The Role
Work closely with the CEO as a one-person Chief of Staff to drive strategy, lead due diligence, manage product commercial rollouts, deliver cross-organizational process improvements, and own communications to internal and external stakeholders including the Board.
Summary Generated by Built In
Role: Chief of Staff
Location: London, on-site
Why this role exists
Schools in the UK and US spend over £12bn a year on agency staff, and £3.6bn of that goes straight into the pockets of recruitment agencies. That’s why we’ve built an alternative. Zen is an all-in-one digital platform that gives schools full control over how they find, vet, and manage temporary educators. Think “tech startup,” but solving a painfully human, operational, and systemic issue in education staffing. Our platform is built to be scalable and intuitive, designed in close collaboration with schools and educators to fit seamlessly into existing school workflows. School leaders can search, book, and manage staff in real time, while gaining full visibility and control over their spend and compliance.
We’ve had tremendous success and are currently experiencing a period of exceptional growth. We’re looking for a seasoned operator to come in, roll-up their sleeves, and get their hands dirty working closely with me on the business’ most important problems.
What we’re looking for
You’ll have a demonstrated record of driving exceptional results in your career. This likely will be in either a high-growth startup, a top-tier consultancy, or other demanding profession.
Some of the traits that usually correlate with success in this role:
• Relentless drive to deliver outcomes
• Endless curiosity
• You drive clarity from ambiguity
• You love finding simple answers to complex problems
• Expert level communicator adept at influencing at level of stakeholders
This will be the sixth time we’ve filled this role. The previous five have all gone on to take senior roles at Zen, including 3 members of the management team. What your first 6-12 months might look like
You’ll be a team of one working closely with the CEO across the entire organisation. No two days are the same and you could be getting stuck into things like:
• Partnering with the management team to re-define our strategy
• Due diligence of potential acquisition targets
• Leading the initial commercial rollouts of new products
• Project managing the delivery of key process improvements across the organisation
• Leading comms to key internal and external stakeholders such as the Board
Along the way, you’ll learn a ton, make a difference, and set yourself up for key senior exec roles within the organisation.
Who you’ll work with
We’re a 300+ (and growing!) team operating across the UK, US, and Canada. We’re well funded, default alive, growing fast, and have tremendous unit economics. Simply put, we’re doing really well by doing good. As such, we’re a passionate group of missionaries rather than mercenaries. We’re looking to find someone who shares our passion for the mission of making education better.
What you might like or dislike
Every place makes tradeoffs based on what they value and where they are in their journey. Here’s a list of things you might find useful in figuring out if this is the right role for you. If we end up chatting, feel free to dig deeper into any of them.
How we work
We’re passionate about the problem we’re trying to solve. We seek colleagues that share our passion for improving education because, frankly, it’s a really hard problem. You have to be equally interested in what we do as a company as you are in the specific role.
Growth & Progression
Choose your own adventure. You’ll shape your path, not wait for a ladder to appear. You’ll work across the organisation and be well-positioned to pursue a senior role across a variety of disciplines; however, it’s not a fixed path with a clear promise of what next looks like. The combination of business need and your ability to step into it will drive what’s next for you.
Compensation
Fair but not flashy. We’re still an early stage company so can’t beat out companies with deep pockets (yet). You’re here because you understand it’s about the long term – both in what you can learn and the slope of your pay progression here when you take on more and more. We reward exceptional performance.
Interested? Let’s go!
If you’ve made it this far and you’re excited then hit apply. If the timing isn’t right or you’re not sure it’s a right fit, reach out anyway. We’re always open to talking to those who believe in our mission.
Let’s build something that actually matters.
Skills Required
- Demonstrated record of driving exceptional results in a high-growth startup, top-tier consultancy, or similarly demanding role
- Expert-level communication skills and ability to influence senior stakeholders
- Ability to drive clarity from ambiguity and simplify complex problems
- Relentless drive to deliver outcomes and strong ownership mentality
- Experience leading strategy, due diligence, project management, or commercial rollouts across organizations
- Passion for improving education and willingness to work in a fast-growing startup environment
Am I A Good Fit?
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The Company
What We Do
At Zen our mission is to change the world of education recruitment. Schools spend over £2bn a year on agency staff, with over £600m per year of that spent on fees that go straight to recruitment agencies. So far, we've saved UK schools over £14m in supply teaching recruitment costs, and that number grows every day, allowing schools to invest further into children’s wellbeing and attainment. We're not just redefining recruitment; we’re upskilling our supply staff to provide the highest quality teachers and TAs to schools. Each supply staff member is Level 2 Safeguarding trained, guaranteeing the safety and wellbeing of children in your school. Using our online platform, schools can access hundreds of fully vetted high-quality teacher & TA profiles, who they can book instantly at the click of a button. We don't stop at just providing a platform – we have a dedicated school success team here to support you every step of the way. When you succeed, we succeed!
