Deputy Chief of Staff Greater Santa Ana, CA Area

Pardon is seeking a Deputy Chief of Staff to serve as a critical link between executive-level direction with team-wide execution of major projects and initiatives. This is a central role working at the intersection of multiple entities and teams: the Pardon family office, the creative studio (our atelier), and our venture-building studio.

The Deputy Chief of Staff will serve as a go-to resource—managing calendars, communication, logistics & operations, and key project workflows across a range of ventures and initiatives spanning arts, entrepreneurship, community, travel, and events.

The ideal candidate has experience working directly with executives to fully own and manage key projects—with a track-record of exceptional organizational acumen, sound judgment, complete ownership, and a commitment to ultra-high standards.

This role calls for a high degree of discretion, a polished communication style, and the ability to anticipate and meet the needs of a visionary and fast-moving leadership team across a vast portfolio of ventures.

About Pardon

Pardon is a modern family office and venture studio. We invest in visionary ventures — and the people behind them — across the arts, well‑being, and lifestyle.

Key Role Responsibilities

Calendaring & Correspondence

Manage calendars for the Founder and key executives, maintaining organization, clarity, and intentional scheduling across all time zones and functions.

Implement and maintain a formalized system for naming, categorizing, and prioritizing calendar entries.

Conduct quarterly planning sessions to align executive calendars with seasonal priorities, project timelines, and travel.

Support external communications and social media presence through the drafting of press releases, social content, and strategic copywriting.

Partner with creative teams to execute communication plans aligned with brand and venture objectives.

People Operations & Culture Liaison

Serve as the central people operations liaison, supporting onboarding, team member questions, and remote team connection.

Maintain a warm, responsive presence across all levels of the organization to ensure a grounded and cohesive culture.

Oversee NDA processes, contractor engagement, and communication alignment in coordination with legal and finance teams.

Project Briefing & Management

Own the preparation of project briefs to ensure clarity, alignment, and strategic intent from the start.

Lead briefing sessions for executive review and coordinate with cross-functional teams to fill knowledge and planning gaps.

Conduct ongoing check-ins with project teams, track progress, and share daily morning updates with executives highlighting milestones, blockers, and key decisions.

Act as the primary point of coordination for Ventures and Arts & Lifestyle projects, while collaborating across all platforms and teams to uphold alignment.

CRM & Key Relationships

Own and manage the company’s CRM system as the single source of truth for all key relationships across the Family Office, Atelier, and Ventures—including VIPs, advisors, and clients.

Facilitate high-touch communication through handwritten notes, thoughtful gifting, milestone recognition, and confidential correspondence.

Support the executive team in preparing introductions, coordinating NDAs, and maintaining relationship continuity across ventures.

Itinerary & Event Planning

Design detailed itineraries for all executive and company travel, handling transportation, lodging, and hospitality in coordination with partner teams.

Manage logistics for events, exhibitions, and in-person activations across the Cannery Village campus and Atelier initiatives.

Ensure a seamless, high-touch hospitality experience for VIPs and guests at every point of contact.

Key Role Qualifications

5-8 years of experience in project management, ownership, and delegation for an in-person startup or other fast-paced collaborative environment. Preferred 2 years of experience leading and project-managing multi-stakeholder teams.

2 years of experience partnering with executives to translate direction and ideas into project plans. Related: proven experience managing up to executives.

Demonstrated operational excellence in detail-intensive work such as scheduling, calendaring, travel, logistics, onboarding, and stakeholder coordination.

High emotional intelligence and hospitality instincts: warm, polished, discrete, and comfortable engaging with executives, collaborators, and VIP guests.

Proven evidence of exceptional writing. This person can share past briefs, updates, timelines, and executive-facing correspondence as evidence of their writing ability.

Preferred qualification: Experience working in a family office.

Key Role Behaviors

Actively listens and rapidly synthesizes: The Deputy Chief of Staff can take in high volumes of direction, identifies the important threads by exercising sound judgment and discretion, and converts them into clear next steps and project plans.

Proactively drives momentum and owns projects end-to-end: The Deputy Chief of Staff has an ownership mentality for the projects they manage. This person stays one step ahead of everyone else and keeps projects moving. They take a proactive approach to communication and alignment: clear written updates, visible progress, alignment across stakeholder groups.

Builds trust through reliability and impeccable attention to detail: The Deputy Chief of Staff handles operational details—such as calendaring, correspondence, onboarding, and logistics—with discretion, accuracy, and a spirit of hospitality.

Brings warmth alongside high standards: The Deputy Chief of Staff is organized and Type-A while also being welcoming, socially attuned, and hospitality-oriented. They love to collaborate in person.

Flexible and adaptive to changing timelines, priorities, and plans: The Deputy Chief of Staff is unfazed by rapidly changing priorities and projects.

Health insurance

401(K) match

Flexible time off

Monthly wellness stipend

Annual professional development stipend

Paid sabbatical after 5 years, and more