Chief of Staff (AI Startup)

Hoshii; Zürich; On-site; CHF 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in the company

Access to AI tools

Close seat to the founder

Job summary

Hoshii in Zürich is hiring a dynamic Head of People to shape our growing startup's people strategy. You will own talent pipelines, employer branding, and cross-functional projects across CS, Sales and Marketing.

You will set up new functions, partner with the CEO on board updates, and maintain a tight view on budgets, invoices, and payroll processes. Fluent German and English are essential for our multilingual operations.

Qualifications

• +3 years at an early-stage startup with developing processes or founder background is ideal.
• Hands-on; you do the work, you don’t merely advise or delegate.
• Fluent in German and English; our users and paperwork are in German while internal operations run in English.
• Extremely organized; nothing is dropped and nothing is asked twice.
• Ability to switch between three functions in a day without compromising quality.
• Exposure to Swiss payroll, finance or legal admin is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Build and run a pipeline of candidates for every position from sourcing to offer.
• Lead employer branding and hiring events in Zurich and beyond.
• Execute cross-functional projects across CS, Sales, and Marketing.
• Set up functions we don’t have yet and hand them over when ready.
• Prepare monthly board updates, KPI reporting, and data room materials.
• Oversee budget, burn, runway, invoicing, and collections to keep numbers current.
• Handle contracts, vendors, invoicing, and payroll input.

Skills

Talent acquisition

People operations

German

English

Organizational skills

Cross-functional

Hiring pipeline

Job description

We're building an AI-powered inbox for B2B back-office teams. Millions of B2B teams are drowning in emails: typing up orders, updating the ERP system, chasing up enquiries and invoices. It's 2026, and they're still copying data back and forth between Outlook and ERP/CRM systems just like in 1999. Hoshii takes this work off their hands and enables whole teams to start their day more productively.

Our Blind Spot

We are growing fast. Every new customer, every new hire and every new market adds complexity, and today most of it still runs through one desk.

That is where you come in. You walk closely with Jiir, our Co-Founder and CEO, and set the organisation up for the next phase. Your first mandate is talent: everything else we want to build depends on the people we hire in the next twelve months.

The rest of the role is deliberately broad. One week you run a hiring pipeline, the next you fix an operational process or stand up a function that does not exist yet. If you have founded something before, this will feel familiar.

What You Will Own

• Talent. Build and run a pipeline of candidates for every position we open, from sourcing to offer
• Hiring events and employer brand. Get Hoshii in front of the best people in Zurich and beyond
• Projects across the company. You will be able to jump across CS, Sales, and Marketing
• Functions we don't have yet. Set them up, run them yourself, hand them over
• Board and investor work: monthly updates, KPI reporting, board deck preparation, data room
• Financial overview: budget, burn, runway, invoicing, and collections. You keep the numbers current and flag it when something moves
• Operations and admin: contracts, vendors, invoicing, payroll input, tooling

Your Profile

We are looking for a team player with a growth mindset, an entrepreneurial spirit, and genuine comfort with getting their hands dirty.

• +3 years at an early-stage startup without established process or similar. A founder background is the best possible preparation
• You have hired yourself: sourced, interviewed, closed. Not briefed an agency
• Hands-on. You do the work, you don't delegate or advise it
• Extremely organised. Nothing is dropped, nothing has to be asked twice
• You switch between three functions in a day without losing quality
• Fluent in German and English. Our users and our paperwork are in German, we run internally in English

This Position Will Not Be a Fit If

• You need clear instructions on how and what
• You want to advise rather than execute
• You don't thrive in ambiguity
• You expect a 9-5 at a startup

Nice to Have

• You have founded a company before
• Recruiting or talent experience, in-house or agency
• Sales or marketing operations experience
• Exposure to Swiss payroll, finance or legal admin

What We Offer

• The closest seat to the founder, with full visibility into every part of the company
• A role that compounds into a functional lead
• Equity in what you're building
• We get you any AI tools you need to be 3x more productive