Chief Of Staff

Location

Palo Alto, CA

Employment Type

Full time

Location Type

On-site

Department

Strategy & Operations

Deadline to Apply

August 15, 2025 at 3 : 00 AM EDT

Why Zania

Every enterprise spends millions of dollars on Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC). It's one of the most critical, yet universally painful, parts of running a business. For decades, this industry has been dominated by legacy systems with notoriously low NPS scores, making it totally ripe for disruption.

Zania is building agentic AI for Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) to solve this massive problem. We are on a rocketship trajectory , creating intelligent agents that automate and augment the most complex risk and compliance workflows. We have found exceptional product‑market fit and are scaling our team very quickly. Some reasons to join Zania are :

Dream Customers : Our customers are the most notable enterprises in the world, including FAANG, Big 4 firms and a portfolio of top customers.

Tier 1 Backing : Funded by a leading Tier 1 venture capital fund, giving us the resources to build a generational company.

World‑Class Team : Zania is hiring the best. Our team includes AI and Security leaders from Airbnb, Microsoft, Bain & Company, Deloitte, PwC, Brex, and Instacart.

Pioneering Technology : Our engineers and GRC experts work at the absolute forefront of applied AI, building the next generation of agentic systems that will define the future of compliance.

Hyper‑Growth : We have seen 10x ARR growth in the last year and are rapidly expanding.

Competitive Compensation & Equity.

Role Overview

As Chief of Staff, you will operate as a true extension of the Founder, serving as a strategic partner and operational force multiplier in the mission to build a generational AI company. This is not a support or delegation role; you are a co‑pilot who will personally own and execute on the company's most critical operational and strategic initiatives. You will work across every function—from the board room to engineering, go‑to‑market, and recruiting—to drive alignment and unblock challenges. In the early stages, this means you will not just strategize, but also personally do the foundational work in go‑to‑market, marketing, recruiting, and operations.

This role is based in our Palo Alto, CA office. We use an in‑person work model and offer relocation assistance.

What You’ll Do

Drive Strategic Execution : Serve as the operational right hand to the Founder, translating high‑level vision into actionable strategic initiatives and personally driving them to completion.

Build and Execute Key Functions : Before dedicated leaders are hired, you will do the hands‑on work to build and run key functions. You will personally set up our initial marketing funnel, execute the recruiting pipeline, define and run our first sales motion, and establish core business operations.

Connect and Unblock : Act as the connective tissue for the company. You will dive into any area of the business—technical or non‑technical—to identify and solve problems, ensuring there are no gaps in execution.

Manage Board & Investor Relations : Prepare compelling materials and narratives for board meetings, investor updates, and future fundraising activities, ensuring key stakeholders are aligned with our strategy and progress.

Own Special Projects : Execute high‑priority, "0-to-1" special projects that are critical to the company's success, from initial analysis to final implementation.

Representative Projects

(GTM & Customer Operations) : Answering inbound leads, managing early customer relationships, and navigating enterprise procurement and security reviews.

(Recruiting & People Operations) : Run the end‑to‑end recruiting process for critical hires, from sourcing and screening to closing candidates. Own foundational operational projects like securing and setting up our next office space.

(Strategy & Communications) : Create the quarterly board deck from scratch, working with the founder to craft the narrative, gather the data, and refine the presentation. Organize Zania’s presence at key industry events to build our brand and generate leads.

(Finance & Corporate Development) : Own the creation of a fundraising deck and data room, working with the founder to prepare for investor diligence.

What You Have

Experience : 5‑8+ years of experience in a high‑performance environment such as a top‑tier consulting firm, investment banking, a high‑growth startup, or a similar strategic role where you were responsible for execution.

Extreme Ownership & Execution Focus : You are relentlessly execution‑focused and take full ownership of outcomes. You have a proven ability to run through walls to get things done, with an incredible work ethic and attention to detail.

Ability to Thrive in Ambiguity : You excel in unstructured, 0‑to‑1 environments. You can create clarity and structure from chaos and are comfortable making decisions and executing with incomplete information.

Strategic & Analytical Horsepower : You have a sharp, analytical mind and can fluidly switch between high‑level strategic thinking and diving deep into the operational details of any part of the business.

Exceptional Interpersonal Skills : You have a low ego and the world‑class communication and interpersonal skills required to act as a trusted extension of the Founder, influencing outcomes with executives, customers, and individual contributors.

Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors, including experience and expertise, and may vary from the amounts listed above.

Equity : In addition to the base salary, equity may be part of the total compensation package.

Zania is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity / expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition, or any other basis protected by law.

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