Group Chief of Staff in England

RWS is transforming from a services‑led translation company into a technology‑first, AI‑powered language intelligence platform. The Chief of Staff is the CEO’s force multiplier: the person who turns strategic intent into cross‑functional execution, ensures decisions are followed through, and keeps the organisation’s tempo aligned with the pace of change. This is not a traditional administrative or project‑management role. It suits someone who has excelled in a top‑tier strategy consultancy, wants to move closer to the operational engine of a business, and instinctively thinks about solving problems by building scalable, AI‑enabled solutions rather than working task by task.

About RWS: RWS is a global AI solutions company empowering the world’s most trusted enterprise AI. Our proprietary Cultural Intelligence Layer, powered by 250,000 data specialists, cultural and language experts and deep domain professionals, backed by 45+ patents, makes enterprise AI culturally fluent, contextually accurate and secure, ensuring every interaction reflects a brand’s tone, context and customer values. Through our Generate, Transform and Protect segments, we deliver intelligent content, enterprise knowledge, large‑scale localisation and IP protection for global growth. Trusted by 80+ of the world’s top 100 brands, RWS provides the confidence, governance and expertise organisations need to deploy AI safely, responsibly and at scale. Headquartered in the UK, RWS is listed on AIM (RWS.L).

Key Responsibilities

• Drive Strategic Execution: Own the CEO’s highest‑priority, cross‑functional projects particularly those at the intersection of product, technology and go‑to‑market from problem definition through to delivered results. Translate strategic vision into actionable plans with clear owners, milestones and KPIs. Track progress relentlessly and flag blockers early. Conduct rapid, data‑driven analyses and prepare crisp briefing materials that accelerate executive decision‑making.
• Set the Operational Rhythm: Manage the executive leadership cadence, agendas, pre‑reads, decisions and follow‑ups so that leadership time is spent on what matters most. Identify operational bottlenecks and process gaps; fix them or commission the right team to fix them. Build a lightweight but rigorous system for tracking transformation KPIs and surfacing performance insights to the executive team.
• Be the Connective Tissue: Act as a trusted proxy for the CEO: build strong alliances across Product, Engineering, Sales, Marketing and Group Functions to ensure unified execution. Draft and manage key CEO communications, internal and external, that reinforce our Tech‑First and Cultural Intelligence identity. Serve as a sounding board to the CEO and leadership team, bringing structured thinking and honest challenge to strategic debates.
• Champion AI‑First Problem‑Solving: Proactively identify opportunities where AI and automation can replace manual processes, improve decision‑making or create entirely new capabilities not just for individual tasks but as scalable, repeatable solutions. Stay at the frontier of AI tools, frameworks and best practices. Bring that knowledge into every workstream and challenge the organisation to think bigger.

Skills & Experience

• 35 years at a top‑tier strategy consultancy (McKinsey, BCG, Bain or Alvarez & Marsal) with a strong performance record. We value this as a filter for analytical rigour, structured problem‑solving and the ability to operate at pace under ambiguity.
• Demonstrated track record as a hard worker with high personal standards; someone known for getting things done, not just analysing them.
• Genuine, hands‑on fluency with modern AI tools (LLMs, automation platforms, no‑code/low‑code builders). You should already be using these daily and thinking about how they can transform workflows at scale.
• Exceptional communication skills: the ability to distil complex strategic and technical ideas into clear narratives for audiences ranging from engineers to the board.
• Unquestionable integrity and discretion in handling highly sensitive strategic and commercial information.

Strong Preferences

• Experience working in or with complex, global, operationally intensive businesses (BPO, outsourcing, technology services or similar multi‑geography environments).
• Exposure to business‑model transformations ideally a shift from services‑led to product‑led or technology‑first.
• Familiarity with the enterprise AI landscape, data strategy and modern product‑development lifecycles.
• A systems thinker who naturally connects disparate ideas to the bigger picture and spots where technology can create new value propositions.

Life at RWS

If you like the idea of working with smart people who are passionate about growing the value of ideas, data and content by making sure organisations are understood, then you’ll love life at RWS. Our purpose is to unlock global understanding. This means our work fundamentally recognises the value of every language and culture. So, we celebrate difference, we are inclusive and believe that diversity makes us strong. We want every employee to grow as an individual and excel in their career. In return, we expect all our people to live by the values that unite us: to partner, putting clients first and winning together, to pioneer, innovating fearlessly and leading with vision and courage, to progress, aiming high and growing through actions and to deliver, owning the outcome and building trust with our colleagues and clients.

RWS embraces DEI and promotes equal opportunity, we are an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind. RWS is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at RWS are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, sex, age, disability or sexual orientation. RWS will not tolerate discrimination based on any of these characteristics.

RWS Values

Get the 3Ps right – Partner, Pioneer, Progress and well Deliver together as RWS.

Recruitment Agencies

RWS Holdings PLC does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward any unsolicited resumes to any RWS employees. Any unsolicited resume received will be treated as the property of RWS and terms & conditions associated with the use of such resume will be considered null and void.