Chief of Staff (MUN)

In Model United Nations, the Chief of Staff (often abbreviated CoS) is a top-tier secretariat position that sits alongside or just beneath the Secretary-General in a conference's organizational chart. While the Secretary-General typically handles external representation, vision, and substantive direction, the Chief of Staff manages the internal machinery that keeps the conference running.

Typical responsibilities include:

• Staff recruitment and management: hiring chairs, vice-chairs, rapporteurs, and pages; building the staffing roster; running staff training.
• Operations and logistics: coordinating room assignments, materials, technology, printing, and on-site troubleshooting during the conference.
• Committee oversight: serving as the secretariat liaison to dais teams, mediating disputes, and ensuring procedural and substantive consistency across committees.
• Crisis support: in conferences with crisis committees, the CoS often supervises backroom staff and inter-committee crisis arcs.
• Internal communications: managing Slack/Discord channels, staff scheduling, and shift coverage.

The exact portfolio varies by circuit. At large North American collegiate conferences such as HNMUN, NCSC, or WorldMUN, the Chief of Staff is usually a full peer of the Secretary-General with a distinct administrative remit. At smaller high school conferences, the role may be combined with Director-General duties or split into Under-Secretaries-General for Operations and Staff.

The Chief of Staff is generally appointed by the Secretary-General as part of forming the secretariat, and together they typically select the rest of the senior staff. Because the role is operational rather than substantive, strong CoS candidates are valued for project management, calm under pressure, and institutional memory rather than debate skill. In a well-run conference, delegates rarely interact directly with the Chief of Staff — which is usually a sign the role is being done well.