Chief of Staff

About Us

The Civilization Research Institute (CRI) is a research center focused on understanding and mitigating catastrophic and existential risk. Our mission is to create and disseminate actionable knowledge and wisdom that is essential for navigating the metacrisis, and to undertake research into viable future forms for global civilization.

Our work spans technology, governance, ecological tipping points, financial systems, civilization theory, and societal sense-making. The work requires analytical rigor, systems thinking, and cross‑disciplinary fluency. We operate in a high‑trust, low‑ego environment where clarity, integrity, and long‑term thinking are essential.

If you’d like a quick overview of our work, this video with our Executive Director, Daniel Schmachtenberger, is a good place to start.

About the Role

As the Chief of Staff to the Executive Director, you will help set strategic direction, prioritize and set in motion mission-critical projects for the organization and liaise with people inside and outside of the organization on behalf of the ED. This is a role for someone who can hold complexity gracefully and translate strategic objectives into clear priorities, efficient workflows, and aligned action across the organization.

What You’ll Own

Executive Partnership

• Serve as a trusted thought partner to the Executive Director (ED), Director of Strategy and the leadership team.
• Maintain strong relationships inside and outside of the organization to provide timely updates to the ED on activities and needs of teams and key partners.
• Work with the Executive Office (EO) to prepare briefs, syntheses, and decision frameworks that support the ED, the leadership team and the wider organization.
• Anticipate needs, surface blind spots, and help maintain strategic clarity inside the EO.
• Delegate and process tasks generated from the ED’s meetings and activities.
• Take on special projects as needed.

Strategic Prioritization

• Along with the Director of Strategy, build and maintain a coherent strategic map of the organization’s priorities, timelines, and interdependencies.
• Translate complex, multi‑domain research into actionable priorities.
• Ensure leadership decisions are aligned with organizational mission and goals.
• Focus leadership’s time and attention on the highest‑leverage activities.

Cross‑Functional Coordination

• Align internal teams and external partners around shared goals.
• Facilitate information flow and ensure teams have what they need to execute effectively.
• Prevent duplication, drift, and fragmentation across the organization.

What Makes This Role Special

• You’ll work directly with leaders tackling humanity’s most consequential challenges.
• You’ll bring clarity to complex, overlapping and seemingly intractable challenges and build strategies for solving them.
• Your work will enable others to operate at their highest potential, by providing guidance on key priorities and maintaining line of sight between departments and initiatives.

Who You Are

• A systems thinker who naturally sees patterns, interdependencies, and second‑order effects. You can zoom in on operational details and zoom out to the civilizational level.
• A collaborator who enhances the capacities of those around them by actively problem solving and providing clarity.
• A calm individual who works well under pressure and helps others do the same. You bring clarity and stability to complex, high-intensity situations.
• A builder who enjoys creating systems, workflows, and processes that feel effortless to others.
• A respected team player who listens deeply, communicates clearly, and builds strong relationships.
• A compassionate human who cares deeply about humanity’s long‑term future and wants your work to contribute meaningfully to it.

Requirements

• Previous experience as a Chief of Staff, high-level Executive Assistant, or equivalent such as a Detachment Executive Officer (XO), Senior Secretary, Liaison, Ambassador, or Department or Program Lead.
• Educational background may include university education and/or self-directed/career experience.
• Experience working with or in government agencies and institutions.
• Experience working with formal procedures, sensitive information, and high-profile relationships.
• Experience having worked in startups, disaster work, or other fast-moving and unstructured environments is a plus.
• On-site role located in Asheville, NC.
• Ability to work outside of typical working hours, including late nights and weekends.