Chief Of Staff (Chicago)

Chief of Staff to the Founder and CEO

Location: Hybrid in Chicago, IL

Status: Full-Time

Our client is a company aiming to become the world’s leading producer of sustainable fuels for “hard-to-abate” transportation sectors like aviation and ocean shipping. We are seeking a Chief of Staff to help them continue their rapid growth. We are looking for a dynamic, detail oriented, collaborative, and high talent individual to work closely with the CEO to facilitate the efficient and smooth operation of the company by managing a variety of corporate administration and operations functions and generally assisting the CEO as needed.

Key Responsibilities:

Manage HR Manager / Admin (to be hired), who would:

Support employee travel

Support leadership team calendaring

Manage new hire on-boarding and departing employee off-boarding

Perform day-to-day HR manager duties

Schedule candidate interviews and prepare offer letters (coordinating with recruiters when appropriate)

Manage PEO and Recruiter relationships

Manage CEO calendar and assist with scheduling meetings for executive leadership

Manage Corporate Operations Contractor, who would:

Manage contract/document execution and tracking/docketing

Assist the Chief of Staff in defining and implementing suitable processes and policies for managing corporate administration and smooth corporate operations

Assist the Chief of Staff in defining, implementing, and managing IT systems, processes, and policies

Refine roles and responsibilities of this team as needed

Recommend to CEO (as needed) additional staffing (contractor or new hires) or changes in staffing)

Corporate Administration: Assist the CEO in managing the board and preparing for board meetings

Ensure the Corporate Operations Manager smoothly schedules board meetings

Assist CEO in defining board meeting agenda and reviewing agenda with counsel to ensure any formal votes/approvals are included

Collect/compile materials requested by the CEO for board updates and board meeting decks

Distribute updates/decks to the Board once CEO has finished them

HR Administration (nice to have): Handle HR issue escalation (when HR Manager cannot solve)

Try first to solve escalated operational issues, then bring to CEO otherwise

Bring employment/compliance issues directly to CEO

Corporate Operations

Research and recommend (w/ Corp Ops Contractor) to leadership team processes and policies to support efficient operations in a small, initially fully remote company; then manage implementation (directly or via Corp. Ops. Contractor) of approved projects

Research (w/ Corp Ops Contractor) and recommend to the leadership team IT systems improvements, processes, and policies; then manage implementation (via service providers or Corp. Ops. Manager) of approved projects

Leadership Meeting Support

Assist CEO in regularly holding effective leadership team meetings, including helping with agenda preparation and the collection/assembly/distribution of prep materials, the recording/distribution of meeting notes and action items, and follow-up tracking

Qualifications & Requirements:

Prior experience (min 5 years) in corporate operations or corporate administration roles

Prior experience working in a start-up environment

Prior experience managing a small team

Bachelors Degree

Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to encourage change via influence

Experience with HR administration a plus

Experience managing collaboration and workflow tools is a plus

Statment from the company: We are an equal opportunity employer and we are able to offer competitive compensation and benefits. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality, sex, religion, or veteran status.

The Berkner Group has been retained to execute this search. If you were contacted by the Berkner Group, please reply to the person who contacted you. If you are applying to a job posting, please email your resume and a brief introduction to [email protected]. Please include your name and the title for this position (“[Your name] - Chief of Staff - QV835RW6”) in the subject line of your email. We look forward to hearing from you!