Chief of Staff at NCQA – Washington, District of Columbia

The Chief of Staff to the CEO is a key strategic partner and operating leader—building the CEO Office operating system that converts direction into decisions, decisions into execution, and execution into measurable progress. This role is central to the CEO’s effectiveness during a period of organizational change, modernization of NCQA’s quality measurement approach, and evolution of NCQA’s strategic direction.

The CoS optimizes the CEO’s agenda to reflect strategic priorities, drives alignment and follow-through across the CEO’s direct reports and leadership team, provides candid counsel on how decisions and communications are landing, and ensures priorities translate into action across the enterprise. The CoS operates with delegated authority to convene, frame, and drive alignment and execution on CEO priorities—while major commitments and final decisions remain with the CEO.

The role works in close partnership with the COO to ensure enterprise priorities are translated into disciplined operating rhythms and sustained execution across the organization.

This role requires exceptional judgment, discretion, and the ability to sense and respond to organizational dynamics in real time.

Primary Responsibilities:

CEO Operating System, Agenda & Strategic Enablement (25%)

• Design and continuously refine the CEO’s agenda and time allocation across leadership engagement, external stakeholder relationships, board governance, and protected strategic thinking time.
• Establish and enforce prioritization guardrails that keep the calendar aligned to stated organizational priorities and strategic objectives.
• Coordinate high-stakes internal and external engagements (including board preparation) by clarifying objectives, desired decisions, participants, and pre-work; anticipate conflicts and recommend tradeoffs.
• Ensure the CEO is prepared for major meetings with concise context, stakeholder backgrounds, decision requirements, and recommended options.

Organizational Intelligence, Change Navigation & Strategic Counsel (20%)

• Serve as a primary sounding board on how strategy, decisions, leadership changes, and communications are landing across the organization.
• Actively observe and sense organizational dynamics and leadership team interactions—surfacing tensions, misalignment, resistance patterns, and morale shifts with discretion and candor.
• Provide reflective feedback to the CEO that distinguishes intent vs. interpretation, and recommend concrete actions to close gaps (engagement, messaging, follow-up, decision clarity).
• Offer counsel on communication framing, sequencing, and stakeholder engagement based on observed dynamics and relationship mapping.

CEO Direct Report Integration & Enterprise Decision Governance (15%)

• Run an integrated coordination rhythm across the CEO’s direct reports—in close partnership with COO-- to ensure coherent enterprise decisions and reliable follow-through.
• Translate CEO priorities into a clear, time-bound agenda for direct reports: decisions needed, inputs required, owners, and escalation paths.
• Clarify and reinforce decision points and interfaces across functions to reduce churn and misalignment.
• Identify cross-portfolio tradeoffs early (resources, sequencing, reputational risk, stakeholder expectations) and frame options for CEO decisions.
• Ensure commitments made to boards, regulators, partners, and the market have a clear internal owner, timeline, risk review, and communication plan.

Cross-Functional Alignment & Execution Reliability (15%)

• Coordinate across the leadership team—in close partnership with COO—to ensure alignment on priorities, decisions, and execution plans—clarifying owners, dependencies, timelines, and escalation paths.
• Maintain a lightweight CEO priority map and decision/commitment log; track progress and provide early warning on risks, bottlenecks, and cross-functional friction.
• Synthesize outcomes from leadership forums into clear action items and accountability; ensure decisions are communicated accurately and consistently.
• Partner with the COO to drive operational follow-through on matters requiring CEO-level attention or decision-making.

Board & External Stakeholder Support (10%)

• Run the CEO Office engine for board and committee preparation: narratives, briefings, pre-reads coordination, Q&A prep, and follow-through tracking.
• Build an understanding of individual board member priorities and communication preferences to support effective relationship management.
• Coordinate the CEO’s external engagement calendar in partnership with relevant teams, ensuring alignment with strategic priorities across partners, the quality measurement community, and regulatory stakeholders.
• Prepare concise stakeholder briefings and background materials for key external meetings.

People Leadership (10%)

• Directly supervise and develop the CEO’s Executive Assistant; set clear expectations, workflows, and standards of excellence.
• Build a high-performing CEO Office team culture: discretion, responsiveness, quality, and proactive problem-solving.
• Ensure tight coordination between scheduling, communications, and CEO priorities so the CEO Office operates as an integrated unit.

Healthcare Sector & NCQA Context (5%)

• Maintain working knowledge of NCQA programs, accreditation and measurement frameworks, and organizational context sufficient to support executive decision-making.
• Understand the healthcare sector landscape and translate implications for NCQA strategy and stakeholder engagement.

Additional Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional strategic initiatives or special projects as assigned by the CEO.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the CEO.

Minimum:

• 5+ years of experience in healthcare sector roles with direct experience in health plans, care delivery organizations, and/or quality measurement/accreditation organizations.
• Demonstrated experience in strategic operations, CEO-level support, cross-functional program leadership, or equivalent roles with measurable execution outcomes.
• Strong working knowledge of healthcare quality constructs, accreditation programs, quality measurement frameworks, or closely related domains.
• Exceptional planning and prioritization skills; ability to manage competing priorities, coordinate across silos, and drive execution against defined objectives.
• High emotional intelligence; demonstrated ability to read organizational dynamics and provide candid, constructive feedback.
• Proven discretion, confidentiality, and sound judgment in sensitive executive contexts.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to synthesize complex information for executive decision-making.
• Comfort with ambiguity and rapid change; flexibility to adjust priorities as organizational needs evolve.

Preferred:

• Prior experience as Chief of Staff or in an equivalent strategic operations role supporting a C-suite leader.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams or initiatives in a matrix organization.
• Familiarity with NCQA’s programs, products, and organizational structure.
• Experience with AI-enabled productivity tools and willingness to experiment with emerging technologies.
• Graduate degree in healthcare administration, business, or related field.

Compensation & Benefits:

• For new hires, this position pays in the range of $180K - $220K per year, depending on experience.
• This position is eligible for an annual incentive bonus, payable in accordance with policy.
• Click here for employee benefit information.

NCQA is committed to being an employer of choice and fostering an inclusive culture and workplace. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities. NCQA is a drug free workplace. NCQA recruits, hires, trains and promotes individuals, and administers any and all personnel actions, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, pregnancy, citizenship, familial status, disability status, veteran status, genetic information, or other protected statuses under applicable state and federal laws. NCQA will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c).