chief of staff recruitment agency and headhunters
your next chief of staff, in good hands.
We combine our data, our sector experts and our AI algorithms to identify the headhunter most relevant to your role, from first right-hand to head of office for a large group.
- no setup fees, pay on hire
- guaranteed replacement
they hire their chief of staff with muzzo
how do you hire a chief of staff through a recruitment agency?
A good chief of staff advances the leader's priorities without ruffling the other teams. Muzzo gives your role to headhunters who place the most in this field: they test cross-functional projects delivered. Fee of 5 to 30%, paid on hire. Leaves within 3 months: we restart the search free.
how it works
you only pay if you hire
01
you describe the role
Using the form above: the role, your company, the mandate the leader is delegating. The rest is scoped in your first conversation with the Muzzo team.
02
our data chooses the headhunters
Our AI picks those who have hired the most in executive leadership, from more than 2,500 selected headhunters.
03
you meet the best profiles
Approached and qualified by headhunters who are leadership experts. You choose who you meet.
04
you hire, then you pay
Not before. If your new hire leaves within 3 months, we restart the search at no cost.
they hired with muzzo
Muzzo's strength is the diversity of its recruiters: there is always someone listening to our needs.
With Muzzo, I get the reactivity of a marketplace and the quality of a search firm.
let's talk about your role
Antoine and the Muzzo team help you scope your role and choose the right headhunters. Describe your role in the form: we'll call you back to discuss it.
Antoine GigomasCEO and co-founder of Muzzo
one last question?
With Muzzo, you set the fee, between 5 and 30%, and you only pay it on hire: no deposit, no fixed fees. A first chief of staff at a scale-up and a head of office who manages a team don't take the same search. The fee follows that difficulty, and the Muzzo team helps you set it.
You have a double guarantee. If your new hire leaves within 3 months, for example because the real mandate doesn't match the brief, we restart the search at no cost. If we find no replacement within 4 months, we refund 50% of the fees. On average, 94% of Muzzo hires are still in post after 3 months.
leadership headhunters are ready to start
A hire signed in under 26 days, paid only when you hire.
the reality
a chief of staff is judged by the files they move, not their job title
a good chief of staff is already in the leader's dossiers, not on job boards
They prepare the decisions, track cross-functional projects and know what's stuck before being asked. They don't job hunt. A leadership headhunter knows when and how to reach them.
the same title covers very different mandates
At a scale-up, the chief of staff structures a nascent leadership function. At a large company, they drive one specific programme for the board. The headhunter starts from the real mandate, not the job title.
a hiring mistake blocks the leader themselves
A chief of staff without the trust of the other functions slows down projects instead of moving them forward. The headhunter verifies the cross-functional work actually delivered before introducing anyone.
the roles
the chief of staff profiles our headhunters go after for you
From first right-hand to head of office at a large group, each search goes to a headhunter who has already hired at that level.
chief of staff
They drive the leader's priorities, prepare the board and own cross-functional programmes.
head of office
The equivalent of chief of staff at a large company or government body, often with their own team.
executive assistant
They support a leader on a narrower scope, often a first role before chief of staff.
strategy director
They prepare board-level decisions on one strategy, with less hands-on execution day-to-day.
the method
a leadership headhunter, not an agency that does everything
A chief of staff is judged by the files they move for the leader. The method starts from that real mandate.
we frame the mandate the leader is delegating
Cross-functional projects, board preparation, own team or not: the brief describes what the leader wants to delegate, not just 'a chief of staff role'.
a headhunter who hires chief of staff
From more than 2,500 selected headhunters, your role goes to those who hire the most in executive leadership.
cross-functional projects tested, not a task list
The headhunter asks for one file delivered end-to-end, the functions convinced along the way, and what the leader decided at the end. Then they cross-check with references.
the figures
a chief of staff's salary in figures
source: Apec, private-sector managerial pay in 111 job families, 2025 edition, p. 42 (executive management) (opens a new window), 2025 data
source: Apec, private-sector managerial pay in 111 job families, 2025 edition, p. 42 (executive management) (opens a new window), 2025 data
source: Apec, private-sector managerial pay in 111 job families, 2025 edition, p. 42 (executive management) (opens a new window), 2025 data
hiring a chief of staff: what you need to know
why use a headhunter to hire a chief of staff?
A chief of staff advances the leader's priorities without overstepping the other functions: they prepare decisions, track cross-functional projects and know what's stuck before being asked. Good profiles are in post, taken by their own dossiers, and don't answer job ads.
A leadership headhunter knows how to reach them and asks the right questions: what real mandate, which team, what access to the leader. This page covers the chief of staff role itself; for the leader role, see our chief executive page, and for a business unit, our business unit manager page.
chief of staff or head of office: which title to hire?
Chief of staff is the most common title in scale-ups and tech. Head of office often means the same mandate at a large company or government body, sometimes with an own team to manage.
The brief must fix the real mandate: board preparation, specific cross-functional programme delivery, or both. That mandate sets the search level, not the title on the job ad.
how do you assess a chief of staff at interview?
The CV lists projects tracked. The interview has to show something else: one cross-functional file delivered end-to-end, the functions to convince along the way, and what the leader decided at the end.
A real case works well: a project stuck between two functions, and twenty minutes to explain how they unstuck it. The headhunter does this first screen before introducing anyone, and checks with references the files the profile says they delivered.
first chief of staff at a scale-up or reinforcing a large group: what changes?
At a scale-up, the first chief of staff often starts from scratch: no formalised board, a leader who decides alone. You need an autonomous profile, able to structure the function. At a large company, the chief of staff joins an already-organised leadership, with rituals and a board calendar already set.
Pay, though, depends mostly on budget assigned: according to Apec, the closest family, executive management, shows €80k median for those with own budget, against €60k without. What shifts with company size is mostly the scope to look for.
where should you hire a chief of staff: Paris or the regions?
The pay gap between Paris and the regions remains marked at this level: according to Apec, €90k median in the Paris region for the executive management family, against €70k elsewhere (2025 edition). A search outside Paris remains credible for a head office outside Paris or a leader happy with part-time remote.
The rarity of the profile, though, depends less on geography than on the mandate the leader is ready to give from day one: a chief of staff without a clear mandate struggles to convince the other functions, wherever they work.
your questions about hiring a chief of staff
No Apec family covers chief of staff itself: the closest, executive management (which also covers executive assistant), shows a median of €68k gross a year aged 35 to 45, and €81k after 45 (2025 edition). Below 35, the sample is too small to be reliable.
Yes, according to Apec: executive management professionals with own budget to manage show a median of €80k a year, against €60k without (2025 edition). For a chief of staff, it's often the budget assigned, more than the title, that sets the pay level.
The chief of staff works for the leader, on cross-functional priorities and with no P&L of their own. The business unit manager owns a specific P&L: they sell, they staff, they build their team. If you're looking for someone for a P&L, see our business unit manager page.