Strategic Project Lead (Demand Side)

Clera; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Clera is hiring to lead the demand generation for its AI-powered talent marketplace. You will own the end-to-end client acquisition, from prospecting to onboarding, building trust with founders and leadership, and turning insights into scalable growth engines.

The role evolves toward General Manager with broader business ownership as you drive cross-functional initiatives and optimize the marketplace liquidity.

Qualifications

• 1–2 years in a client-facing, commercial, consulting, operations or growth role.
• Experience in fast-paced, venture-backed startups or similar environments.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication with concise messaging.
• Ability to build credibility with startup founders and senior leaders.
• Comfort with cold outreach and maintaining momentum amid rejection.
• Strong analytical, experimental mindset with data-driven testing.
• Capable of moving between strategy and execution without micromanagement.
• Ability to create structure from ambiguity and solve unfamiliar problems.
• High ownership, urgency, and ambition to help build something early-stage.
• Early-to-mid career with visible, measurable achievements.

Responsibilities

• Own company acquisition end to end from prospecting to onboarding and activation.
• Build trusted relationships with founders, executives, and talent leaders.
• Translate client hiring needs into successful outcomes on the platform.
• Execute across outbound, referrals, partnerships, events, and content.
• Write and optimize cold email and LinkedIn sequences generating qualified conversations.
• Conduct cold calls and run personalized outreach campaigns.
• Experiment with new messaging, channels, segments and models.
• Document and scale successful experiments into repeatable processes.
• Track the demand funnel, identify bottlenecks, and improve conversions.
• Collaborate with talent and product teams to improve matching quality and liquidity.

Skills

Client-facing

Communication

Analytical mindset

Growth mindset

Startup environment

Job description

About The Role

This is a rare opportunity to own the demand side of an AI-powered talent marketplace at the earliest stage, working directly alongside the founding team. You will be responsible for bringing high-growth startups onto the platform and turning what works into a repeatable, scalable growth engine. The role is designed to evolve into a General Manager position with broader business ownership.

What You'll Do

• Own company acquisition end to end, from prospecting and outreach through to onboarding and activation.
• Build trusted relationships with founders, executives, and talent leaders at venture-backed startups.
• Understand each client's hiring needs deeply and translate them into successful outcomes on the platform.
• Execute across multiple GTM channels including outbound, referrals, partnerships, events, and content.
• Write and optimize cold email and LinkedIn sequences that consistently generate qualified conversations.
• Cold call prospective clients and run highly personalized outreach campaigns.
• Experiment rapidly with new messaging, channels, customer segments, and commercial models.
• Turn successful experiments into documented, measurable, and repeatable processes.
• Track the full demand funnel, identify conversion bottlenecks, and take ownership of improving them.
• Collaborate with talent and product teams to improve matching quality and overall marketplace liquidity.

What We're Looking For

• 1 to 2 or more years of experience in a client-facing, commercial, consulting, operations, or growth role.
• Background in a demanding, fast-paced environment such as a venture-backed startup, management consulting, investment banking, or venture capital.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a strong instinct for persuasive and concise messaging.
• Ability to build credibility and trust quickly with startup founders and senior leaders.
• Comfortable picking up the phone, initiating cold conversations, and maintaining momentum through rejection.
• Highly analytical and experimental mindset, comfortable designing tests and measuring results rigorously.
• Able to move fluidly between strategy and hands-on execution without needing detailed direction.
• Creates structure from ambiguity and solves unfamiliar problems independently.
• High ownership, urgency, and genuine ambition to help build something meaningful from an early stage.
• Early-to-mid career profile with visible, measurable professional achievements.

Location

On-site in San Francisco, CA, United States. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.