Chief of Staff to Chief Operating Officer

About Auror

At Auror, we’re empowering the retail industry to tackle theft and Organised Retail Crime, a $150 Billion problem globally. It’s high volume crime that’s increasingly organised in nature and is putting people, retailers, and communities at risk every day.

Founded in New Zealand 12 years ago, we’re working with some of the best and largest retailers in the world across the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Auror is connecting people and intelligence to reduce crime. We’re using technology for good.

Our mission is clear: reduce violent retail crime by 50% in 5 years. It's an ambitious goal - and one we believe is achievable. In partnership with our leading retail partners, we need people with the passion, determination, and innovation required to overcome one of the world's largest problems. If you’re looking to make a difference with and for the people dedicated to stopping crime, for good, then we want you on our team.

We're also embracing the potential of AI to supercharge our impact - whether that's enhancing the way we detect trends, support our customers, or improve internal workflows. As a company, we're committed to responsibly incorporating AI into how we work and what we build, and we encourage all Aurors to be curious about how AI can elevate their work, regardless of role or function.

The Role

This is not a role for someone who needs a clear task list, a steady rhythm and well-defined KPIs. It's a role for someone who reads the room, anticipates what's needed before it's asked for, and operates with confidence in the space between strategy and execution.

You'll be working directly alongside our Chief Operating Officer, Paul Shingles (Shing), who leads Product, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, and People Experience - six functions, across five countries, at pace. Your job is to multiply Shing’s impact by building the clarity, cadence, and follow-through mechanisms that enable each function to run effectively and collaboratively, without Shing needing to be in the middle of every decision.

Shing moves at pace, switches context often, and needs someone who can run fast, provide structure, and adapt to the constantly changing landscape of a fast-growing company. You'll move between operating in the detail to driving projects forward and contributing to strategic decisions that shape the business.

You are resourceful, proactively seek out information, are comfortable transforming data to drive decision-making, ask the right questions, have a bias towards action, and are great at prioritising and managing your time. You are direct and candid. You share where you stand. You don’t care about being right; you just care about Auror succeeding and how to get there as fast and safely as possible.

You are comfortable working with all levels of stakeholders both inside and outside of Auror. You'll work closely with the executive team, the senior leadership group, and the other Chiefs of Staff. You'll lead through influence rather than reporting lines, and you'll be comfortable with that.

Responsibilities

Practically, this will involve:

No two weeks will look the same, but broadly you'll be:

• Running alongside Shing - anticipating what he needs, keeping context live, preparing him for meetings (internal and external) and making sure nothing falls through the cracks across a wide portfolio

  • Note: this may include administrative support. The person who thrives here sees the administrative support as part of staying close to what matters, not as the job itself.

• Protecting Shing’s focus - You can identify what genuinely needs Shing and what doesn't, and then ensure the latter gets resolved by the right people. That means building enough context, trust, and clarity across teams that good decisions can be made at the right level. The goal isn't to filter access; it's to ensure Shing's attention is reserved for the calls only he can make.

• Building relationships of trust and confidence - You build credibility fast with Shing's direct reports, grounded in a genuine understanding of their functional objectives and the critical outcomes each function is accountable for. That credibility is what lets you influence and enable, not just observe: pulling the right people into a conversation, acting as a sounding board, or unblocking a decision before it needs Shing.

• Supporting execution on key initiatives - unblocking and driving priority initiatives - stepping in to help, but also enabling accountability and ownership where it makes sense.

• Connecting the dots across functions - spotting where teams are misaligned, where information isn't flowing, and where someone needs to be nudged, and knowing whether the fix sits with the functional leader, with you, or with Shing.

• Supporting rhythm and operating cadence - helping structure how the COO function runs, including scheduling, meeting prep, and follow-through

• Communicating on behalf of the COO - drafting communications, distilling complex information, and representing Shing's thinking clearly and accurately

• Flagging what needs flagging - you'll be close enough to the business to see problems early. We want you to name them and have thought forward about what the solution might be

• Build capability, not dependency - Success is fewer things routing through you and more things working without you - that's what creates room for the next layer of work and opportunity.

Initial success looks like

• Decisions are increasingly made at the right level, without escalating to Shing.

• Direct reports own more follow-through over time, not less.

• The operating cadence runs whether or not you’re in the room.

• Problems surface early because the system makes them visible.

This role reports to Paul Shingles

I've spent my career being the person who turns "we should probably" into "it's done." From COO at Pushpay through its growth into a dual-listed success story, to CCO at Timely through its sale to EverCommerce, to CPO at AskNicely, the thread running through all of it is the same: I like being close to the messy middle where strategy meets execution.

At Auror, I lead Product, Engineering, Marketing, Sales, Customer Success, and People Experience, so my days move fast and rarely look the same twice. I'm direct; I'd rather hear I'm wrong than get nodded along to, and I care more about Auror winning than about being right. If you work with me, expect candour, pace, and someone who trusts you to run without me in the room.

Outside of work, I don't miss a Formula 1 race, I'm usually the one running the BBQ, and I've got a red wine collection I'm always looking for an excuse to open.

Requirements

• Previous experience working in a fast-paced, founder-led, high-growth business

• Previous experience as Chief of Staff, Operations, Strategy or Senior Functional Leadership roles working closely with senior management

• You operate with high autonomy. You don't wait to be told what's next; you figure it out

• You're a strong communicator, in writing and in person, and you know how to influence without authority

• You can hold significant context across multiple workstreams without dropping the detail

• You're comfortable with ambiguity and can make good judgement calls when there's no clear playbook

• You’re analytical; you can take a messy data set or a complicated situation and make it legible

• You move fast, balancing quality, pace of execution and bringing others on the journey

• You are low ego; you're comfortable doing whatever the role needs, whether that's writing a strategy brief or sorting a scheduling conflict

• You recognise the power and potential of AI to reduce toil and move at pace. As such, you’re already capable of building skills and agents to streamline tasks and bring clarity while still making the output your own.

We are looking for people who demonstrate a strong alignment to our Guiding Principles (you can find these on our Careers page).

With diversity and inclusion at the forefront of Auror’s guiding principles, we promote a culture that celebrates diversity and inclusiveness at Auror, regardless of, but not limited to, race, gender, sexual orientation, family status, religion, ethnicity, national origin, physical disability, veteran status, or age.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary range: Depending on level of experience, a starting salary of $200,000.

• Annual bonus: Eligibility for a $13,750 bonus at the end of the financial year if we’ve hit our revenue goals together.

• Employee share scheme: You’ll own part of a company making a real difference!

• Flexibility: We are hard-working and outcome-focused, but recognise there is more to life than work. We promote a healthy work/life blend.

• Shorter work weeks (at full pay): Everyone gets Friday afternoons off, so you can start your weekend early, and do more of whatever it is that makes you happy.

• Health Care Plan: We prioritise looking after your health by offering cover under our premier health business insurance plan through nib health insurance - with Auror covering 100% of your premium.

• Focus on mental and physical health: We understand how vital our health is and have policies to support your wellness, including Wellness Days, and up to $750 for expert sessions every year.

• Family-friendly: We offer comprehensive paid parental leave - 12 weeks for birth parents and 6 weeks for non-birth parents following birth, adoption, or surrogacy, available to all Aurors from day one.

• Personal growth: We support our team to participate in courses, conferences, or events that will help them develop their skills.

• Team love: We have regular team lunches and social events where most (if not all) activities are during work hours.

What are the next steps?

If you’re excited about our mission and you have the experience and a passion for this role, please hit “Apply”.

If you’re not sure that you tick all the boxes but feel you’re close to what we’re looking for, please apply anyway! We’re proud that Auror is a place where everyone can learn and grow, so we’d love to hear from you.

You'll be asked to submit a cover letter as part of your application. While this is optional, we do encourage it, as we find cover letters can tell a story that resumes alone often cannot. Our hiring team love to understand what attracted you to this role and why you are excited about the opportunity to join Auror.

Once you apply, you’ll hear from us to acknowledge your application. If you have questions about any of the above, or if you have any accessibility requirements, we’ll be able to help you from there.