Chief of Staff
Prevail Fund's Education Fund ($1.2B target, 27.5 million children) is early evidence that focused, long-term capital behind a proven intervention can change outcomes at scale. Over the next few years we're building toward five to seven major funds across several sectors. We’re scaling fast, and this means we will transform how we operate internally. We're looking for a Chief of Staff to work with our Co-Founder David Hylden to make that happen. If you're excited by big-bet philanthropy, and you love improving internal operations to make entire organizations more effective, we'd love to hear from you.
Note - this role is open to anyone between UTC -6 (US Central time) and UTC +3 (East Africa time). We’re not always able to sponsor work authorization - please state in your application if you need it.
About Prevail Fund
Prevail is a new foundation dedicated to pursuing bold goals. We set a social change goal, find philanthropists who have a similar vision, raise a pooled fund, and then make grants. Rather than choosing a general issue area (e.g. education), each pooled fund chooses a simple, targeted goal. For example, our first fund aims to improve foundational education for over 27.5 million Grade 1-3 children, across 11 national governments in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Prevail provides patient capital to implementers – primarily in the form of grants that grow over time as our partner organizations scale. In addition to funding, Prevail also offers on-the-ground support that helps orgs to scale, such as strategic planning, systems, recruitment, and talent development services.
Our roots are in the field. Our Co-Founding Board members have a track record of scaling social enterprises that together employ more than 15,000 staff and manage annual budgets exceeding $500M.
In our first three years, we have:
Provided $55M in funding to date, to support 27 partners across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, growing very quickly
Helped partners to strengthen foundational learning outcomes for over 3 million children
Hired 35+ mission-driven team members
Executed dozens of in-field projects to help support key functions for our implementing partners
You can find a bit more information about Prevail Fund and what to expect from our recruitment process here.
About the Role
Prevail Fund is moving from early-stage startup to a rapidly scaling organization. Today we're 35 people with one fund disbursing roughly $50M a year, and we'll kick off several more funds in the near term. We're fully remote across four continents, with distinct teams across programs, portfolio, fundraising and internal functions. We've got a solid foundation for today, and we want an incredible Chief of Staff to build the operation we need at this scale.
You'll build a world-class internal operation that's 6-12 months ahead of the curve. Multiple funds and global teams running smoothly. Planning that's strong, with vision, strategy and goals aligned. Good decisions made quickly, clearly owned and well communicated. Best-in-class tools and an AI-native team. And since our partners hit the same problems, what you build here can strengthen many organizations rather than one.
You'll work with David and our leadership team to build your own prioritised roadmap for operational improvements. We expect this to include some of the following initially, and you'll expand your impact over time.
Goals, planning and performance: We're a goal-driven philanthropy, and you'll make sure we deliver against our goals. You'll run the OKR process so goals cascade to teams and individuals, build the KPI dashboards that show how we're tracking, and keep pulling us back to what's blocking our top priorities. You'll also push us to plan further ahead, including how our structure and operations change as we grow.
Operating rhythm: Own the rhythm of how Prevail runs, so the right conversations happen with the right people at the right time. That covers agenda-setting for org-wide meetings, checking in with leaders on what needs discussing next, and running our key team meetings and retreats. When something's stuck, you can pull people together and unblock it.
Decision-making: Help us make the best decisions we can - a clear process, the right information in front of the right people, strong analysis on the big calls, and outcomes communicated well once they're made.
Systems, processes and tooling: Improve how the team performs through better systems and processes. Design things that are simple and work, use AI wherever it makes us faster, own our internal toolstack, and rebuild anything that isn't working.
Communication and knowledge management: Set the communication norms for a remote org that's growing fast, and rebuild our knowledge base so people can always find what they need. You'll be close enough to the day to day to spot where people are getting stuck, and make sure leadership hears it.
Thought partnership: Work with leadership on our hardest questions and take on key strategic initiatives yourself. You'll prepare for high-stakes meetings, support leadership on prioritisation, and bring an analytical voice to group discussions - flagging tradeoffs, risks and the questions nobody has answered.
Partner support: Our partners hit these same problems as they scale and sometimes ask for help. If there's a need and you're interested, there's scope to work with them directly, or to help them find the right solution elsewhere.
About you
You’ll thrive in fast-paced environments and bring:
Work experience. You have around 7+ years of experience in similar roles - as a Chief of Staff, Operations or management consulting at a fast-moving organization. You don't need a background in the impact sector, but you'll be excited about what Prevail is doing.
A track record in operational improvement. You've identified and built systems or processes that changed how an organization operates, and you can point to specific examples and what happened as a result.
Hands-on with AI. You already use AI tools in your day-to-day work and have a clear view of where they help and where they don't.
Proactive problem-solving. You spot problems before they're flagged to you, and you find and implement solutions without needing significant direction.
Reliability and follow-through. You're organized and systematic. You manage a wide range of responsibilities at once and consistently deliver without dropping things. You move quickly and close loops.
Comfort with ambiguity. This role looks different week to week. You're comfortable prioritising in a fast-changing environment.
Strong communication. You write clearly and concisely. You know when to pick up the phone instead of sending an email. You can synthesize complex topics for different audiences.
What we offer
Full time, permanent contract.
Fully remote position with opportunity to travel 2-4 times per year.
Competitive salary based on experience, skills and location. We share salary bands with candidates in the first info call; final offers are based on interview performance.
Meaningful benefits. Health insurance and wellness benefits, home workspace or co-working stipend, plus a learning and development budget.
Growth opportunities. We deeply care about investing in our team’s professional development. You’ll receive strong manager support, targeted feedback, performance support, clear pay progression, upwards or lateral mobility.
Flexible leave policy. Including 25 days PTO, plus public holidays.
Location & start date: This is a fully remote position. We’re able to hire between -6 UTC (US Central Time) and +3 UTC (East Africa Time). Candidates should be legally eligible to work in their country - we are only able to sponsor visas in exceptional circumstances. Periodic travel expected for donor meetings, board meetings, and partner site visits. Preferred start date: as soon as possible.
Application process: Our hiring process is thorough, because there are very specific skills required for this role. Successful candidates will go through:
Info call with Selin (~30-45m)
Technical call with George (~45-60m)
Paid take-home exercise (4-5 hours) and 1:1 with David
Panel interview (90 minutes) and 1:1 conversations with 1-2 other Prevail team members. We usually ensure one of these is in-person.
Through the process, we’ll share feedback on the assessments and invite candidates to incorporate it. This mirrors how we work day to day: collaboratively, with openness to feedback and iteration.
Ready to join us? If you’re excited to help us scale, apply using the link below. We review every application and aim to invite successful candidates for an informational call within 3 weeks.
For more information, check out the job FAQ. We encourage you to read this in advance of the first informational call. For more information on Prevail in general, check out this deck. For info on how we hire at Prevail, check here.
*Note: If you currently work for one of Prevail’s partner organizations, we’d love to consider you for this role as long as you speak with them first, to note your intention to explore new opportunities. Thank you!
