[Hiring] Chief of Staff & Special Projects Manager @Activate Talent

Role Description

We're looking for a highly capable Chief of Staff & Special Projects Manager to work directly with a high-profile Founder and support three interconnected businesses spanning venture capital, creative operations, and a global lifestyle brand. This is a high-agency, hands-on role for someone who can move between strategy, operations, investor relations, project management, communication, and AI-enabled systems without losing sight of priorities. You'll act as a trusted extension of the Founder, helping turn priorities into execution, keeping teams aligned, and owning important projects from start to finish.

What You'll Do

• Founder & Executive Support
  • Help translate the Founder's priorities into clear actions and deliverables.
  • Prepare executive briefings, memos, presentations, and meeting materials.
  • Support the Founder in managing priorities, relationships, and opportunities.
  • Attend key meetings when needed and summarize decisions, insights, and follow-ups.
  • Work closely with the Founder's Executive Assistant to coordinate priorities and maximize the Founder's time.
  • Represent the Founder's communication style and direction with confidence and professionalism.
• AI & Operations
  • Build and maintain AI-powered workflows, dashboards, and operational systems.
  • Create and manage advanced Notion dashboards, databases, trackers, plugins, and AI agents.
  • Identify operational bottlenecks and develop no-code or AI-based solutions to improve efficiency.
  • Test new AI tools and turn useful experiments into repeatable workflows.
  • Document systems and processes so they can be easily adopted by the wider team.
• CRM & Relationship Management
  • Maintain accurate and organized CRM systems across Notion, ClickUp, Airtable, and other internal tools.
  • Track investor, founder, partner, and business relationships.
  • Maintain a reliable source of truth for priorities, relationships, projects, and follow-ups.
  • Support investor and founder relations, including outreach, meeting preparation, follow-up, decks, and personalized communication.
  • Monitor relationship gaps and proactively identify opportunities for re-engagement.
• Special Projects & Cross-Functional Operations
  • Own high-priority projects that may not have a clearly defined owner.
  • Lead projects from planning through completion, including timelines, owners, and deliverables.
  • Support weekly team meetings, agendas, accountability, and follow-through.
  • Coordinate across the Fund, Studio, Brand, Accounting, Operations, and other stakeholders.
  • Step into ambiguous situations, create structure, and move projects forward.
• Board, Investment & Portfolio Support
  • Support quarterly board meetings and prepare board decks and executive presentations.
  • Partner with the Fund Principal on investment and portfolio-related work.
  • Track opportunities, diligence processes, and investment materials.
  • Assist with investor events, founder meetings, off-sites, and other strategic gatherings.
• Communication & Culture
  • Prepare talking points and communications for internal and external meetings.
  • Support company-wide presentations, standups, and executive communications.
  • Ensure communication is clear, concise, consistent, and aligned with the Founder's voice.
  • Help maintain strong collaboration and accountability across the organization.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in a high-growth startup, venture capital, founder's office, or similar environment.
• At least 2 years working directly with a Founder or C-suite executive is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex, cross-functional projects.
• Strong financial literacy, including familiarity with term sheets, cap tables, budgets, and investment diligence.
• Proven ability to take ambiguous projects from idea to completed deliverable.
• Strong research, analytical, writing, and communication skills.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business required.
• Comfortable working with global teams and across time zones.

Nice-to-Have

• Venture capital or fund operations
• Portfolio management
• Investor or LP relations
• Board operations
• Legal or finance operations
• Investor communications
• Creative operations
• Media or brand strategy
• Event planning and coordination
• Building SOPs and internal documentation
• Experience working closely with high-profile founders

Tools & Tech Stack

• Notion - advanced dashboards, databases, boards, and trackers
• ClickUp
• Airtable
• Google Workspace / G-Suite
• ChatGPT
• Claude
• Gemini
• No-code and AI automation tools such as Zapier
• AI agents, plugins, and workflow automation