Chief of Staff - Middle East & APJ

About the Role

Shield AI is looking for a Chief of Staff to assist the Vice President for the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions. This role acts as a critical enabler for regional leadership by accelerating operational effectiveness, steering strategic projects, and driving commercial expansion throughout the area. Positioned at the crossroads of business execution, commercial strategy, and leadership, the Chief of Staff ensures proper coordination across business development, program management, finance, and corporate departments.

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate closely with regional leaders to convert strategic objectives into actionable and measurable plans.
• Oversee the implementation of important regional projects, guaranteeing cooperation across business development, programs, finance, legal, and operations units.
• Lead regular regional business evaluations, operational rhythms, and executive reporting to provide transparency on outcomes, risks, and opportunities.
• Manage special assignments such as market entry, organizational growth, and operational transformation on behalf of leadership.
• Back regional growth goals by managing sales pipelines, forecasting, capture strategy, and prioritizing opportunities.
• Ensure leadership maintains visibility on business development efforts, key customer engagements, and strategic alliances.
• Work with sales teams to prepare and update capture plans targeting priority opportunities in the region.
• Deliver market studies, competitor insights, and customer analytics to inform business and strategic decisions.
• Coordinate multi-departmental resources to support major proposals, bids, demos, and client interactions.
• Assist in regional financial planning, resource allocation, and operational performance oversight.
• Build and oversee dashboards, KPIs, and leadership reports that foster accountability and informed decision-making.
• Identify and fix operational bottlenecks by designing scalable procedures to enhance organizational efficiency.
• Facilitate communication between regional teams and headquarters to ensure smooth execution of strategic priorities.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to regional executives by offering analytical support, strategic advice, and decision frameworks.
• Prepare presentations, business cases, and strategic communications for both internal and external stakeholders.
• Represent regional leadership in cross-functional discussions and initiatives as needed.
• Support interactions with customers, partners, and industry participants throughout the Middle East and APJ regions.

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years of experience in strategy, business operations, consulting, commercial operations, Chief of Staff roles, or comparable leadership positions.
• Proven experience leading complex initiatives involving multiple functions and influencing stakeholders across organizational levels.
• Strong commercial insight including experience in supporting business development, pipeline oversight, forecasting, or growth strategies.
• Excellent analytical thinking, communication skills, and ability to create executive-level presentations.
• Experience developing leadership reports, performance metrics, and strategic recommendations.
• Highly organized, proactive, and comfortable navigating fast-changing and ambiguous environments.
• Willingness to travel both domestically and internationally when needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Background in defense, aerospace, autonomous technologies, or rapidly evolving tech sectors.
• Knowledge of government sales processes, capture management, and international business expansion.
• Previous experience supporting senior executives or in a Chief of Staff role.
• Advanced degree such as MBA or similar in business, engineering, international relations, or related disciplines.
• Track record of leadership, entrepreneurship, or leading operational change.
• Experience living or working in the Middle East and/or Asia Pacific regions.

Additional Information

Artificial intelligence tools may be used as part of the recruitment process to assist with reviewing applications and assessing information, but all final hiring decisions are made by human evaluators. Inquiries regarding data handling during recruitment can be made upon request.