Chief of Staff to the CPO (m/f/d)

Join our mission to make education accessible for all!

Strengthen our People Team in a full-time position (40 hours per week) as Chief of Staff to the CPO (f/m/d) in Munich, with flexible remote-work options.

About us and what we are striving for

Few purposes are as simple – or as powerful – as ours: everybody, everywhere, should be able to access education that changes their life. Education remains the single biggest lever for social mobility, and IU Group has made it its business to pull that lever at scale. As Germany’s largest university group and one of Europe’s fastest-growing edtech companies, we open doors for 130,000+ students – many of whom are the first in their family to study, or are studying alongside a job, a family, a life.

None of this happens without people. It happens because 5,000+ colleagues from around 90 nationalities show up every day with academic excellence, a data-driven mindset and the pace of a tech company – now amplified by an ambitious AI transformation. That makes the People organisation not a support function here, but a core engine of the business: how well we attract, develop, organise and lead our people directly decides how many students we can serve, and how well.

Your role

You act as a strategic and operational extension of the CPO, a trusted sparring partner with a seat at the table where our business, organisation and people agenda is shaped. You drive alignment, focus and execution across the global People organisation and with the entire Group, integrating people strategy, governance, cross-functional coordination and selective hands-on project delivery. In short, you help to turn good intentions into tangible results for our students, colleagues and organisation.

This is not a backstage coordination role. It’s a role for someone who wants to learn how a large, fast-moving education company is really run, and make their mark on it.

• Strategy & decision support: Support the CPO in making key strategic decisions by synthesising people data and external insights, structuring complex topics, and preparing recommendations that hold up to both a human and a commercial lens.

• Executive & board readiness: Prepare high-quality materials for the executive team, shareholders and the works council – from board papers and business reviews to decision templates on strategic HR and organisational topics.

• PMO & execution: Drive and orchestrate key strategic People projects and transformation initiatives (PMO), e.g., operating model, leadership and organisational effectiveness, AI transformation, operational excellence, coordinating cross-functionally and ensuring objectives, timelines and outcomes are met.

• Leadership team operations: Design and oversee the operating cadence of the People Leadership Team, including leadership meetings, offsites, OKR and goal-setting cycles, and the OPEX and headcount budgeting process, in collaboration with the Finance Team.

• Alignment & information flow: Ensure an efficient flow of information between the CPO, the People Leadership Team, business units and projects, in terms of operations, concepts and organisation, so that the right people know the right things at the right time and act on them.

• Culture & communications: Shape internal communications for the People organisation, including all-hands meetings, leadership messages and change narratives. Support culture and engagement initiatives across the Group with honesty and warmth, rather than corporate gloss.

• Insight & early warning: Build reliable visibility through people analytics. Maintain dashboards and narrative updates so that the leadership team can clearly see progress, risks and trade-offs, and identify issues early with proposed solutions.

• 6-10 years of relevant experience, e.g., in top-tier management consulting, as Chief of Staff / in a CEO office, or in HR strategy, people operations or transformation roles, ideally in a fast-scaling tech, edtech or platform company.

• A university degree (Master’s preferred) in business, economics, psychology or a related field.

• Proven track record of driving complex, cross-functional projects end-to-end at C-level pace – you structure ambiguity fast, prioritise ruthlessly and actually deliver.

• Strong analytical toolkit: you are fluent in translating people data into decisions and confident building compelling executive-level presentations and decision papers.

• Genuine passion for people topics, talent, culture, leadership, organisational design, combined with sound business judgement, commercial acumen and outstanding AI literacy. You see no contradiction between caring for people and caring about results; you know the first enables the second

• High degree of discretion, integrity and diplomatic skill; you build trust quickly across all levels, from works councils to the executive team and you keep it.

• Excellent communication skills in English (C1+); German on an at least near-native level.

• Strong curiosity for AI and new technologies and how they transform the world of work and HR – you experiment first-hand rather than just reading about it.

• Be you at IU: We support and empower you to achieve your personal and professional goals. After all, your happiness significantly contributes to a positive and productive environment.

• Work wherever you want…: Our digital DNA makes remote work the standard. Whether from home or up to six months a year from abroad – you decide where you are most productive.

• … and flexible in terms of time: It’s your job; We trust you and give you the greatest possible freedom to organize yourself.

• Take your knowledge to a new level: Where else, if not with us? Benefit from free further training, language courses and discounted study programs. With us, there is always something new to learn.

• Make your journey sustainable: Whether it’s a DeutschlandTicket subsidised to just €13.45, or a Jobrad (bike leasing) offer, enjoy the freedom of mobility for both work and personal activities, while also making an eco-friendly choice.

• 33 days to rest: Taking breaks is important! In addition to 30 flexible vacation days per year, we also give you additional days off on your birthday, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Sounds like the perfect role for you? Then apply online now! Simple, fast, and even without a cover letter. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Anita Streitferdt at anita.streitferdt@iu.org.

Please note that, for data-protection reasons, we are unable to process applications submitted via email.

Actions speak louder than words: We cherish our „Culture of Everyone“ and would like to take this opportunity to empathize that we do not tolerate discrimination towards any race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation or disability. We welcome you as you are and look forward to nurturing our diverse community at the IU!