Chief of Staff to the Managing Director (all humans)

Erste Digital is the technology engine of Erste Group – one of the leading banking groups in Central and Eastern Europe, serving more than 16 million customers. More than 1,800 experts at our locations in Vienna, Bratislava and Prague develop innovative digital products, platforms and infrastructures that shape the banking of tomorrow.

We combine technological excellence with the ambition to create real value for our customers – agile, sustainable and with a clear view of the bigger picture. This is exactly why we need you.

As Chief of Staff, you are the Managing Director’s closest professional sparring partner and take on a strategic-operational key function with direct influence on central decisions and priorities of the company. You act across departments, resolve operational bottlenecks, drive strategic projects forward and prepare critical decisions at C-level. As the link between management, the Heads of Division and Heads of Department, the holding company, the bank and external partners, you ensure that strategy turns into execution – quickly, soundly and with foresight. You are regularly present in leadership rounds, board meetings and strategic alignments and are always up to date on the company’s most important topics.

Your Tasks:

• Strategic planning & communication
  • Supporting management in the formulation, communication and implementation of corporate goals and vision
  • Preparing strategic content for a wide range of target groups – both internal and external
• Project management & steering of initiatives
  • Leading and overseeing company-wide, complex initiatives as a direct staff function to the Managing Director
  • Ensuring that strategic projects are implemented on time and in a targeted manner
• Interface management
  • Acting as the link between management and the respective division and department heads
  • Acting as the central point of contact for the holding company, the bank and external partners on strategic topics
• Decision preparation
  • Gathering information and conducting data analyses to support well-founded decision-making
  • Preparing decision documents that provide management with clarity and foresight
• Operational crisis management
  • Identifying operational friction points and bottlenecks at an early stage
  • Independently stepping in with a solution-oriented approach to get projects back on track
• Presence at leadership level
  • Actively participating in leadership rounds, board meetings and strategic alignments
  • Continuously staying up to date on all business-critical topics

You check these boxes:

• Several years of relevant professional experience in operations, strategic management or management consulting – with proven implementation capability
• Excellent communication and translation skills between business departments, IT and top management (C-level)
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills, combined with the ability to quickly structure complex issues and prepare them for decision-making
• Strong diplomatic skills combined with a high level of assertiveness – ability to actively manage areas of tension and bring about decisions
• High resilience and ability to work under pressure in a dynamic, often contradictory environment
• Clear prioritisation skills and decisiveness, including the ability to delegate, critically question and consciously say “no”
• High degree of personal responsibility, results orientation and a structured, proactive way of working
• Strong conflict management skills and the willingness to consistently address uncomfortable topics
• Business-fluent German and English skills
• Experience in the financial services or technology environment, experience working with group or holding structures as well as knowledge of data analysis and the preparation of decision documents for top management are considered an advantage

Our Offer

• Possibility to benefit and learn from our international, talented and passionate community at Erste
• Interest groups and clubs: Take part in discussions and get involved in projects. Numerous interest groups invite you to engage with a topic
• Health Centre – The Erste Campus operates a fully equipped health center that offers all employees a high standard of medical services during working hours.
• Employee benefits –  Benefit from special conditions for financial services and insurances, supermarkets, clothing stores and many more.
• Employee Referral Program – Become a talent scout for career opportunities in IT. We are rewarding every successful referral for Erste Digital
• A competitive and performance-related salary dependent on your professional and personal qualifications is granted - the minimum wage for this position in accordance with the respective collective agreement is EUR 70.000,-- gross per year. But this is just a formality, we are more than happy to discuss your actual expectations.
  
  

Please add one short section to your application for each of the following two points:

• First 60 Days Plan:
  Describe your first 60 days in the role. What concrete actions would you take in weeks 1–2?
  Which five most important artefacts would you use for an initial analysis of the organisation? Who are the five most important people or roles you would speak with? Which decisions should have been made after 60 days? How would you measure your success?
• Prioritisation under uncertainty:
  Describe a specific experience from your professional life in which you had to prioritise under uncertainty. What was your methodology?
  How can this experience be applied to Erste Digital?