ABOUT PALM VENTURE STUDIOS
Palm Ventures, an investment company with a strong track record doing distressed company turnarounds for the last 30 years, is launching a new network of venture studios. Palm Venture Studios provides ‘rescue capital’ to stuck companies, and build startups from scratch, all of which have some positive impact on human and planetary wellbeing.
Palm Venture Studios provides capital to good companies facing challenges raising seed and Series A funding in this difficult market, and do so discreetly. The team brings decades of venturesome turnaround experience to their portfolio and co-create and execute winning strategies for long-term value.
Palm Venture Studios is the first and only network of venture studios across the U.S. The entire studio team collaborates to build and support and portfolio companies, from everything from GTM and product to hiring and beyond.
POSITION SUMMARY
This Chief of Staff will serve as a right-hand partner to Palm Chairman so he can effectively fulfill his commitments and operate at the highest level. This role will support across the Palm Ventures and Palm Venture Studios portfolios. This role is where the operational expert will thrive, working very closely with the Chairman and other stakeholders to ensure accountability, execution, and delivery of strategic priorities and projects. The Chief of Staff will serve as the organizational “glue” to propel initiatives forward and ensure proper follow-up when communicating both internally and externally.
In this role you will have direct exposure to early-stage investment workflows, deal design and execution, firm strategy, capital markets, finance & accounting, hiring, legal & compliance, and other areas central to running an investment company and venture studio network that Palm Venture Studios is building.
The ideal candidate is someone passionate about being an integrator and operator, and possesses expertise in prioritization, organizational dynamics, project management, relationship management, and creating scalable systems and processes.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
The Chief of Staff’s responsibilities will encompass three primary areas:
Promote alignment and accountability
- Accountability champion - create structure that improves communication, prioritization, alignment, information flow, preparation and overall rhythm of business
- Identify and implement mechanisms for ensuring progress toward goals
- Understand how the dots connect, who needs to know what, and that the right people are in the right rooms
- Support quarterly strategic planning and business planning workflows for and with the team
Ensure Chairman’s highest and best use of time
- Provide consistent and relevant briefing and prepping information to Chairman not only prior to key meetings and events but also on a regular basis
- Ensure time is properly rationalized and spent in the appropriate areas of focus
- Ensure "quality control" of information and communication to reduce reactivity
- Plan ahead by identifying project obstacles, researching opportunities, and drafting solutions for the Chairman
- Create sustainability and continuity of executive office systems and processes
Deliver results on behalf of the Chairman
- Attend key meetings and events with, or on behalf of, the Chairman; ensure timely follow-up of all action items
- Execute on the Chairman’s vision/ideas (no matter how big or small) by translating into actionable steps, gaining buy-in, and project managing to completion
- Track performance, research new solutions, and escalate progress or issues, when necessary
- Project manage strategic projects; create project plans, keeps trains running without Chairman
KEY QUALIFICATIONS
- 7+ years of professional work experience; experience and success in venture capital, private equity, turnarounds, startups, and/or family offices is a strong plus
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills; ability to interact with the highest level of leadership and build rapport with internal and external partners
- High emotional intelligence and relationship-building skills
- Solid business acumen: you understand key leadership and managerial attributes to lead projects from end-to-end with multiple stakeholders involved
- Ability to operate in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment
- Self-starter and quick learner with a strong sense of urgency and ability to see tasks through completion
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills with experience communicating effectively at an executive level
- Strong project management skills with experience managing complex cross-functional projects, including developing, coordinating, and communicating project plans and deliverables in an effective manner
- Ability to understand and anticipate the needs of an individual and act on them without direction
- Strong knowledge of operational systems, structures, and ways of working with a collective team and executive office
- Data-driven with a bias towards taking action to improve key metrics
SALARY
$175,000 - $250,000
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
We know that innovation thrives on teams where diverse points of view come together to solve hard problems. As such, we explicitly seek people that bring diverse life experiences, diverse educational backgrounds, diverse cultures, and diverse work experiences. Please be prepared to share with us how your perspective will bring something unique and valuable to our team.
