Operations Manager / Chief of Staff

Company: Confidential — a founder-led HR consulting and executive search firm and a growing direct-to-consumer beauty brand Location: Remote (must overlap at least 4 hours daily with US Eastern business hours) Schedule: Full-time, 40 hours per week Type: Independent contractor Compensation: Competitive, based on experience

About the Role

We're looking for a sharp, proactive Operations Manager / Chief of Staff to be the founder's right hand across two businesses: an HR consulting and executive search firm, and a direct-to-consumer beauty brand. You'll keep the trains running, take work off the founder's plate, and own projects from start to finish without needing reminders.

We are an AI-forward company and use AI tools across everything we do. This role is ideal for a sharp, fast learner who gets up to speed with minimal training, takes real ownership, communicates clearly, and wants to grow with a small, fast-moving company.

What You'll DoFounder Support and Operations

• Manage the founder's calendar, inbox triage, and priorities across both businesses
• Track projects, deadlines, and follow-ups in Asana and keep everything moving
• Prepare meeting agendas, notes, and action items, and follow through on them
• Build and maintain SOPs, templates, and simple systems that make work repeatable
• Coordinate with contractors, vendors, and partners

Recruiting and Consulting Business

• Support client outreach and business development: research prospects, manage lead lists, and send follow-ups
• Coordinate candidate scheduling, interviews, and communication on active searches
• Keep the applicant tracking system and client records up to date
• Help prepare proposals, client updates, and consulting deliverables

Beauty Brand Operations

• Oversee customer service quality, including monitoring the AI support agent and handling escalations
• Coordinate with fulfillment, marketplaces (Shopify, Amazon, TikTok Shop), and suppliers
• Track orders, inventory issues, returns, and disputes, and flag problems early
• Support wholesale inquiries and order coordination

Inventory Planning and China Sourcing

• Forecast inventory needs from sales data and plan reorders before stock runs low
• Place and manage purchase orders with manufacturers and suppliers in China
• Coordinate production timelines, quality checks, and shipping (freight, customs, and delivery to the warehouse)
• Communicate clearly with overseas suppliers and resolve delays or issues quickly
• Keep inventory, purchase order, and shipment records accurate and up to date

AI Setup and Automation

• Set up, configure, and maintain AI tools and agents across both businesses, including AI customer service, sourcing, and outreach tools
• Build automations and AI workflows that remove repetitive work
• Write and refine prompts, rules, and knowledge bases so AI tools perform well
• Evaluate new AI tools quickly and recommend what to adopt
• Monitor AI output for quality and fix issues without being asked

What We're Looking For

• 3+ years of experience as an executive assistant, operations coordinator, operations manager, or chief of staff
• Experience supporting US-based clients or companies, plus experience with inventory planning and placing and tracking orders with suppliers in China
• Excellent written and spoken English
• Exceptionally sharp, with meticulous attention to detail: you catch mistakes before they go out, double-check your own work, and rarely need corrections. This is a must.
• Highly responsive and reliable during agreed working hours
• Hands-on experience setting up and using AI tools, agents, and automations (Claude, ChatGPT, Zapier, Make, or similar), plus Google Workspace, Asana, and Shopify
• Very quick learner who can pick up new systems with minimal training or hand-holding; you spot what needs doing and do it
• Responds to messages within 1 hour during agreed working hours
• Reliable high-speed internet and backup power (generator, inverter, or UPS) so work isn't interrupted by outages
• Strong spreadsheet skills (Google Sheets or Excel), including formulas for inventory tracking and forecasting
• Willing to sign a confidentiality agreement (NDA), as you will handle client, candidate, and company data

Nice to Have

• Recruiting, HR, or staffing experience
• E-commerce or D2C brand experience
• Experience with an applicant tracking system or CRM

Hiring Process

1. Short application with written responses to three questions and a 2-minute video introduction (below)
2. Brief video interview
3. Paid trial task (2 to 3 hours), including setting up or improving an AI workflow and an accuracy check (spotting errors in a sample order, invoice, or document)
4. Final interview with the founder
5. Reference check with at least one US-based client or employer

How to Apply

Please send your resume along with short written answers to these three questions:

1. Tell us about a time you took ownership of a messy process and fixed it. What did you do?
2. How do you keep track of many tasks across different people and projects?
3. Describe an AI tool, agent, or automation you set up yourself. What did it do, and what did it save?

Please also include a link to a 2-minute video introduction (Loom, YouTube unlisted, or similar) telling us about yourself and why this role fits you. Applications without written answers and a video will not be considered.