Chief of Staff - Business Development

About the position

At Vast, our mission is to contribute to a future where billions of people are living and thriving in space. We are building artificial gravity space stations, allowing long-term stays in space without the adverse effects of zero-gravity. Our initial crewed space habitat will be Haven-1, scheduled to be the world's first commercial space station when it launches into low earth orbit in May 2026. Our team is all-in, committed to executing our mission safely and on time. If you want to work with the most talented people on Earth furthering space exploration for humanity, come join us. Vast is seeking a Chief of Staff to the Chief Revenue Officer ("CRO"). The Chief of Staff role will focus on leading strategic initiatives within the Business Development ("BD") team and driving a culture of accountability across the department. The ideal candidate will bring a blend of strategic, operational, project management, and leadership skills. Additionally, they should possess exceptional attention to detail, initiative, and critical thinking skills. They are curious, adaptable, and comfortable managing change and ambiguity. They enjoy solving complex problems, are highly collaborative, and operate with a strong bias toward action and results. This will be a full-time, exempt position located in our Long Beach location.

Responsibilities

• Assist the CRO in the day-to-day operational management of the BD team and in ensuring the CRO priorities are being effectively executed
• Own prioritization and execution of key BD strategic initiatives by partnering with the executive team and internal functions
• Enhance the effectiveness of key meetings by setting effective agendas and driving high-quality content and output, including preparation and meeting follow-ups
• Support the development and drive of the scorecard success metrics and KPIs. Monitor key metrics and flag areas of concern
• Develop internal processes to ensure the right information and decision points are filtered up to the CRO and the CEO for action. Work with external vendors as needed to implement all such processes
• Seek areas for improvement and innovation to make the overall team run more smoothly and drive growth
• Assist with communications between and from the CRO to the wider team
• Lead the preparation and development of presentations, including but not limited to reviews, all-hands meetings, internal and external speaking engagements, offsites, and events

Requirements

• 10 + years of progressive responsibilities in large technology or hardware focused company
• Proven experience at a fast, high-growth startup in a strategic business operations leadership role
• 5+ years of project and change management expertise
• Demonstrate analytical and logic skills with a focus on problem-solving frameworks
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Excellent GSuite/Microsoft Office skills

Nice-to-haves

• Excellent Leadership Skills: Strategic thinker + doer. You model accountability and possess qualities that inspire confidence and trust across multiple levels.
• Ability to motivate and influence teams to produce quality materials within tight timeframes while simultaneously managing several projects.
• Superior Interpersonal Skills: Your cultural sensitivity skills enable you to earn the respect of people across all levels of the organization.
• Comfortable working in a dynamic, fast-paced environment balancing several projects at any given time with the flexibility to respond to sudden changes in strategic direction.

Benefits

• 100% medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents
• Flexible paid time off for exempt staff and up to 10 days of vacation for non-exempt staff
• Paid parental leave
• Short and long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Access to a 401(k) retirement plan
• One Medical membership
• ClassPass credits
• Personalized mental healthcare through Spring Health
• Other discounts and perks
• Exceptional food perks, with snacks, drip coffee, cold drinks, and dinner meals remaining free of charge, and lunch subsidized