Chief of Staff - athenaFlex

Athenahealth
Athenahealth

People & HR, Operations

Boston, MA, USA

Posted on Jul 9, 2026

Join us as we work to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all.

Position Overview

Reporting directly to the Vice President & General Manager of athenaFlex, the Chief of Staff is a key member of the athenaFlex Leadership Team. This is a director-level individual contributor role based in Boston, MA (Hybrid) responsible for driving operational execution, program management, and cross-functional collaboration across the athenaFlex organization. The Chief of Staff serves as a trusted partner and organizational integrator, ensuring the leadership team operates with clarity, alignment, and efficiency.

To succeed, you'll need strong business judgment, exceptional organizational and communication skills, the ability to operate independently in a fast-moving executive environment, and a track record of driving results through influence rather than direct authority. This role is effective August 1st.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Execution and Program Management

  • Drive operational execution across the athenaFlex organization, ensuring leadership priorities are translated into clear plans, accountability, and outcomes.

  • Own and manage the athenaFlex business rhythm, including Monthly Operating Reviews, Quarterly Business Reviews, leadership offsites, and planning sessions.

  • Prepare and coordinate materials, agendas, and follow-ups for leadership meetings, ensuring accountability for action items and deadlines.

  • Track cross-functional dependencies, timelines, and deliverables across multiple initiatives simultaneously, proactively identifying and resolving risks.

  • Establish and continuously improve operational processes, frameworks, and tools that increase leadership team effectiveness and organizational efficiency.

  • Monitor key business metrics and performance indicators, providing the GM with timely and accurate visibility into business performance.

  • Identify and eliminate operational bottlenecks that slow execution or create misalignment across the organization.

  • Manage a 2-to -5-member business operations team responsible for data analysis, reporting, goal setting, and continuous process improvements.

Cross-Functional Collaboration and Coordination

  • Serve as a central coordination point between the GM and leaders across Product, Engineering, Sales, Customer Success, Finance, HR, and Marketing.

  • Facilitate cross-functional alignment on priorities, decisions, and communications, ensuring the right people are engaged at the right time.

  • Partner with functional leaders to ensure consistent execution against athenaFlex strategic priorities and business objectives.

  • Work seamlessly with executive assistants and other Chiefs of Staff across athenahealth to align schedules, priorities, and communications.

  • Proactively resolve conflicts, clarify ownership, and keep work moving forward in ambiguous situations.

  • Represent the GM in cross-functional meetings and forums when appropriate, ensuring continuity and follow-through.

Strategic Planning and Special Projects

  • Support the GM in long-range planning, annual operating planning, and strategic initiative development for the athenaFlex organization.

  • Lead or co-lead special projects and strategic initiatives on behalf of the GM, driving them from definition through execution.

  • Conduct research, analysis, and synthesis of complex business issues to support executive decision-making.

  • Develop executive-level presentations, business cases, and strategic documents for internal and external audiences.

  • Partner with Finance and functional leaders on business planning, budgeting, and resource allocation processes.

  • Identify emerging business opportunities and risks, bringing forward recommendations that inform strategic direction.

Leadership Team Enablement

  • Facilitate athenaFlex leadership team meetings, ensuring productive dialogue, clear decisions, and strong follow-through.

  • Support the GM in preparing for ELT meetings, board-level interactions, and other senior leadership forums.

  • Drive leadership team effectiveness by establishing clear norms, communication rhythms, and decision-making processes.

  • Coordinate leadership offsites and retreats, managing logistics, agenda design, and follow-up to maximize impact.

  • Support organizational communication efforts, including division-wide announcements, leadership updates, and employee engagement initiatives.

Required Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree required; MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred.

  • 8+ years of experience in strategy, operations, program management, or a related field within a fast-paced, matrixed organization.

  • Proven track record of driving operational execution and cross-functional alignment in a complex business environment.

  • Experience supporting senior executives in a Chief of Staff, strategy, or operations leadership role.

  • Strong analytical skills with ability to synthesize complex information and develop clear, actionable recommendations.

  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with experience developing executive-level presentations and strategic documents.

  • Demonstrated ability to lead through influence, building coalitions and driving alignment without direct authority.

  • Experience in healthcare technology or SaaS environments strongly preferred.

  • Demonstrated ability to leverage AI tools to accelerate work, improve decision quality, and drive operational efficiency in the division — and a track record of helping others do the same.

  • Advanced proficiency in Microsoft 365 tools (Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint).

  • Based in Boston, MA; able to work in office 2-3 days per week.

Leadership Competencies

  • Drives Results – Consistently delivers on operational commitments, program milestones, and strategic initiatives through disciplined execution, effective prioritization, and proactive problem-solving.

  • Builds Effective Teams – Fosters collaboration and alignment across the athenaFlex leadership team, creating an environment of accountability, trust, and shared ownership of outcomes.

  • Strategic Mindset – Balances operational execution with strategic thinking, connecting day-to-day activities to long-range business objectives and identifying opportunities to improve organizational effectiveness.

  • Collaborates Inclusively – Partners effectively across Product, Engineering, Sales, Finance, HR, and Customer Success to drive alignment, facilitate decision-making, and ensure consistent execution of priorities.

  • Instills Trust – Builds credibility with the GM, leadership team, and cross-functional partners through consistent follow-through, discretion, transparency, and integrity.

  • Acts Courageously – Makes sound independent decisions, addresses conflicts and ambiguity directly, and drives necessary changes even in challenging organizational environments.

  • Demonstrates Self-Awareness – Seeks feedback, acknowledges limitations, and continuously develops leadership capabilities to drive personal and organizational effectiveness.

Impact and Scope

As Chief of Staff for athenaFlex, you'll serve as a critical partner to the VP/GM, ensuring the organization operates with clarity, alignment, and execution discipline across the business. Your work will directly impact the effectiveness of the athenaFlex leadership team, the quality of strategic planning and decision-making, and the organization's ability to execute against its most important priorities. This is an opportunity to lead with significant impact as an individual contributor, operating at the intersection of strategy and execution in a dynamic and complex business environment.

Expected Compensation

$161,000 - $273,000

The base salary range shown reflects the full range for this role from minimum to maximum. At athenahealth, base pay depends on multiple factors, including job-related experience, relevant knowledge and skills, how your qualifications compare to others in similar roles, and geographical market rates. Base pay is only one part of our competitive Total Rewards package - depending on role eligibility, we offer both short and long-term incentives by way of an annual discretionary bonus plan, variable compensation plan, and equity plans.

About athenahealth

Our vision: In an industry that becomes more complex by the day, we stand for simplicity. We offer IT solutions and expert services that eliminate the daily hurdles preventing healthcare providers from focusing entirely on their patients — powered by our vision to create a thriving ecosystem that delivers accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all.

Our company culture: Our talented employees — or athenistas, as we call ourselves — spark the innovation and passion needed to accomplish our vision. We are a diverse group of dreamers and do-ers with unique knowledge, expertise, backgrounds, and perspectives. We unite as mission-driven problem-solvers with a deep desire to achieve our vision and make our time here count. Our award-winning culture is built around shared values of inclusiveness, accountability, and support.

Our DEI commitment: Our vision of accessible, high-quality, and sustainable healthcare for all requires addressing the inequities that stand in the way. That's one reason we prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion in every aspect of our business, from attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce to maintaining an inclusive environment for athenistas, our partners, customers and the communities where we work and serve.

What we can do for you:

Along with health and financial benefits, athenistas enjoy perks specific to each location, including commuter support, employee assistance programs, tuition assistance, employee resource groups, and collaborative workspacessome offices even welcome dogs.

We also encourage a better work-life balance for athenistas with our flexibility. While we know in-office collaboration is critical to our vision, we recognize that not all work needs to be done within an office environment, full-time. With consistent communication and digital collaboration tools, athenahealth enables employees to find a balance that feels fulfilling and productive for each individual situation.

In addition to our traditional benefits and perks, we sponsor events throughout the year, including book clubs, external speakers, and hackathons. We provide athenistas with a company culture based on learning, the support of an engaged team, and an inclusive environment where all employees are valued.

Learn more about our culture and benefits here: athenahealth.com/careers

https://www.athenahealth.com/careers/equal-opportunity