Chief of Staff
A chief of staff works alongside a chief executive or senior leader, turning their priorities into coordinated action across the business.
- Median salary*
- $148,200
4.4%vs last year, before tax
- People employed*
- 3,200
0.0%vs last year
- Projected growth*
- +8%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours*
- 48/wk
+8h vs all jobs
- Shortage status*
- Not in shortage
national
A chief of staff sits close to the top of an organisation, acting as an extension of the executive they support rather than running any single department themselves. The role blends strategic analysis, project oversight and stakeholder management, and it is often confused with an executive assistant's job because both manage an executive's time. The difference is scope: a chief of staff shapes what goes on the agenda and follows through on decisions, not just where the executive needs to be.
How much do chief of staffs earn?
The median full-time salary for a chief of staff is $148,200 per annum, before tax, up $31,300 since 2018.
Pay moves most with the sector and the size of the employer, since financial services, technology and listed companies generally pay above government and not-for-profit organisations for the same title. It also moves with scope, because the title covers everything from a senior adviser to one executive through to a de facto operations lead, and the salary usually follows how much of the organisation the role touches. Full-time hours average 48 a week, so it is worth weighing the whole role against the figure above rather than the base salary alone.
What does a chief of staff do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Triaging and prioritising the demands competing for a chief executive's time and attention
- Pulling together financial and operational data to brief a leader before a board meeting or a major decision
- Coordinating people across departments who do not report to the chief of staff, to keep a strategic project on track
- Drafting board papers and executive summaries that condense a complex issue into a decision a leader can act on
- Sitting in on meetings across the business and feeding what is said back into leadership planning
What skills do chief of staffs need?
Employers look for strategy development, project management, data analysis, backed by Microsoft Excel fluency and strong stakeholder management.
Specialist skills
- Strategy development
- Project management
- Data analysis
- Financial analysis and modelling
Software and tools
- Microsoft Excel
- Tableau
- Asana or Monday.com
- Salesforce
General skills
- Stakeholder management
- Problem solving
- Written communication
Is the job growing?
About 3,200 people work as chief of staffs in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 8% over the decade to 2035. That's modest growth: demand is steady rather than booming.
How do you become a chief of staff?
Here's the path most chief of staffs take, step by step.
- 1Build a commercial or analytical degree
Business, commerce, economics, law and engineering are the common foundations, and a bachelor degree is the qualification most people in the role hold. What matters later is the quality of your analysis and writing rather than the specific major.
- 2Spend five to ten years in a role that gives you the analysis
Management consulting, strategy, corporate finance and operations are the usual feeders, because each puts you in front of senior decision makers and problems that cross departments.
- 3Run something end to end
A chief of staff is trusted to deliver, so a large program, a business unit or a turnaround you can point to counts for more than another year of advising.
- 4Move in from inside an organisation
Most people step into the role by supporting a senior leader on a major piece of work and being asked to keep going, or by applying where they already understand how decisions get made.
- 5Consider a postgraduate qualification if you are aiming at larger organisations
An MBA or a masters in a related field is not required, but around 26% of people currently in the role hold a postgraduate qualification, and it helps most when you are moving into a larger corporate or changing sector.
Ready to apply as a chief of staff?
Whether you're working toward becoming a chief of staff or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a chief of staff move to?
Moving into Chief Operating Officer typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $52,000 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Operating Officer Chief of staff brings executive coordination and cross-functional delivery to operations leadership, though deeper operational management requires substantial further development. | +$52,000 | 25% | requalify |
| Communications Manager Chief of staff brings stakeholder engagement and executive message alignment to communications leadership, requiring little additional training. | −$9,000 | 63% | minimal |
| Organisational Development Consultant Chief of staff brings organisation-wide change and leadership support to organisational development work, with minimal retraining needed. | −$21,100 | 63% | minimal |
| Strategy Manager Chief of staff brings cross-functional coordination and executive priority setting to a dedicated strategy role, with close skill overlap. | −$36,400 | 100% | minimal |
| Change Manager Chief of staff brings change leadership and stakeholder alignment to change management, though formal change methodology needs further study. | −$36,400 | 45% | reskill |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a chief of staff?
The typical chief of staff is 38 years old; 58% are men, 98% work full-time, and full-timers average 48 hours a week.
- 38
- Median age
- 42%
- Female share
- 98%
- Full-time
- +8h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a chief of staff?
The job follows the executive's calendar, so the rhythm is set by whatever is urgent that week: a board meeting, a restructure, a decision that has stalled. It suits someone who is comfortable working across other people's areas of expertise and who would rather see a decision land than own a function. The pressure comes from being expected to know what is happening without the authority to simply direct it.
What people like
- You see how the whole organisation fits together. The role puts you in the meetings and the paperwork behind every major decision, which is hard to get from inside one department.
- You reach a decision while it is still open. A chief of staff shapes the options that reach a leader, so you influence the direction of work rather than reporting on it afterwards.
- It builds judgement quickly. You watch experienced leaders weigh trade-offs and learn what they consider before they commit, which is useful whether you stay in the role or move on.
What people find hard
- The title means something different in every organisation. Some chiefs of staff are senior advisers with a small team, while others run the executive office and its reporting. Ask the leader directly what the role covers before you accept it.
- You carry responsibility without much authority. Most of the people you need to move do not report to you, so progress depends on persuasion and on the standing the executive lends you.
- The hours follow the executive's calendar. Full-time hours average 48 a week, and quiet ones are rare while a board cycle or a restructure is running.
- You become the funnel for everyone's problems. Issues that no one else can resolve tend to land with you first, including some that are not yours to fix.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ chief of staffs?
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services employs the largest share of chief of staffs, followed by Financial and Insurance Services.
Top employing industries
- 1Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
- 2Financial and Insurance Services
- 3Information Media and Telecommunications
- 4Public Administration and Safety
- 5Manufacturing
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 52% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 26% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 13% | |
| Other | 9% |
Will AI replace chief of staffs?
Chief of staff work sits in the middle: the research, drafting, reporting and action tracking are exposed, while the judgement about what reaches an executive and the relationships across the organisation are not. AI assistants, Excel and Tableau already cut the time spent assembling a board briefing or a set of numbers, and project platforms such as Asana or Monday.com handle routine status chasing. None of that decides what matters this week, or reads how a leadership team will take a recommendation.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Coordinating projects and chasing actions across teamsAutomated status updates and project software handle the tracking, while persuading a team that does not report to you to reprioritise does not automate.30%moderate
- Gathering and interpreting data for decisionsModelling a case for entering a new market takes minutes in a spreadsheet, but choosing which assumptions to stress-test and what a weak margin means for the board's appetite still takes someone who knows the business.25%moderate
- Reading the room and managing senior stakeholdersDeciding when an executive should hear about a problem, or which version of a message a board will accept, depends on relationships built over months.25%low
- Drafting board papers and executive briefingsAI produces a serviceable first version from the underlying reports, and the chief of staff still decides what to leave out and how to frame the recommendation.20%high
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from chief of staff work are rated low for AI exposure:
- Change Manager
Solid skill overlap (45%), reskill to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming a chief of staff
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a chief of staff earn in Australia?
A chief of staff earns $148,200 per year before tax at the median, based on full-time workers in the role. Pay tracks the sector and the scope of the job more than years of experience, so the same title can pay quite differently across a listed company and a small not-for-profit. It is a national median, so treat it as a midpoint rather than a figure any individual role is guaranteed to match.
How do you become a chief of staff?
Most chiefs of staff get there after five to ten years in consulting, strategy, finance or operations, then a stretch running a major piece of work inside an organisation. The move is usually internal, because the leader needs someone who already knows how decisions get made. A bachelor degree is the common qualification, and a postgraduate degree helps mainly when you are aiming at larger corporates.
Is there demand for chiefs of staff in Australia?
Chiefs of staff are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 8% over the decade to 2035 over the decade to 2035. The occupation is a small one, and the role is rarely filled through a public entry-level process, so applying through an employer who already knows your work is usually the most practical route.
Will AI replace chiefs of staff?
It will take over a growing share of the work around the role rather than the role itself. AI is genuinely useful for drafting briefings, summarising documents, tracking actions and assembling numbers, which are real parts of the job. What it does not do is judge which issue deserves the executive's attention, or hold a relationship with a sceptical department head.
What can a chief of staff move into next?
A move into operations as a chief operating officer pays $52,000 more, but it calls for deeper operational management experience than many chiefs of staff have built. Organisational development consulting is a smaller shift at $21,100 less, and change management sits at $36,400 less; both draw on the same change and stakeholder skills.
What is the difference between a chief of staff and an executive assistant?
An executive assistant manages an executive's schedule, travel and correspondence, while a chief of staff manages the decisions and the work that flows from them. The two usually work closely together, and the chief of staff role carries a wider mandate, including the standing to commission analysis and chase progress across departments.
Related roles
- Strategy Manager
- Communications Manager
- Organisational Development Consultant
- Chief Operating Officer
- Change Manager
- Strategy Manager
Not sure this is you? Take the career quiz and get a ranked shortlist of roles that fit how you like to work.