Chief of Staff

Zūm•Redwood City, CA

16d•$210,000 - $260,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Zūm is seeking a Chief of Staff to serve as a force multiplier for the COO and support a fast-growing operating business. The role owns the COO’s operating rhythm, leads high-priority cross-functional initiatives, and turns operational data into decisions. It works across Operations, Finance, Sales, HR, Legal, Safety, and Technology, with regular exposure to the executive team and Board. The Chief of Staff takes on unresolved problems, creates structure, and hands them off once they can run independently. The scope is fast-paced and changes frequently. This is a hybrid position based at Zūm’s headquarters in Redwood City, California. The employee is required to work onsite three days per week: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Candidates must already be located in the Bay Area. The role requires at least eight years of relevant experience, advanced financial modeling and analytical skills, and a bachelor’s degree. An MBA is a plus. The targeted base salary range in California is $210,000–$260,000; additional compensation may include equity or commissions. Benefits offered to full-time salaried or hourly workers include medical, dental, vision, 401(k), holidays, wellness, vacation, and more.

Requirements

At least 8 years of experience in management consulting, investment banking, private equity, corporate strategy, or FP&A/strategic finance.
Advanced financial modeling and analytical skills, including the ability to build a P&L or unit economics model from scratch.
Demonstrated ability to lead complex cross-functional projects and drive results without direct authority.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing materials for senior executives and boards.
Sound judgment and discretion when handling confidential labor, financial, legal, and personnel matters.
Self-starter who is comfortable with ambiguity, takes initiative, and does not wait to be told what to do.
Willingness to engage with field operations, including visiting yards and meeting with operators and district partners.
Bachelor’s degree required.
Must already be located in the Bay Area.
Ability to work onsite three days per week in Redwood City, on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.

Nice To Haves

Top-tier management consulting experience, such as McKinsey, BCG, Bain, or equivalent.
Experience in operations-heavy, field-based, or asset-intensive industries such as transportation, logistics, infrastructure, or energy.
Prior experience as a Chief of Staff or in a business operations or strategy role supporting an operating executive.
Background in a high-growth, venture- or private-equity-backed company.
Familiarity with public sector contracting, labor and union environments, or education-related markets.
Experience with BI and data tools such as SQL, Looker, Tableau, or similar, and comfort working with large operational datasets.
MBA.

Responsibilities

Own the COO’s operating system, including weekly KPI reviews, monthly business reviews, forecast-to-actual reviews, and seasonal planning cycles; ensure data is available, decisions are made, and follow-ups are completed.
Lead high-impact cross-functional initiatives on behalf of the COO, including new market entry, cost and margin improvement, process and systems rollouts, and operational turnarounds.
Scope problems, create plans, drive execution across teams, and report progress on strategic initiatives.
Build models and analyses to inform decisions about unit economics by contract and market, labor costs and margin drivers, capacity and scaling forecasts, and pricing and renewal scenarios.
Translate complex analyses into clear recommendations.
Partner with Finance on annual planning, budgeting, and forecasting for the operations organization.
Help define KPIs and targets, establish baselines, and hold the business accountable to performance targets.
Prepare operations materials for board meetings, investor updates, and executive team reviews.
Draft the COO’s communications, talking points, and decision memos, ensuring information is accurate, concise, and defensible.
Align Operations with headquarters functions; anticipate friction, clarify decision rights, and keep leaders aligned on priorities, resources, and timing.
Serve as a trusted sounding board and extension of the COO; triage requests and manage the COO’s time and priorities against the company’s biggest priorities.
Step in on urgent or unowned problems and be willing to visit yards and meet with operators and district partners.