David Eisner, chief executive of the Corporation for National and Community Service since 2003, said he plans to step down in mid November. Mr. Eisner, who was appointed to the post by President Bush, told his board and staff members that he plans to leave after the November 4 presidential election.

The corporation is the government agency that operates AmeriCorps, Vista, Senior Corps, and other federal national-service and volunteering programs. In a letter to colleagues, Mr. Eisner said Nicky Goren, his chief of staff, will serve as acting head of the agency until the next president appoints his successor.

Mr. Eisner said in the letter that the agency will celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2009 as the momentum around national service is growing.

He cited recent events, including the pledges by presidential nominees John McCain and Barack Obama to support service and volunteering; the introduction of the bipartisan Serve America Act, which would expand the country’s national-service programs; and the ServiceNation Summit, a high-profile conference on service in New York last month that was organized by a coalition of more than 100 groups.

Before joining the corporation, Mr. Eisner was a vice president at AOL Time Warner, where he headed the company’s charitable foundation.