About The Role
Tropic Skincare is looking for a Chief of Staff to cover a period of maternity leave from September 2026. This is a fixed-term role working in close partnership with our Founder & CEO, Susie Ma and her leadership team.
The Chief of Staff exists to materially increase the CEO’s effectiveness and to drive efficiency, productivity and innovation across the business. In practice, this means protecting the CEO’s time, reducing friction, creating clarity, sharpening the operating rhythm, accelerating execution and making sure the business is set up to run smoothly throughout the cover period.
An important part of the role is supporting the CEO’s early-stage investment portfolio. The focus is on managing the relationships with founders, supporting their growth, connecting them to relevant experts and support as well strong oversight & reporting for Susie.
This is a high-impact role at the centre of the business, spanning operations, investments, recruitment, Susie’s PR & socials, and strategic projects. It requires strategic understanding of how businesses operate, with the ability to anticipate Susie’s needs by taking initiative, having good judgement and follow-through.
Key Responsibilities
Investment portfolio
- Look after the CEO’s portfolio of early-stage investments with strong oversight and reporting to Susie.
- Maintain a regular rhythm with the founders, managing the day-to-day relationship offering early-stage growth advice & connections to experts and resources alongside support from Susie.
Operating excellence & ways of working
- Drive continued adoption, up-skilling and consistent use of our central operating platform Asana as a single source of truth for work, goals and progress across every department — including training, champion networks and improvement of workflows.
- Continue to improve and maintain the CEO and leadership reporting rhythm — dashboards, goal tracking and quarterly updates.
- Continue to improve the company’s operating cadence so that work is visible, owned and moving, freeing up meaningful CEO time each week.
- Embedding tooling & understanding the ROI for the latest AI & productivity tools & updates.
Recruitment & management support
- Lead hiring for senior and business-critical roles, ensuring only high-conviction candidates progress to final stages.
- Provide management oversight and support for a select team members.
PR, brand & socials
- Support the co-ordination and delivery of Susie’s PR & social strategy alongside our internal teams to deliver top-tier opportunities.
- Manage PR & social requests with the PR & community management team.
Strategic projects
- Lead a portfolio of cross-functional strategic initiatives from concept through to recommendation and (where approved) delivery.
- Examples include internal innovation programmes, new business tools and channels, market-entry assessments and technology/AI roll-outs.
- Produce credible business cases, clear recommendations and practical implementation plans for the CEO.
About You
- Significant experience in a Chief of Staff, Venture Capital, Strategic Operations, Founder’s Office or equivalent role — ideally in a fast-moving, founder-led business.
- Commercial acumen, with the experience to understand financial business plans and offer advice & support on growth.
- Excellent project and stakeholder management, with fluency in (or the ability to quickly master) modern project management tools such as Asana.
- High-quality written and verbal communication, and the judgement to represent the CEO and business credibly with internal & external stakeholders.
- Excellent judgement and discretion — you’ll handle sensitive commercial, personal and people matters, and provide calm, organised support to the CEO.
- Rigorous follow-through and a bias to action: you take ownership, close loops and proactively spot risks, bottlenecks and opportunities before they surface.
What success looks like
- The CEO’s time is meaningfully protected and the business runs with a clear, reliable operating rhythm.
- The existing investment portfolio is well managed and founders are supported throughout the cover period.
- Priority roles are filled with strong hires, and the team feels well supported.
- The CEO’s public profile and the company’s PR presence grow measurably.
- Strategic projects are advanced and presented to the CEO with clear recommendations.
- A clean, complete handover back into the role at the end of the contract.
What We Offer
Employment Type: This role is offered full or part- time, 9am to 5pm on a fixed-term contract starting September 2026 until March 2027 at the earliest.
Location: Tropic HQ is a short walk from Beddington Lane Tram stop, with direct links to East Croydon and Wimbledon.
Hybrid Working: Enjoy a blend of office and remote working with a minimum of 3 days in the office.
Salary: Competitive
Benefits: Hybrid working, up to 33 days’ holiday. Life insurance, EAP through the Wisdom App, generous product allowance and 50% discount for family and friends, access to retailer discounts, free breakfast bar, dog-friendly HQ with a chill zone and pool table, on-site parking, regular social events, and plenty of well-being treats throughout the year.
Start Date: September 2026
About Tropic
Susie, our Founder and CEO, started Tropic Skincare as a teenager, selling homemade body scrubs at Greenwich Market to help her mum pay the bills. She sold out on her first day, and the incredible response made her realise she had started something quite special.
We still sell that iconic body scrub, and it sits alongside an extensive range of award-winning skincare and beauty products that have made us one of the UK’s fastest-growing beauty businesses. Our brand is certified vegan, cruelty-free and CarbonNeutral®, and our infinite purpose is to create a healthier, greener, more empowered world. And that’s where you come in!
We’re looking for creative and ambitious people who share our vision and get excited about beauty that’s both innovative and sustainable. If you’re passionate about skincare and have a genuine desire to empower communities across the globe, you could be a great fit.
Apply now if you’re ready to join a vibrant team who believes beauty knows no bounds!
Tropic’s Commitment to Equal Opportunities
Our team is as diverse as it is talented because at Tropic, we go the extra mile to cultivate a culture of respect and belonging. We value every candidate, respect protected characteristics and never discriminate. We also provide reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities at every stage of the hiring process, so if this is something you need, please let our recruitment team know at the earliest opportunity!
Ultimately, the most important thing for us is hiring the best person for the job, so we focus on skills, experience, and qualifications to ensure our process is fair and that our candidates always have a great experience with Tropic.
