Chief of Staff – Business Operations

Company Description

Fresh Start is the largest footwear reuse and recycling operation in the world, processing over 100,000 pairs of shoes per day across multiple international markets.

The business operates across four distinct areas: B2B wholesale and partner supply, repair and recycling, stocklot trading, and e-commerce.

Job Description

We are looking for a Chief of Staff to work closely with the CEO/Managing Director in driving business discipline, execution and accountability across multiple business units.

The Chief of Staff will not directly manage the business-unit managers. Instead, the role will own the operating system of the group — including management cadence, performance tracking, follow-up, cross-functional coordination and execution of key priorities.

Role Overview

We are looking for a Chief of Staff to work closely with the CEO/Managing Director in driving business discipline, execution and accountability across multiple business units.

The Chief of Staff will not directly manage the business-unit managers. Instead, the role will own the operating system of the group — including management cadence, performance tracking, follow-up, cross-functional coordination and execution of key priorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Establish and manage a structured weekly, monthly and quarterly operating rhythm across business units.
• Conduct weekly operations meetings with managers, focusing on KPIs, targets, key blockers and required decisions.
• Prepare and maintain a one-page group dashboard covering key business performance indicators.
• Conduct monthly business reviews covering P&L vs. budget, KPIs, priorities and action plans.
• Track agreed actions, deadlines and ownership, ensuring timely follow-through.
• Identify recurring blockers and escalate unresolved issues to the CEO/Managing Director.
• Coordinate cross-functional and cross-business-unit projects and ensure execution against agreed timelines.
• Work with managers to establish and maintain clear business-unit charters, objectives and priorities.
• Support the CEO/Managing Director in reviewing and re-prioritizing business initiatives.
• Ensure management decisions are translated into clear actions, owners and deadlines.
• Monitor progress and provide concise updates to senior management.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of relevant experience in business operations, strategy, management consulting, project management or a similar role.
• Experience working directly with CEO/MD/Owner-level management is highly preferred.
• Strong understanding of P&L, KPIs, budgets and business performance.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong project management and follow-up abilities.
• Ability to work across multiple business units and stakeholders.
• Strong communication, influencing and stakeholder-management skills.
• Highly organized, structured and disciplined with excellent attention to detail.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint and business reporting/dashboard tools.
• Experience in a multi-business or group environment is an advantage.

Additional Information

Authority & Scope

The Chief of Staff will have authority to:

• Set and follow up on agreed deadlines.
• Request relevant business data and reports.
• Track and challenge overdue actions.
• Escalate unresolved issues.
• Coordinate cross-unit initiatives.
• The role will not have authority to independently hire, terminate employees, change pricing policies, approve major capital expenditure or override business-unit managers on domain-specific decisions.