Chief of Staff

Reports to: Kyle Sobus, CEO — Pediatric/neonatal ICU nurse, former health plan executive, foster/adoptive parent of four children. Built Sunlight Health from lived experience navigating fragmented healthcare and child welfare systems, with deep commitment to whole-family care models.

Start Date: January 30, 2026 (or as close as possible)

Location: In-Person, Los Angeles, CA

Compensation: Salary ($150,000-175,000) Equity

The Opportunity

We're hiring our founding Chief of Staff — an operational leader who will serve as force multiplier for the CEO while driving critical strategic initiatives.

Phase 1 (Feb-Q1 2026): Execute pilot launch logistics, establish health plan relationship management systems, and build operational infrastructure while supporting CEO in high-stakes partnerships and contracting

Phase 2 (Q2 2026): Scale cross-functional coordination across clinical operations, partnerships, and growth as we expand from 100 to 2,500 members across LA County

This is not a typical chief of staff role managing established processes. This is a roll-up-your-sleeves founding position where you'll own critical strategic projects, coordinate across functions, and build the operational systems that enable rapid scale. You'll work at the intersection of clinical operations, health plan contracting, partnership development, and strategic execution.

As the organization grows, this role will evolve. Some functional areas (health plan relationships, partnership development) may spin out to dedicated leaders as the team scales. Your work will define what those future roles need to be.

What You'll DoStrategic Execution and CEO Support

• Translate CEO vision into execution plans across clinical operations, partnerships, sales, and strategic initiatives
• Own critical strategic projects from concept to completion (contracting processes, pilot launch logistics, expansion planning)
• Prepare materials for board meetings, investor updates, and strategic planning sessions
• Manage CEO calendar, priorities, and decision-making processes to maximize impact
• Serve as thought partner and sounding board on high-stakes strategic decisions
• Attend key meetings with CEO and drive follow-through on commitments

Health Plan and Partnership Management

• Own commercial relationships with health plans (LA Care, HealthNet, Molina) — contracting, reporting, relationship development
• Coordinate partnership development with dependency legal services organizations, CASA programs, and child welfare stakeholders
• Manage partnership pipeline, track engagement status, and drive partnerships to closure
• Ensure alignment between partnership commitments and operational delivery capacity
• Represent Sunlight Health in strategic partnership meetings and negotiations
• Build trust-based relationships with health plan and partner leadership

Operational Infrastructure Building

• Establish cross-functional coordination systems (meeting cadences, decision frameworks, communication protocols)
• Design and implement operational dashboards tracking key metrics across clinical ops, partnerships, and growth
• Build processes for strategic planning, goal-setting, and accountability
• Create documentation and knowledge management systems for rapid organizational learning
• Coordinate across clinical operations, product, and sales teams to ensure alignment
• Identify operational bottlenecks and design solutions to unlock growth

Launch and Scale Support

• Drive pilot launch readiness across clinical ops, partnerships, technology, and compliance
• Coordinate hiring processes for critical early team members
• Support fundraising preparation and investor relationship management
• Manage special projects that don't fit cleanly into existing functional areas
• Anticipate organizational needs three to six months ahead and build proactively

What You BringRequired Qualifications

• 5 years operations, strategy, or chief of staff experience in healthcare, social services, or mission-driven startups — you've built operational systems, managed complex stakeholder relationships, and delivered strategic initiatives
• Healthcare contracting, health plan operations, or value-based care experience strongly preferred — you understand managed care dynamics, contracting processes, and health plan stakeholder management. ECM, CalAIM, or Medi-Cal experience is a significant advantage.
• Track record as founding or early operator — you've built something from early stage, thrived in ambiguity, and created order from chaos
• Deep understanding of child welfare or justice systems — through professional experience, lived experience, or both. You understand how families navigate these systems and the barriers they face.
• Exceptional project management and execution skills — you ship complex initiatives on time with high quality
• Stakeholder management across clinical and business functions — you can build relationships with health plan executives, clinical leaders, legal services organizations, and community partners
• LA-based and committed to in-person collaboration — this role requires presence in LA for partnership meetings, team coordination, and operational support
• Startup mentality — comfortable with rapid iteration, high ownership, wearing multiple hats, and building the plane while flying it
• Mission alignment — deep commitment to family-centered care, serving families in crisis, and addressing systemic inequities in child welfare and healthcare

Highly Valued

• Lived experience with foster care, child welfare, or justice system as an impacted parent or child — we place extraordinary value on this perspective and believe it strengthens both our strategy and our operations
• Experience in early-stage companies during rapid growth phases (seed to Series A)
• Background in dependency law, DCFS collaboration, court-based services, or family preservation programs
• Financial modeling, unit economics, or P&L understanding
• Bilingual (Spanish/English)

What Success Looks Like

By 90 Days:

• Pilot launch executed successfully with 100 families enrolled and operational systems in place
• Health plan relationship management systems established with clear cadences and accountability
• CEO workflow and priority management optimized for strategic focus
• First major strategic initiative delivered (contracting framework, expansion plan, or partnership pipeline)
• Strong relationships established with key health plan and partnership stakeholders

By 6 Months:

• Cross-functional coordination systems scaled to support 250 member growth
• Health plan contracts expanded or renewed with clear performance metrics
• Partnership pipeline managed actively with multiple new partnerships in development
• Board and investor materials reflect organizational progress and strategic direction
• Operational infrastructure enables team to scale efficiently

By 12 Months:

• Organizational systems scaled to support 2,500 members across multiple partnerships
• Health plan relationships mature with strong performance and expansion opportunities
• Strategic planning and execution cycles established as organizational rhythms
• Critical infrastructure in place for next phase of growth (fundraising, geographic expansion, new populations)
• Sunlight Health operating with efficiency and strategic clarity across all functions

Why Sunlight Health

Mission-Critical Work: You'll enable an organization serving families at their most vulnerable moments, directly impacting reunification and health outcomes for entire family units — children, parents, and caregivers — in the child welfare system.

Founding Operator Equity: Significant equity stake reflecting the foundational nature of this role.

Lived Experience as Strength: We don't just value lived experience — we see it as a strategic advantage. If you've navigated these systems as a parent or child, that perspective directly informs better strategy and operations.

Unique Population Focus: Most ECM providers avoid children/youth and child welfare populations due to complexity. We lean in with a family-centered model — and we're building the category.

CEO Partnership: Work directly with a CEO who built this company from lived experience as a foster/adoptive parent and pediatric ICU nurse. You'll have extraordinary access, influence, and opportunity to shape strategy.

Advisors Who Built the System: Alex Briscoe (key architect of California's youth behavioral health benefits for Medi-Cal), Cassie Choi (ECM provider founder), and other recognized leaders in California's safety net.

Partnership Model: Work alongside respected organizations across the child welfare ecosystem — dependency legal services, CASA programs, child welfare agencies, and community advocates — not in isolation.

Sunlight Health is reimagining Enhanced Care Management for families involved in the child welfare and justice systems. We partner with dependency legal services organizations, CASA programs, child welfare agencies, and community advocates to deliver tech-enabled, family-centered ECM services that address both healthcare and social determinants of health.

We serve families at their most critical moments — when reunification, stability, and health outcomes hang in the balance. Our model centers the entire family unit, not just the child in care. We recognize that healthcare navigation is critical to family preservation and reunification, and we meet families where they are: in courthouses, in communities, and in their lives. Where clinically appropriate, we work with parents, caregivers, and youth together — addressing the interconnected health and social needs that impact family stability.

Our Impact:

• Supporting 5,000 California youth and families through existing platforms
• Partnering with 16 CASA and child welfare organizations statewide
• Launching in LA County with partnerships across dependency legal services, CASA programs, and child welfare stakeholders serving 12,000 ECM-eligible families