Chief of Staff

Your Role

The IT Applications Services team is seeking to hire a Chief of Staff to the VP of Applications, Principal. This is a vital role in developing strategies and strategic planning to support and implement the goals and interests of Stellarus and IT Applications. This role will report to the Vice President, IT Applications. In this role you will be responsible for providing leadership and oversight to ensure coordinated planning and execution of activities necessary to achieve organizational objectives. The candidate will work with the leadership team on strategic business growth & innovation goals, talent management and employee engagement initiatives, internal and external interests, as well as advising leadership on matters that impact the business unit. This role also serves as a strategic advisor, execution partner, and operational integrator for the Vice President and IT Applications leadership team, translating strategy into governance, operating cadence, executive communications, leadership alignment, and measurable business outcomes.

Our leadership model is about developing great leaders at all levels and creating opportunities for our people to grow – personally, professionally, and financially. We are looking for leaders that are energized by creative and critical thinking, building and sustaining high-performing teams, getting results the right way, and fostering continuous learning.

Responsibilities

Your Work

In this role, you will:

• Be responsible for planning and implementation of complex programs spanning multiple business areas, projects, and initiatives where analysis requires evaluation of intangible variance factors.
• Ensure strategic direction of programs is aligned to organizational goals and objectives.
• Facilitate the annual strategic planning process, including business planning, forecasting, roadmap alignment, investment prioritization, and budget planning.
• Work in conjunction with Finance partners to complete business planning and forecasting.
• Manage budget planning as part of the annual budget cycle.
• Serve as the primary liaison and integrator across business, Product, Engineering, Operations, Architecture, Finance, HR, external vendors, and the IT Applications leadership team to drive alignment, resolve dependencies, and advance strategic priorities.
• Represent the Vice President and IT Applications leadership team in internal and external meetings as appropriate, ensuring continuity of decisions, leadership alignment, and accurate representation of organizational priorities.
• Support IT Applications leadership in the management and implementation of strategic initiatives, including advancement of the Platform and Product operating model, operating model adoption, governance structures, decision rights, and cross-team engagement mechanisms.
• Drive the leadership operating cadence, including executive reviews, decision forums, escalation pathways, follow-up tracking, and accountability mechanisms to ensure work progresses against organizational priorities.
• Establish and manage executive governance processes, including leadership reviews, strategic planning forums, risk reviews, and decision-making bodies.
• Develop executive communications and executive-ready materials that support leadership decision-making, organizational alignment, stakeholder engagement, and major business initiatives.
• Identify emerging risks, delivery gaps, funding misalignments, stakeholder concerns, and operational friction; develop recommendations and drive timely leadership decisions.
• Partner with Finance, HR, and leadership stakeholders on workforce strategy, hiring plans, organizational design, succession planning, vendor strategy, and investment trade-offs.
• Establish and continuously improve dashboards, KPIs, reporting routines, and collaboration mechanisms that improve transparency, accountability, and operational performance.
• Design and facilitate leadership workshops, planning sessions, and organizational forums that accelerate alignment and execution.

Qualifications

Your Knowledge and Experience

• Requires a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• Requires at least 10 years of prior relevant experience.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication and program/project management skills, including the ability to communicate effectively at an executive level.
• Ability to deal with highly confidential information and act as a liaison between leadership and internal/external stakeholders.
• Ability to prioritize and manage work and trade-offs against critical project timelines in a fast-paced environment.
• Strategic thinker who is self-driven, detail-oriented, organized, and capable of managing multiple programs simultaneously.
• Thought leader and continuous learner who can drive innovation and continuous improvement.
• Excellent influence and engagement skills in building alignment and accountability without formal authority.
• Ability to build strong relationships and interact effectively across all levels of the organization.
• Ability to work cooperatively and strategically with professional, technical, and administrative staff while integrating resources in a timely and organized manner.
• Acumen to handle complex situations and multiple responsibilities simultaneously with urgency and professionalism.
• Experience serving as a Chief of Staff, strategic advisor, business operations leader, or execution partner to senior technology leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to translate strategy into execution, synthesize complex inputs, simplify ambiguity, and drive leadership alignment across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Experience with operating model transformation, portfolio governance, investment governance, enterprise program delivery, or Platform/Product operating models.
• Financial and business acumen, including experience with budget planning, forecasting, workforce planning, contract strategy, vendor management, and investment prioritization.
• Strong facilitation skills and experience leading executive meetings, planning forums, decision reviews, and cross-functional working sessions.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, represent executive intent, and maintain continuity of decisions in highly visible leadership environments.

Hybrid

This role requires employees to be in-office based on our hybrid workplace model, balancing purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility. For most teams, this means coming into the office two days each week.

Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location will work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.

About Stellarus and the Ascendiun Family of Companies

Stellarus, launched in January 2025, is designed to scale innovative healthcare solutions that support customers in creating a health care experience deserving of their family, friends, and neighbors.    
 
Stellarus is part of a family of organizations that is overseen by a nonprofit corporate entity named Ascendiun. The Ascendiun Family of Companies also includes Blue Shield of California and its subsidiary, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan and Altais, a clinical services company. 

Stellarus’ vision is to empower its customers to create a healthcare experience that is worthy of their family, friends, and neighbors. Stellarus’ objective is to offer innovative, modern, scalable solutions that challenge the health care status quo. This very closely aligns with Blue Shield of California’s vision by using innovation to improve quality, affordability, and experience for members.   

To achieve our mission, we foster an environment where all employees can thrive and contribute fully to address the needs of the various communities we serve. We are committed to creating and maintaining a supportive workplace that upholds our values and advances our goals.

Our Values: 

At Stellarus, our core values of agility, trust, drive, courage and service shape our approach to developing innovative product offerings.

Our Workplace Model: 

We believe in fostering a workplace environment that balances purposeful in-person collaboration with flexibility - providing clear expectations while respecting the diverse needs of our workforce. Our workplace model is designed around intentional in-person interaction, collaboration, connection, creativity and flexibility:

• For most teams, this means coming into the office two days per week.

• Employees living more than 50 miles from an office location, out of state employees, and employees in certain member-facing roles should work with their manager to determine in-office time based on business need.

• For employees with medical conditions that may impact their ability to work in-office, we are committed to engaging in an interactive process and providing reasonable accommodations to ensure their work environment is conducive to their success and well-being.

The Company reserves the right to require more presence in the office based on business needs, and requirements are subject to change with periodic reviews.

Physical Requirements:

Office Environment - roles involving part to full time schedule in Office Environment. Based in our physical offices and work from home office/deskwork - Activity level: Sedentary, frequency most of work day.

Please click here for further physical requirement detail. 

Equal Employment Opportunity:

External hires must pass a background check/drug screen. Qualified applicants with arrest records and/or conviction records will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with Federal, State and local laws, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status or disability status and any other classification protected by Federal, State and local laws.