Job Purpose
Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief of Staff will oversee strategic business initiatives from development through successful execution. He/She will assist and communicate with executives in decision-making, program management, and initiative implementation. The Chief off Staff will be responsible to review, design, and execute on improvements to organizational structure, find knowledge and skills gaps and help address them and improve current processes and coordinate organizational procedures for optimized efficiency and productivity.
Key Responsibilities
Operational Efficiency
1. Assist senior leadership team members to determine and prioritize business strategies, providing recommendations and consultation to improve teamwork and productivity across the organization and connecting work streams that would otherwise remain siloed
2. In collaboration with senior leadership team, the Chief of Staff will demand structure, help to establish processes, and will create efficiencies within the highest ranks of the organization
3. Implement critical performance management programs across the company, along with the administrative support of Human Resources Department. Develop company metrics that assess company and staff productivity in Production and Sales
4. Identify benchmarks and provide data analysis and metrics of the company’s productivity to the CEO and senior leadership team
5. Lead change management processes and organizational transformation initiatives to help CEO implement culture change
6. Sit in on meetings with senior leadership and the CEO and ensure that CEO & senior leaders make the most of their limited time, that information arrives at the right point in CEO’s decision-making process, and that follow-up happens with senior leaders and managers on behalf of CEO
7. Assist the Human Resources Department with new hires in particular for senior-level talent acquisition and with certain administrative processes where required
Strategic initiatives & Special Projects
1. Identify and nurture relationships with the company’s current and future strategic partners that contribute to business expansion (new manufacturing capacity, export markets, or new value chains) and carry out fundraising/proposal writing, due diligence processes & program management duties where required
2. Oversee current strategic projects including an organic soya out grower scheme; ensure company strategic fit of Project Manager’s decisions, proper budgeting and tracking of expenses and milestone timelines are being met; assist Project Manager with partner relationship management and reporting where required
3. Manage current external partner relations in terms of internal company capacity building partnerships, market research and feasibility studies, and carry out ESG reporting where required
4. Oversee large, often cross-functional organization-wide projects or initiatives that advances company’s strategic vision or aims to improve workflow, teamwork, and budget management
Company Communications
1. Reviewing, editing and/or writing internal and external company communications; drafting summaries and write ups for various platforms, reports, pitch decks, speeches or presentations; help refine the CEO and company’s message and ensure that it is understood by the right audiences
2. Speaking at event, conferences and media opportunities and representing the company when CEO is not able to attend
3. Serve as liaison between staff, executives, senior leaders, and CEO, regarding company climate, employee well-being, project updates, proposals, and planning
4. Act as a reliable sounding board for the CEO, able to offer a cross-functional, impartial perspective
5. Lead and coordinate leadership, team and marketing events
Key Requirements
Qualifications and Experience
1. Masters degree in Business Administration or similar field
2. 7-10 years experience in operations management and senior management role in the FMCG, manufacturing or similar industry
3. Proven experience organizing and directing multiple teams and departments
4. Proven success in a project management and coordination role
5. Experience planning and leading strategic initiatives and demonstrated initiative taker
6. Experience with data analysis
7. Experience with budget management
8. Experience in economic development, sustainability and ESG preferred but not required
Skills and Attributes
9. Excellent communicator in written and verbal form, articulate and able to communicate succinct points
10. Extremely versatile, dedicated to efficient productivity; highly organized individual who is able to manage multiple projects and prioritize effectively; disciplined, shows attention to detail, and follows up with relevant stakeholders doggedly to ensure the right results
11. A sophisticated mix of emotional intelligence, open-mindedness, judgment, discretion, diplomacy, and political acumen, which enables the CoS to interact with powerful direct reports to the CEO and board members with confidence and poise
12. Need to be a quick learner and adapt to new and changing responsibilities that meets the company’s strategic requirements
13. Nimble business mind with a focus on developing creative solutions
14. Can anticipate problems and is especially sensitive to issues that require diplomacy
15. Good listener and capable of providing impartial, well thought out insights that can contribute to strategy or operational efficiency
For all interested candidates, please apply by emailing a CV and a Writing Sample (no more than 5 pages) of previous work to stephanie.a@260brands.com with ‘Chief of Staff – Job ID COSS4’ in the subject line. Please also fill this short 3-min survey, link found here.
