Chief of Staff

Vates SAS; Grenoble; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance coverage 50% funded

Works Council benefits (employee perks

Employee savings plan (PEE)

Annual bonus

Job summary

Vates is seeking a Chief of Staff to act as the CEO’s right-hand, bridging vision, strategy and execution. This is an operational role focused on analysis, modeling and presenting recommendations to the Strategic Committee, with no direct reports.

You will build dashboards, track OKRs and roadmap progress, coordinate cross‑functional work with HR, CFO, and other leaders, and help shape the business plan. The role offers remote work with occasional on-site in Grenoble or Paris, and participates

Qualifications

• Master's or equivalent in business, strategy, management, engineering, or related field.
• 3–7 years of experience in strategy consulting, corporate development, finance, or strategy and operations in tech scale‑ups.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and produce clear memos, decks, and meeting minutes.

Responsibilities

• Structure and prioritize Strategic Committee topics and ensure decisions are followed through.
• Prepare meetings, agendas, pre-reads, minutes, and action tracking.
• Develop dashboards and monitor KPIs, OKRs, and roadmap progress.
• Collaborate with CFO on board materials, investor reporting, and business planning.
• Propose decision-making guidelines and secure cross‑functional alignment.
• Drive growth by shaping expansion, budgets, and cross‑functional initiatives.
• Represent the CEO when needed and maintain high‑priority focus.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Project and program management

Business analysis

Financial acumen

Performance management

Process improvement

Executive communication

Change management

Collaboration tools

Languages: English & French

Education

Higher education: business/strategy/engineering

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

BI dashboards

Job description

Vates is a French software company specializing in virtualization, offering a credible alternative to proprietary solutions on the market. Our Vates VMS solution enables companies to manage their IT infrastructures in a simple, efficient, and controlled way.

We are looking for a Chief os Staff to act as the CEO’s right-hand person and bridge the gap between vision, strategy, and execution. You will ensure that Vates makes decisions quickly and effectively, and that those decisions are followed through.

This is an operational role, not an administrative support position. You will personally develop analyses, models, and recommendations, and present them to the Strategic Committee, of which you will be a member. You will not manage a team or replace any existing department head.

Your Responsibilities:

The executive team retains ownership of the agenda and decision-making. You help the CEO structure and prioritize the topics brought to the Strategic Committee, and you ensure that decisions are followed through to completion.

• Work with the CEO to structure and prioritize the topics brought to the Strategic Committee, determining what needs to be decided, in what order, and based on which information.
• Prepare meetings, including agendas, pre-reads, meeting minutes, and follow-up on decisions through to completion.
• Ensure, both during and between meetings, that the company stays on its agreed course, and raise the alarm as soon as a high-priority issue starts to drift off track.
• Build and maintain a dashboard of key performance indicators for the CEO and the Strategic Committee.
• Track progress against OKRs and the roadmap, and flag any deviations.
• Consolidate board materials and investor reporting with the CFO, drawing on contributions from each team.
• Contribute to the business plan through analyses, scenarios, and assumptions, under the CFO's responsibility.
• Propose decision-making guidelines (who decides what, when, and how), secure approval, and ensure they are applied consistently.

Supporting the Organization's Growth and Scalability

• Design the target organizational model and its associated budget, working with HR and the relevant team leaders.
• Identify processes that are no longer fit for purpose as the company grows beyond 150 employees (planning, budgeting, reporting, tools), and bring these issues to the Strategic Committee.
• Work with the Chief Transformation Officer to assess the resulting initiatives and identify potential efficiency gains through automation, shared resources, and AI.
• Take ownership of cross-functional topics that lack a natural owner, from initial scoping through to delivery or the appointment of a dedicated owner.
• Help communicate the company's vision, strategy, and priorities across all teams, in coordination with the Chief Culture & Engagement.

Expansion and Go-to-Market

• Develop business cases for expansion initiatives (countries, segments, offerings, pricing) with the CRO and relevant stakeholders, from market research through to recommendations.
• Coordinate the launch of approved initiatives with the Sales, Marketing, Product, and Support teams.

Amplifying the CEO's Impact

• Frame complex issues into clear options and actionable recommendations.
• Help the CEO arbitrate between competing demands and focus their time on the highest-priority topics.
• Represent the CEO under an explicit mandate, both internally and with partners, customers, investors, or advisory board members.
• Identify and upscale early warning signs before they become urgent issues.
• Ensure rigorous follow-through, with a clearly identified owner, a deadline, and closure for every topic.

Required Skills:

• Strategic thinking: Ability to understand complex business challenges, evaluate opportunities, and translate strategy into concrete action plans.
• Project and program management: Strong ability to coordinate complex cross-functional initiatives and manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Business analysis: Ability to analyze business performance, interpret data, and develop actionable recommendations.
• Financial acumen: Understanding of financial statements, budgeting, forecasting, and key business performance indicators.
• Performance management: Ability to define, monitor, and interpret KPIs, dashboards, and progress reports.
• Process improvement: Ability to identify inefficiencies and implement practical solutions to improve organizational efficiency.
• Executive communication: Excellent written and oral communication skills, including preparation of executive presentations and strategic reports.
• Change management: Ability to support organizational transformation and facilitate adoption of new processes.
• Collaboration digital tools: Proficiency in project management, reporting, and collaboration tools.
• Languages: Excellent proficiency in English and French, both written and spoken.

At VATES, you will find a flexible work environment, a supportive and approachable team, and a role that makes a real impact on a daily basis.

Location:

Our offices are based in Grenoble or Paris, but we operate on a fully remote model to provide greater flexibility and daily work comfort.

You are free to work 100% remotely or come on-site occasionally, depending on your preferences.

• Health insurance coverage funded at 50% by the company
• Benefits provided by the Works Council (employee discounts, cinema tickets, etc.)
• Employee savings plan (PEE)
• Annual bonus

As part of our diversity and inclusion policy, this position is open to all candidates, regardless of gende

Qualifications

Ready to turn strategy into action? Join VATES as Chief of Staff and work directly with the CEO to shape priorities, drive key decisions, and help build the future of an ambitious open-source software company.

We are looking for someone with:

A higher education degree in business, strategy, management, engineering, or a related field, with 3–7 years of experience in strategy consulting, corporate development, finance, or strategy and operations within a tech scale‑up, ideally in a B2B or SaaS environment.

Equally comfortable preparing a board deck, working with spreadsheets, and leading a project through to delivery.

• Ability to influence both senior and junior stakeholders without formal authority, and to challenge managers constructively and tactfully.
• Strong analytical, synthesis, and writing skills, with the ability to produce clear memos, presentations, and meeting minutes.
• Highly organized and discreet, with a strong sense of priorities, drive, and a low‑ego mindset.
• Native or equivalent‑level French proficiency and fluent English, both written and spoken, are essential. You will work in an international environment with a global community and customers worldwide.

Our Company

Vates is a French software company specializing in Open Source and virtualization with a deep commitment to open, collaborative development. Our main projects, Xen Orchestra and XCP‑ng, span the full virtualization stack: from the hypervisor (Xen) and virtualization platform (XCP‑ng) to management and VM backups (Xen Orchestra). Our team works across multiple countries, fully embracing remote work with transparent workflows and accessible communication channels. At Vates, we are driven by a strong, people‑first culture that values benevolence, inclusivity, and a horizontal structure. Every member is empowered to contribute ideas, make decisions, and grow with the company. Our open‑source model is core to everything we do, not just in our code, which is available on GitHub and GitLab, but in our collaborative approach with the community. We believe in "upstream first," dedicating our expertise and resources to support and advance foundational projects like Xen, and helping contributors of all levels join us on this journey.

Vates was born more than 10 years ago in the French Alps, in Grenoble. Our team is composed of more than 150 people, spread out in France and elsewhere in the world. Want to know more about our history? Our team? Thinking of joining us?