WEEKEND READING: The one strategic role almost every university underestimates – and why it matters now more than ever

This blog was kindly authored by Caroline Dunne, Leadership Coach, Change Mentor and former Chief of Staff.  

For many Vice-Chancellors, the challenge is one of bandwidth. Leading a university today is equivalent to running a major regional employer – complex multi-campus operations, often turning over hundreds of millions of pounds, under intensifying public and political scrutiny. In this environment, strategic support is not a luxury; it is a prerequisite for strong, steady leadership that can hold the line between urgent pressure and long-term ambition.

Within this context, one critical role remains under-recognised in much of the sector: the Chief of Staff.

Drawing on insights from interviews conducted in the first quarter of this academic year with Chiefs of Staff and senior Higher Education leaders across the UK, this piece explores the strategic value of the role and why, in a period of profound turbulence, now could be the right time to put more “Chief” into the Chief of Staff.

An untapped strategic asset

Outside higher education, the Chief of Staff is a well-understood part of modern executive infrastructure: a senior adviser who expands the horizon of the chief executive, drives alignment, absorbs complexity and enables organisational agility.

Inside higher education, the role is far more variable. In some institutions, the role is positioned as a strategic partner to the Vice-Chancellor; in others, it is mistaken for an ‘executive assistant-plus’ or folded into a different portfolio. Reporting lines, authority and remit differ widely, sometimes limiting the role’s ability to deliver its full strategic value.

What emerged consistently from my interviews is this: the absence of a portfolio is the Chief of Staff’s greatest strategic advantage. It enables the role to traverse boundaries, ‘keep things moving in the grey areas’ and view institutional issues through an enterprise lens rather than a single-portfolio perspective.

As one interviewee described it, not having a portfolio makes you:

A free agent with an aerial view.

Greater understanding of this untapped role is overdue. Paradoxically – and perhaps counterintuitively in a resource-constrained sector – it is precisely in this context that a well-positioned Chief of Staff becomes most critical to institutional success.

Five modes of strategic influence

In a sector facing systemic pressures, where, as one respondent put it, “driving change and transformation… is like pushing a boulder uphill”, the Chief of Staff plays an important catalytic role – shaping thinking, absorbing complexity and helping the organisation respond with coherence rather than fragmentation.

I conducted 11 interviews which revealed five modes of strategic influence that a Chief of Staff brings to university leadership:

Sense-making: turning complexity into coherence.

Not being tied to a portfolio gives the Chief of Staff a rare vantage point. They see the connections, gaps and risks that others – focused on their own areas – may miss.

A seat at the top table, even without formal membership, brings influence through insight rather than authority. Chiefs of Staff challenge assumptions, sharpen strategic issues and help Vice-Chancellors translate vision into coordinated action.

One interviewee captured the essence of the role well:

“We help make things happen, but we belong in the background.”

Alignment and flow: moving decisions through the system.

Universities are structurally complex, often siloed and prone to initiatives moving at different speeds in different directions. Chiefs of Staff surface dependencies, shepherd decisions through the right governance bodies, and ensure that decisions, conversations and projects maintain momentum.

As one Chief of Staff noted:

We make sure everyone is rowing in the same direction – even if they’re in separate boats.

Trusted connectivity: the organisational glue

Nearly every interviewee emphasised the relational character of the role. Chiefs of Staff build trust across formal and informal networks, read the room, join dots, create spaces for candid conversations and offer a safe space to rehearse potentially difficult issues.

Much of their impact is intentionally invisible. As one Chief of Staff reflected, the

most significant unseen impact is behind-the-scenes relationship building.

Another colleague added:

Real mastery is knowing when to be visible and when to be invisible… knowing how to master ego.

Influence in universities is exercised as much between meetings as it is within them.

Strategic counsel:  second pair of eyes

Vice-Chancellors face relentless external demands. Chiefs of Staff help maintain strategic momentum by offering:

• operational realism
• political insight
• institutional memory
• horizon scanning
• a safe environment to test ideas

Several described themselves as the “second pair of eyes” – seeing risks early and raising issues before they land.

We clear barriers, trial new approaches, and give leaders the space to act confidently without being swamped by operational detail – enabling principled, well-understood risks.

Steadying influence: calm in a volatile environment

With no portfolio interests and a broad institutional view, Chiefs of Staff help manage tension within senior teams, support leadership transitions and create calm judgement in moments of pressure.

As one interviewee said:

A Chief of Staff can help calm the waters – up and down and sideways.

Another added:

When an institution is facing uncertainty, you need someone with no skin in the game – someone invested in the success of the collective.

“A Chief of Staff takes it to the finish line – but you’re nowhere near the ribbon.”

The point is clear: the role is not about visibility. It is about capacity, coherence, relationships, pace and judgement.

In a sector where senior leaders are stretched, where decisions carry political and human consequences, and where the pace of change is only accelerating, the question for institutions is no longer whether to invest in a Chief of Staff – but how to position the role for maximum effect:

• reporting lines that enable influence
• clarity of remit
• proximity to decision-making
• and a mandate that embraces both people and strategy

As the higher education sector faces continued uncertainty, one thing is clear: well-positioned Chief of Staffs are not a luxury. They are a source of resilience, coherence and leadership capacity – precisely when the sector needs it most.

In developing this piece, I am deeply grateful to the colleagues who generously contributed their insights including:

Dr Giles Carden, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief of Staff, University of Southampton

Dr Clare Goudy, Chief of Staff, Office of the President and Provost, UCL

Thomas Hay, Head of Vice-Chancellor’s Office, Cardiff University

Jhumar Johnson, former Chief of Staff to the former Vice-Chancellor at the Open University

Dr. Chris Marshall, Chief of Staff and Head of the Vice-Chancellor’s Office, University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Mark Senior, Chief of Staff (Vice-Chancellor’s Office), University of Birmingham

Rachel Stone, Head of Governance and Vice-Chancellor’s Office, University of Roehampton 

Luke Taylor, Chief of Staff to the President & Vice-Chancellor, University of Manchester

Becca Varley, Chief of Staff, Vice-Chancellor’s Office, Sheffield Hallam University