A highly successful entrepreneurial family in  San Francisco is seeking an exceptional Chief of Staff, Private Operations to take ownership of complex projects and operational priorities across their private world.

This is not a traditional Estate Manager, Personal Assistant, or household management position.

The family operates at a high level and has a complex portfolio of properties, projects, vendors, advisors, and personal interests. They are looking for an exceptionally sharp, commercially minded operator who can bring the rigor, judgment, and execution standards of a high-performing business environment into their private operations.

The successful candidate will work closely with the Principals, taking ownership of significant projects from initial concept and analysis through negotiation, execution, and completion.

The Role

This is a broad and highly autonomous position encompassing strategic projects, real estate and construction, financial oversight, vendor management, private operations, and special projects.

Responsibilities will include:

• Own complex, high-value projects across the family’s properties and broader private operations
• Lead multi-month and multi-year initiatives from initial scoping through execution and completion
• Oversee significant residential construction, renovation, infrastructure, and capital improvement projects
• Negotiate and manage high-value and multi-million-dollar construction and vendor contracts
• Analyze bids, proposals, budgets, contracts, and change orders, challenging costs and assumptions where appropriate
• Act as an informed owner’s representative when working with general contractors, architects, designers, consultants, attorneys, and other professional advisors
• Develop project strategies, budgets, timelines, milestones, and reporting
• Manage multiple sophisticated stakeholders and hold external partners accountable for cost, quality, and delivery
• Identify risks and potential problems early and develop practical solutions
• Drive cost-conscious decision-making while maintaining exceptional standards
• Build and improve systems, processes, controls, and reporting across private operations
• Evaluate vendors, negotiate commercial terms, and ensure the family is receiving appropriate value
• Research complex issues and present the Principals with concise analysis and well-considered recommendations
• Take ownership of special projects that may fall outside a traditional job description
• Support broader property and private operational requirements when needed

The Person

We are deliberately open-minded about background.

You may currently be working within a founder’s office, family office, investment firm, high-growth business, real estate/development environment, consulting firm, or sophisticated private office.

Relevant backgrounds could include:

• Chief of Staff
• Founder’s Associate / Founder’s Office
• Strategy & Operations
• Business Operations
• Special Projects
• Real Estate Development
• Owner’s Representation
• Construction / Capital Projects
• Family Office / Private Office

You do not need to have spent your career working within private households.

In fact, candidates who have developed their skills within demanding commercial or entrepreneurial environments and can translate that experience into the private world are particularly interesting.

What Matters

We are looking for someone who is:

• Exceptionally sharp, analytical, and commercially astute
• Intellectually curious and able to get up to speed quickly on unfamiliar subjects
• Experienced operating in a demanding, high-intensity environment
• Comfortable managing projects involving significant budgets and multiple sophisticated stakeholders
• Financially literate and confident interrogating costs, contracts, budgets, and proposals
• A strong negotiator who is comfortable challenging contractors, vendors, and professional advisors
• Able to move seamlessly between strategic thinking and hands-on execution
• Highly organized without becoming overly process-driven
• Naturally proactive and able to anticipate issues before they arise
• Comfortable making decisions and operating with significant autonomy
• Cost-conscious and commercially disciplined
• Low ego, practical, and willing to handle whatever needs to be done
• Accustomed to working directly with highly successful, fast-moving executives or Principals
• Exceptionally discreet and trustworthy

This role will suit someone who enjoys ownership rather than coordination. The Principals are not looking for someone to simply manage calendars, schedule vendors, or relay information between parties. They want someone who can understand a problem, analyze the options, make a recommendation, negotiate effectively, and drive the outcome.

Compensation

$300,000+ DOE, with flexibility for an exceptional candidate.

The family recognizes that the caliber of individual required may come from outside the traditional private staffing market and is prepared to structure the package accordingly.

This is an unusual opportunity for an accomplished operator who wants to step away from a purely corporate environment and become a trusted partner to an entrepreneurial family, with exposure to complex projects, significant responsibility, and genuine autonomy.