Chief of Staff – People Team

Job Description

Chief of Staff, People Team | Zendesk

The Tone:
This is a full-time role at Zendesk, located in Remote – USA. Zendesk is a company building products rooted in AI, automation, and intelligent customer experiences to power exceptional service for every person. This role is crucial for accelerating that ambition by enabling the People team to deliver meaningful outcomes for employees and the business through strategic clarity and operational excellence.

The TL;DR
• Role: Full Time
• Type: Full-time
• Location: Remote – USA
• Pay: $185000–$277000 yearly
• Team: People Leadership Team, reporting to the Chief People Officer
• Mission: Turn People team priorities into progress by bringing clarity to strategy, portfolio, operating rhythm, and communications for meaningful outcomes.
• Tech Stack: AI-enabled tools, planning tools, portfolio management tools, analytics tools

What You’ll Actually Do
• Strategic Partnership: Partner closely with the CPO to shape and execute the People team’s strategic priorities, annual plans, and operating cadence.
• Portfolio Leadership: Lead portfolio management across People initiatives, clarifying outcomes, dependencies, resourcing, and risks to keep work moving.
• Financial Oversight: Own the People team planning process and budget rhythm in partnership with Finance and functional leaders.
• Executive Communication: Drive preparation for Board and executive-level discussions, developing clear narratives and materials for People-related topics.
• Engagement Facilitation: Plan and facilitate People Leadership Team offsites and People Team All Hands to build connection, clarity, and momentum.

The Must-Haves
• Background: Executive. Experience in business strategy, business operations, People/HR operations, consulting, program management, or a related strategic role.
• Experience: 10+ years of experience, with 4+ years partnering directly with C-suite or senior executive leaders in a Chief of Staff, strategy, operations, or equivalent capacity. Experience leading enterprise or functional planning, portfolio management, and cross-functional initiatives with multiple senior stakeholders.
• Skills: A strategic operator’s mindset, strong executive communication skills, sound judgment and discretion when handling sensitive information, and a practical, data-informed approach to prioritization.
• Bonus: Experience supporting a Chief People Officer or senior leadership team in a global technology or SaaS company, especially within a 3,000+ employee multi-region organization undergoing growth or transformation.