment when instructions are incomplete, circumstances change, or sensitivity

is required

• Build trust through consistency, accuracy, preparedness, and follow-through, addressing mistakes

or uncertainty directly and early

Qualifications & Experience

• 8+ years of progressively responsible experience supporting a founder, CEO, Principal, senior

executive, or similarly complex leadership role

• Demonstrated experience operating beyond traditional executive administration, with meaningful

responsibility for prioritization, coordination, communication, and executive decision support

• Exceptional organizational skills, with evidence of managing complex schedules, competing

priorities, and high volumes of information without losing detail

• Exceptional professional judgment, including the ability to make thoughtful decisions without

complete information

• Proven ability to handle highly confidential and sensitive information with discretion
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to communicate clearly and

appropriately with clients, senior leaders, colleagues, and external partners

• Experience within architecture, design, professional services, family office, hospitality,

development, or another high-touch client environment is preferred but not required

Key Competencies

• Meticulous: notices what others miss and closes loops without being reminded
• Discerning: reads context and nuance, knowing when to act, when to ask, and when to

hold

• Anticipatory: thinks several steps ahead and prepares before a need becomes a request
• Steady: calm, resourceful, and composed when priorities shift or circumstances become

demanding

**Submission Requirements**

• One PDF including cover letter and resume
• In the cover letter, describe a role in which you supported a senior leader with significant

competing priorities and how you determined what required their attention

• Include a brief example of a system, process, or working method you created that materially

improved an executive’s effectiveness

• References should include at least one senior leader whom you directly supported
• File should be saved as: yourname_pta_chiefofstaff
• Submit to View email address on click.appcast.io with the subject heading “Chief of Staff”
• No phone inquiries please