Chief of Staff to CEO and President

Job Description

Job Description

More than one million people in the United States today are fighting blood cancer. While a traditional allogeneic stem cell transplant has been the best hope for many, the transplant itself can prove fatal or lead to serious conditions, such as graft vs. host disease. Orca Bio is a late-stage biotechnology company redefining the transplant process by developing next-generation cell therapies with the goal of providing significantly better survival rates with dramatically fewer risks.   With our purified, high-precision investigational cell therapies we hope to not only replace patients' blood and immune systems with healthy ones, but also restore their lives.

Orca Bio is at a transformative juncture. With our lead cell therapy candidate, Orca-T, approaching a critical PDUFA date and our 2nd-generation platform, Orca-Q, expanding its clinical footprint, we are transitioning from a development-focused biotechnology company to a commercial-stage leader.

To support this next phase of growth, we are seeking a highly organized, analytical, and hands-on Chief of Staff to the CEO and President . Operating at the intersection of leadership priorities, the Chief of Staff will help improve organizational effectiveness, facilitate cross-functional execution, and support the successful delivery of the company's most important strategic initiatives.

This is a low-ego, high-impact role that requires someone who can seamlessly shift between long-term strategic thinking and immediate tactical execution. The ideal candidate excels at solving complex problems, coordinating across diverse stakeholders, and driving progress in situations where ownership spans multiple functions.

The Chief of Staff is not a functional leader and does not assume decision-making authority over existing departments. Success in this role depends on influence, collaboration, and partnership with the Executive Team to improve alignment, communication, and execution across the organization.

Responsibilities

Executive Support & Operational Execution:

• Manage a diverse portfolio of executive requests, operational priorities, and strategic initiatives.
• Coordinate preparation for executive meetings, Board of Directors meetings, and key business reviews, ensuring discussions remain focused on decisions, risks, and priorities.
• Synthesize information from across the organization and prepare executive communications, presentations, and decision-support materials.
• Serve as a coordination point between the CEO, President, and other Executive Team members by facilitating communication, tracking key actions, and supporting follow-through on agreed priorities.
• Support special initiatives and operational needs that do not naturally fall within a single functional area.

Strategic Initiatives & Cross-Functional Coordination:

• Coordinate cross-functional initiatives sponsored by the CEO or President, working closely with functional leaders to drive alignment and execution.
• Support strategic planning efforts by gathering information, developing analyses, and preparing materials for leadership discussions.
• Track progress against company priorities and provide visibility into major milestones, risks, and decisions.
• Develop executive presentations and analyses to support leadership reviews, and strategic decision-making.

Organizational Scaling & Operating Effectiveness:

• Support the evolution of operating rhythms, communication processes, and planning mechanisms as the company transitions to a commercial-stage organization.
• Help establish scalable processes and operating frameworks that improve organizational clarity, alignment, and execution efficiency.
• Identify opportunities to improve collaboration, decision-making, and information flow across teams.
• Support initiatives that strengthen organizational effectiveness, culture, and employee engagement.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree in science or business is a plus.
• Minimum 5-8 years of professional experience in consulting, market research, business operations, strategy, or a related field, with direct experience in the biotechnology, healthcare, or pharmaceutical industry.
• Technical background within clinical development, program management, regulatory/or CMC a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex cross-functional initiatives involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Highly analytical, combining humility, sound judgment, and a relentless focus on execution.
• Exceptional written communication and presentation development capabilities.
• Proven ability to build relationships across all levels of an organization.
• Highly organized with strong project management skills and attention to detail.
• Comfortable operating in both strategic and highly tactical environments.
• Demonstrated sound judgment, professionalism, discretion, and a strong sense of ownership.

The anticipated annual salary range for this job is based on prior experience in the role/industry, education, location, internal equity, and other job-related factors as permitted by law. For remote-based positions, this range may vary based on your local market. Full-time employment positions will also be eligible to receive pre-IPO equity and annual bonus, in addition to competitive medical, dental, and vision benefits, PTO, 401(k) plan, life and accidental death and disability coverage, and parental leave benefits. Other perks include subsidized daily lunches and snacks at our on-site locations.

 

Who we are

 

We are driven by a passion for science and compassion for patients. We act with urgency to ensure our treatments are one day accessible to all who need them.

 

We live by our core values of passion, courage, and integrity. Excellence in our work means the chance to unlock a better quality of life for our patients, and with that comes tremendous responsibility.

 

We innovate on a path that hasn’t been paved. We embrace an entrepreneurial spirit and take calculated risks to achieve our mission. We aren’t afraid to ask “why not” and challenge the status quo.

 

We maintain a start-up culture of camaraderie and leadership by example, regardless of title.

 

We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and recognize that celebrating our differences creates stronger, lasting solutions that better serve our team, our patients and their healthcare providers.

 

Notice to staffing firms

 

Orca Bio does not accept resumes from staffing agencies with which we do not have a written agreement and specific engagement for a particular opening. Our employment activities, inquiries and offers are managed through our HR/Talent team, and all candidates are presented through this channel only. We do not accept unsolicited resumes, and we rarely outsource recruitment.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.