Chief of Staff to CEO in Rockville, Maryland at Institutional Shareholder Services

As we continue to execute our global growth strategy, we are seeking an experienced, highly collaborative, and strategically minded leader to serve as Chief of Staff to the CEO.

Position Overview

The Chief of Staff serves as a strategic partner, trusted advisor, and extension of the Chief Executive Officer, helping drive execution of the company's strategic priorities while ensuring alignment, accountability, and effective collaboration across the Executive Leadership Team and broader organization.

This role acts as the CEO's right hand, providing counsel on key business decisions, supporting enterprise-wide initiatives, and helping translate strategic goals into measurable business outcomes. The Chief of Staff serves as a catalyst for execution, organizational effectiveness, and leadership alignment while enabling the CEO to focus on the highest-value opportunities and priorities.

Reporting directly to the CEO, this position offers a unique opportunity to gain broad exposure across all business lines, corporate functions, senior leadership, Board interactions, and strategic initiatives while contributing directly to the long-term success of ISS STOXX.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Partnership & Enterprise Execution

• Serve as a trusted advisor and strategic thought partner to the CEO.

• Act as an extension of the CEO, helping prioritize initiatives, opportunities, stakeholder engagements, and strategic decisions.

• Provide insights, analyses, recommendations, and market intelligence to support executive decision-making.

• Translate strategic objectives into actionable plans, clear priorities, and measurable outcomes.

• Conduct research, develop business cases, and prepare executive recommendations on critical business matters.

• Lead and coordinate strategic initiatives and special projects on behalf of the CEO.

• Drive execution of enterprise-wide priorities across business units and corporate functions.

• Monitor progress against strategic plans and organizational objectives.

• Establish accountability mechanisms to ensure delivery of key initiatives.

• Identify risks, dependencies, and execution barriers and develop mitigation plans.

• Support business transformation, growth initiatives, and operational improvement efforts.

• Maintain visibility into enterprise priorities and support the CEO in tracking commitments, decisions, and follow-up actions.

• Anticipate challenges, identify opportunities, and proactively recommend solutions to support organizational success.

Executive Leadership & Governance

• Manage the Executive Leadership Team operating cadence, including agendas, materials, decision tracking, and follow-up actions.

• Partner with Executive Leadership Team members to ensure strategic priorities, key initiatives, and critical business issues are addressed in a timely and coordinated manner.

• Facilitate productive leadership discussions focused on enterprise performance, strategic execution, risk management, and business outcomes.

• Establish mechanisms to track key decisions, commitments, and action items, ensuring accountability and timely execution.

• Support alignment across business units and corporate functions by identifying interdependencies, resolving operational bottlenecks, and escalating issues as appropriate.

• Drive transparency around enterprise priorities, progress, and risks to support informed decision-making.

• Continuously enhance executive governance processes, leadership forums, and cross-functional coordination mechanisms.

• Represent the CEO in meetings, discussions, and cross-functional initiatives as appropriate.

• Influence outcomes and drive alignment without direct authority.

Business Performance & Operational Excellence

• Develop and maintain executive dashboards, scorecards, and performance metrics.

• Monitor organizational performance against strategic and operational goals.

• Conduct business reviews and provide actionable insights to support decision-making.

• Support strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, and annual goal-setting processes.

• Identify opportunities to improve governance, organizational effectiveness, and decision quality.

• Recommend process improvements that enhance enterprise efficiency and effectiveness.

Board Governance & Executive Coordination

• Coordinate the CEO's engagement with the Board of Directors and Board Committees.

• Prepare Board presentations, executive briefings, reports, and supporting materials.

• Manage Board-related action items, follow-up activities, and governance processes on behalf of the CEO.

• Act as a liaison between the CEO and senior leaders across the organization.

• Facilitate coordination among executive leaders to support enterprise priorities and decision-making.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Management, or a related field required.

• MBA or other advanced degree preferred.

Experience

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience within ISS STOXX and/or strategy, business operations, corporate development, management consulting, project management, or executive leadership roles.

• Demonstrated success leading complex cross-functional initiatives in a global organization.

• Experience partnering with senior executives and influencing stakeholders at all levels.

• Proven experience managing strategic projects, transformation initiatives, and enterprise priorities.

• Familiarity with Board governance and executive-level environments preferred.

• Strong understanding of ISS STOXX's businesses, products, clients, operating environment, and strategic priorities preferred.

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Location: Rockville, MD: Located in the vibrant King Farm community, convenient access to transit (1 mile from Shady Grove Red Line), dining, green spaces with free parking, and access to an onsite gym.

Base salary: The expected base pay range for this position based in Rockville, MD is $180,000 - $230,000 USD per year. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and level of education. The role is bonus eligible.

Success Profile

The ideal candidate is a highly credible, trusted, and influential leader who thrives in complex environments and can operate seamlessly between strategy and execution. They bring exceptional business judgment, strong analytical and problem-solving skills, the ability to influence without authority, and a relentless focus on driving outcomes.

This role is ideal for a leader who can serve as a strategic advisor, enterprise integrator, and execution partner to the CEO while helping drive organizational performance, accountability, and long-term business success.

#LI-EM1 #DIRECTOR

What You Can Expect from Us

Our people are the moving force behind our work. We are committed to building a culture that values diverse skills, perspectives, and experiences. If you have the skills, passion, and drive to help us bring clarity and transparency to capital markets, we want to work with you.

Together, we can grow your career in an environment that fuels creativity, drives innovation, and has real impact.

About ISS STOXX

ISS STOXX delivers world-class research, data, and technology solutions that empower capital market participants to pursue their visions with confidence. Our expertise spans indices, corporate governance, sustainability, cyber risk, and fund intelligence, giving clients the tools they need to uncover opportunities, manage risks, and navigate evolving regulations. We are made up of 4,000 professionals operating across 20 countries and serving approximately 5,000 clients, including many of the world’s leading institutional investors. Our scale and reach give us deep market knowledge, while our innovative methodologies allow us to offer our clients tailored insights that drive impact and success. 

Visit our website: https://www.iss-stoxx.com/

View additional open roles: https://www.iss-stoxx.com/about/careers/

We are proud to offer the following featured benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage
• 401(k) with a company match up to 9%, including a Safe Harbor contribution
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and commuter benefit programs
• Generous paid time off
• Volunteer Day
• Paid parental leave
• Hybrid working options

ISS STOXX is an equal employment opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, color, ethnicity, creed, religion, sex, age, height, weight, citizenship status, national origin, social origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, pregnancy status, marital status, familial status, mental or physical disability, veteran status, military service or status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law (referred to as “protected status”). All activities including, but not limited to, recruiting and hiring, recruitment advertising, promotions, performance appraisals, training, job assignments, compensation, demotions, transfers, terminations (including layoffs), benefits, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment, are and will be administered on a non-discriminatory basis, consistent with all applicable federal, state, and local requirements. For more information, please view https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ofccp/posters.

We are committed to ensuring equal opportunity in employment for qualified person with disabilities, fully in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the US along with other applicable jurisdictions in which we operate. We prohibit discrimination against applicants and employees on the basis of disability as it pertains to the job application, hiring process, and other terms and conditions of employment. If you are an individual with a disability and would like to request a reasonable accommodation as part of the employment selection process, please contact ISS_Careers_Accommodations@iss-stoxx.com. This email is created exclusively to assist disabled job seekers where disability prevents them from being able to apply online. Only messages left for this purpose will be returned. Messages sent for other purposes, such as following up on an application or other technical issues not related to a disability, will not receive a response.