Chief of Staff to the COO

The opportunity

CFGI is a private-equity-backed professional services firm with more than 30 offices, a strong track record of year-over-year expansion, and a growing global presence. The organization is in a major build phase, strengthening its infrastructure, people processes, and operating discipline so it can scale while preserving quality and culture.

This position reports directly to the Chief Operating Officer, who is a former McKinsey Partner. It is a central role in the firm’s transformation and serves as the COO’s most senior operational partner. The role is responsible for moving the firm’s major initiatives forward, coordinating large cross-functional programs, and making sure the Office of the COO operates with top-tier execution.

The job blends leadership and coordination and calls for sound judgment, executive presence, and the ability to deliver results across a complex, partner-led environment. It also plays a key part in how CFGI is becoming an AI-enabled firm, acting as the COO’s operational lead for adoption, governance, and scaling of AI across the business.

Portfolio execution

• Own major enterprise-wide initiatives that require senior involvement, including redesigning people architecture such as the partnership model, incentives, and performance management, as well as building the office operating model and shaping AI governance and implementation.
• Create accountability across initiative owners and partners even without formal reporting lines by identifying risks, blockers, and decisions that need COO input or delegation, and by influencing senior leaders to keep work progressing.
• Represent the COO in working sessions, executive forums, and cross-functional meetings, clearly communicating the COO’s position and priorities.
• Break down complex problems, build the analysis needed to support decisions, and prepare materials for recommendations to the co-CEOs and the Board.
• Make decisions independently when they fall within the defined scope and escalate with a clear recommendation when needed.

Operating rhythm and executive effectiveness

• Set up and manage the COO’s operating cadence, including priorities, meeting rhythms, decision cycles, and stakeholder communications.
• Develop executive briefings, Board presentations, and updates for the co-CEOs in concise, direct language suitable for senior leadership with minimal revision.
• Protect the COO’s time by screening incoming requests, reducing noise, and determining when the COO must be directly involved versus when work can move forward without them.
• Act as the COO’s information source across the organization by attending important meetings, summarizing input from partners, practice leaders, and office teams, and surfacing key trends and sentiment.

Firm operations

• Improve the firm’s operating infrastructure through stronger standard operating procedures, reporting mechanisms, process discipline, and governance structures.
• Work closely with functional leaders such as the CHRO, CCO, practice leaders, and Office Managing Partners to keep operations aligned across the business.
• Assist with the design and rollout of the office operating model, partner performance systems, and pricing governance.
• Spot recurring operational weaknesses early, before they turn into larger risks, and build the case for structural fixes.
• Support the COO’s cultural agenda by identifying areas where culture is drifting from intent and helping drive initiatives that reinforce the firm’s identity during a period of rapid growth.

AI and innovation

• Support the COO in advancing the firmwide AI agenda by tracking commitments, following through on decisions, and keeping workstreams moving with urgency and accountability.
• Help put the AI governance framework into practice, including data security policy, risk standards, human review protocols, and accountability for adoption across the firm.
• Translate AI strategy into real adoption within practice groups by working with practice leaders and Office Managing Partners to identify high-value use cases, plan sequencing, and build lasting internal capability.
• Bring hands-on familiarity with AI tools, use them regularly, understand how they apply in a professional services environment, and speak credibly about the firm’s AI direction in senior discussions.

Candidate profile

• You should have at least 8 years of overall professional experience, including 3 or more years at McKinsey, Bain, BCG, or a comparable firm, with a proven ability to structure complicated problems, work in unclear settings, manage enterprise-scale special projects, and influence senior stakeholders.
• Experience in professional services, financial services, or PE-backed organizations is a strong plus.
• You need a track record of managing several high-priority workstreams at the same time while maintaining quality and momentum.
• You should be equally comfortable setting strategic direction and handling operational follow-through, from shaping Board-level recommendations to managing the execution details.
• Credibility with senior partners must come from judgment and performance rather than title or hierarchy.
• You should know when to push, when to escalate, and when to move issues forward rather than let them sit unresolved.
• Strong writing skills are essential, especially for concise, structured communication tailored to executive audiences.
• You must be comfortable bringing order to ambiguity and building structure proactively.
• High standards for follow-through, both for yourself and for others, are important in this role.

What success looks like

• Within the first year, the COO’s initiative portfolio is fully organized, easy to track, and moving on schedule, with no stalled work caused by unclear ownership or next steps.
• The co-CEOs and Board receive decision materials that are sharp, well organized, and require little rework.
• The COO is able to concentrate on the highest-value decisions and relationships because this role has absorbed the work below that threshold.
• Partners and senior leaders across the firm view this role as a trusted and senior operational partner.
• The position is intended for someone with ambitions beyond the immediate remit; strong performance here can create a direct route into an operational role within CFGI.

Additional information

CFGI may use AI tools during parts of the hiring process, including application review, resume analysis, response assessment, and checks for possible inconsistencies or verification signals in submitted materials based on available information. These tools support the recruiting team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are made by people. If you want more information about how your data is processed, you can contact the company.