Chief of Staff: Strategy, Ops & Growth Leader

MAKO; Sydney; On-site; AUD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible working

Office near public transport

Employee Benefit Program

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Job summary

MAKO in Sydney is seeking a Chief of Staff to translate strategy into momentum. Working directly with the CEO, you will design the operating rhythm, sharpen leadership focus, and steer cross‑functional initiatives from planning through to delivery.

You will lead three teams—Business Operations, People & Culture, and Marketing & Comms—building scalable processes and ensuring all functions align with MAKO’s top priorities as the company scales.

Qualifications

• 5-8 years experience in strategy, operations, consulting or general management, including at least 2 years as a Chief of Staff or in a role working closely with a CEO or executive team
• Experience in a start-up or scale-up between Seed and Series C, ideally through a period of rapid growth
• A track record of building operating rhythms and planning processes from scratch, and making them stick
• Experience preparing board and investor materials, and working comfortably with a board
• Excellent writing and synthesis skills. You can turn messy inputs into a clear recommendation quickly
• Ability to lead through influence, earn trust with engineers, operators and executives alike, and give direct feedback to senior leaders
• Experience managing a small team, ideally across different disciplines

Responsibilities

• Design and run the senior team’s rhythm (weekly leadership meeting, monthly all hands, quarterly planning). Accountable for meetings that end in clear decisions, owners and deadlines
• Coordinate quarterly OKR’s and track progress across functions, separating critical priorities from lower-value activities. Structure each one with clear ownership and resourcing, and anticipate bottlenecks. Accountable for every team knowing MAKO’s top priorities and how their work ladders up to them
• Lead or project‑manage cross‑functional initiatives the CEO assigns (e.g. new premises, scale‑up of Flightfilm production, new market entry). Structure each one with clear ownership and resourcing, and anticipate bottlenecks. Accountable for delivery on time and on scope
• Prepare board papers, investor updates and fundraising materials with the CEO and Finance. Accountable for accurate, on‑time packs that need minimal CEO rework
• Cross‑functional alignment: Act as connective tissue between Production, Engineering, Certification, BizOps and Marketing & CoMMs. Accountable for surfacing blockers early and resolving them at the right level
• Draft and coordinate leadership communications and decision records. Accountable for staff hearing about important changes clearly and first‑hand (Active Transparency)
• Produce research, business cases and decision memos that weigh both immediate and long‑term implications. Accountable for giving the senior team the information they need to decide quickly (Velocity)
• Line‑manage the Business Operations, People & Culture, and Marketing & Comms team members, setting priorities, supporting their development and modelling MAKO’s values. Accountable for these functions delivering against company goals and for leaders’ skills being applied where they create the most impact

Skills

Strategy & operations

Executive collaboration

Leadership

Communication & writing

Job description

MAKO in Sydney is seeking a Chief of Staff to translate strategy into momentum. Working directly with the CEO, you will design the operating rhythm, sharpen leadership focus, and steer cross‑functional initiatives from planning through to delivery.

You will lead three teams—Business Operations, People & Culture, and Marketing & Comms—building scalable processes and ensuring all functions align with MAKO’s top priorities as the company scales.