Founded in Chelsea in 2022 as an event meant to draw residents back into the post-pandemic world of person-to-person interaction, The Longest Table has inspired communities across the world to duplicate its straightforward premise: “Put a long table in a public space, fill it with neighbors, and share a meal.”

With interest and iterations at an all-time high, the minds behind this “no ad budget, no  PR agency…volunteer labor and word of mouth” endeavor are taking steps to ensure The Longest Table concept has, well, legs.

“The idea is proven,” say organizers, adding, “Now we’re building the infrastructure to support it.”

To that end, The Longest Table is actively looking to hire a Chief of Staff who will be available to start as of September 1, 2026. Below, find all of the info to determine if you have the makings of a promising candidate. This job description is reprinted with permission from The Longest Table.

—above intro text by Scott Stiffler

Chief of Staff | The Longest Table 

Contract Role | Primarily In-Person (NYC)

Start Date: Sept. 1, 2026

About The Longest Table | In 2022, our co-founder posted a simple question on Nextdoor: what if we did this? Eight strangers showed up to plan it. Five hundred neighbors showed up to eat. 

Four years later, The Longest Table is expected to bring together 150+ tables across the U.S. and beyond in 2026, reaching 40,000–50,000 people — with no ad budget, no PR agency, and a small founding team powered largely by volunteer labor and word of mouth. More than 1,600 people have reached out on their own asking to host a table in their own neighborhood. NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg, who has studied social connection for decades, calls what happens at our tables collective effervescence — and became a research partner after attending one himself. 

The idea is proven. Now we’re building the infrastructure to support it. 

Essence of the Role | We are looking for a Chief of Staff to become the operational backbone of a movement that has, until now, run almost entirely on founder hustle and volunteer goodwill. 

This is not a support role. It is the connective tissue that turns “we believe in this so much we can’t stop” into something that does not depend on two people never stopping. 

You’ll work directly with co-founders Maryam Banikarim and Andy Lerner to build the systems, workflows, and operating rhythm that let The Longest Table scale without losing what makes it work: no agenda, radical simplicity, and a table that belongs to the neighbor who sets it, not to us. 

This is a formative moment for the organization — moving from a founder-led movement to a durable institution, with 150+ tables in sight for 2026 and real infrastructure funding for the first time. We’re looking for someone energized by that kind of inflection point, who finds satisfaction in building the conditions for other people — hosts, volunteers, founders — to do their best work. 

What You’ll Do | You’ll own the operational work and keep us updated along the way. That includes: 

• Running the host pipeline from first inquiry through post-event follow-up.
• Building and improving workflows, templates, and documentation so the host process is clear and repeatable. 
• Supporting the host experience so every host gets a consistent, high-quality experience from first contact through event day.
•  Coordinating operational follow-through across the team and freeing up founder capacity.
• Tracking data and turning it into useful reporting for the team, board, and funders.
• Using AI and automation thoughtfully to reduce manual work.
• Managing and mentoring one to two interns.

Depending on your strengths, you may also take on:

• Storytelling and content capture. 
• Fundraising support, including grant tracking and first-draft materials.
• Grant administration. 
• Partnerships and relationship follow-up. 
• Back-end systems and tech support. 
• Community management. 
• Special projects. 
• Occasional merchandise support. 

What Success Looks Like | By April 2027: 

• The host pipeline runs smoothly at 2–3x current volume, with documented workflows anyone could pick up. 
• Founders spend materially more time on fundraising, partnerships, and strategy, and less on operational firefighting. 
• No single point of failure exists; if any one person is out for two weeks, the organization keeps functioning. 
• The board and funders can clearly see, in real numbers, what is working.

What We’re Looking For | You’re a builder who takes ambiguity and turns it into structure. You read people well — hosts are volunteers giving their time for free, and how you treat them is part of the organization’s reputation. 

The right person will believe deeply in our mission and be energized by curiosity, purpose, and impact. They’ll see the potential of The Longest Table as a movement on the rise and be motivated by the chance to help build something meaningful in the world. 

You’re comfortable being the person behind the scenes who makes everyone else’s work possible, and you do not need the spotlight to find that satisfying. You move quickly without being careless, and you are honest when something is not working rather than quietly absorbing the strain. 

We are sprinters by nature — a team that came from the commercial sector and knows how to move fast and get something to catch fire. We need someone who can match that pace while building the parts of the organization that last. 

Preferred Experience 

• 5–10 years in operations, program management, founder support, or a comparably demanding role. 
• Experience building or improving systems in Airtable, Canva, Google Workspace, AI tools, or similar systems. 
• Genuine comfort with AI tools and automation. 
• Strong written communication and close attention to detail. 
• A track record of turning ambiguous, half-built work into structure and action, ideally in a mission-driven, nonprofit, or early-stage environment. 

Why This Role Is Compelling | Most operational roles ask you to maintain something that already works. This one asks you to build the thing that lets something extraordinary — proven, joyful, and completely organic — finally catch up to its own demand. 

You’ll have direct access to the founders, real ownership over how the organization runs day to day, and a front-row seat to a movement that a leading sociologist has called one of the most effective models for rebuilding trust he’s ever studied. 

The work is unglamorous by design. The impact of doing it well will not be.

Details 

• Full-time contract role. 
• Start date: September 1, 2026. 
• Duration: through April 2027, with potential to extend. 
• Primarily in-person, based in New York City. 
• May oversee one to two interns. 
• Reports directly to the co-founders. 
• Compensation: competitive, commensurate with experience. 

If this sounds like you, email: admin@longesttablecommunity.org 

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