Chief of Staff

Company Overview

CANVVS is where world‑class creativity meets cutting‑edge technology. We partner with world‑famous brands such as Disney, Marvel, Sky, eBay, and Nike to deliver high‑fidelity digital experiences and physical activations. Through a hybrid of bespoke digital platforms and global events, our standard is excellence. We are scaling our team to support a massive roadmap of activations through 2026.

CANVVS is the world’s leading agency and marketplace for custom sneakers and sports shoes. We live at the intersection of sport, music, and entertainment, turning footwear into a canvas for self‑expression and brand storytelling. Backed by culture icons such as Ed Sheeran, Sir Gareth Southgate, and Gary Vaynerchuk, we have evolved from a high‑touch agency into a scalable technology platform. We have delivered bespoke projects to the biggest teams, talent, and sporting moments on the planet, as well as global concert tours.

We recently launched the world’s first dedicated custom sneaker marketplace (MVP) and are now on an aggressive growth trajectory for 2026. This includes scaling digital infrastructure, opening a new head office in Manchester (Q1), and establishing a dedicated workshop studio in Leeds.

As the Head of Talent and Right Hand to the Founder, you will be the very first senior operational hire in this new growth phase. Your mission is to build the team and processes that will enable CANVVS to thrive while the Founder focuses on strategy and investor relations.

• Talent Acquisition & People Ops (Q1 Sprint)

  Own the recruitment lifecycle for 10+ critical roles (Digital PM, Creatives, Tech Leads) within the first 90 days. Manage all contracts, contractor agreements, and onboarding workflows to ensure new hires hit the ground running.

• Culture Architect

  Establish the "CANVVS Way" of working – a culture that bridges a high‑energy creative studio and a disciplined tech startup.

• General Management & Operations

  Maintain the day‑to‑day rhythm of the business, ensuring robust processes and operational backbone. Act as the operational glue between Agency and Platform teams, allocating resources appropriately.

• Office & Remote Management

  Organise team logistics, equipment procurement, and keep hybrid setup running smoothly.

• Executive Support (Right Hand)

  Act as gatekeeper for the Founder’s complex schedule, prioritising strategic goals and filtering noise.

• Special Projects

  Take on ad‑hoc strategic projects outside of a defined department (examples: finding new office space, organising launch events).

• You have experience as a Chief of Staff, Operations Manager, or Executive Assistant in a high‑growth startup or agency.
• You understand HR basics, including employment contracts, IR35, and UK HR compliance.
• You are radically organised – proficient in Slack, Trello, Asana, G‑Suite, and others – and you bring order to chaos.
• You possess a "Low Ego / High Output" mindset: no task is too small or too big.
• You get the culture of a creative agency and a tech platform. An interest in sneaker culture or streetwear is a massive plus, but not required.

• Impact
  :
  Build the team that will define the next decade of the sneaker industry.
• Access
  :
  Work side‑by‑side with leadership, gaining a front‑row seat to building a venture‑backed scale‑up.
• Growth
  :
  This role is designed to evolve into a COO or Chief People Officer position as the company scales.

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