Strategic Project Lead (Demand Side)

About This Role

Clera is building a talent marketplace that helps exceptional candidates connect with ambitious companies. As the marketplace grows, we are beginning to see strong network effects across both sides.

We are looking for a Strategic Project Lead to own and scale the demand side of our marketplace: the companies hiring through Clera.

This is not a traditional sales role. You will own the full journey from identifying promising companies and building relationships with startup leaders to onboarding clients, helping them succeed, and turning what works into a repeatable growth engine.

You will work closely with the founders and have significant freedom to experiment. The role is designed to lay the foundation for you to eventually grow into a General Manager position with broader ownership of the business.

What You’ll Do

• Own company acquisition end to end, from identifying prospects and starting conversations to onboarding and activating new clients.
• Build trusted relationships with founders, executives, and talent leaders at high-growth startups.
• Develop a deep understanding of each company’s hiring needs and translate them into successful searches on Clera.
• Work across outbound, referrals, partnerships, events, content, and other GTM channels to generate qualified demand.
• Personally execute the work required to learn what works, including cold calling, writing outbound sequences, attending events, and running highly personalized outreach.
• Create compelling email and LinkedIn campaigns that consistently generate conversations.
• Experiment quickly with new messaging, channels, customer segments, and commercial models.
• Turn successful experiments into measurable and repeatable processes that the company can scale.
• Collaborate with our talent and product teams to improve matching quality, client experience, and marketplace liquidity.
• Track the entire demand funnel, identify bottlenecks, and take ownership of improving conversion at every stage.

What We’re Looking For

• 1–2+ years of experience in a client-facing, commercial, consulting, operations, or growth role.
• Experience in a demanding, fast-paced environment such as a venture-backed startup, management consulting, investment banking, or venture capital.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong relationship-building instincts and the ability to establish credibility with startup founders and senior leaders.
• Willingness to pick up the phone, initiate conversations, and hear “no” without losing momentum.
• A highly analytical and experimental approach to growth.
• Comfort working across strategy and execution, from designing a GTM motion to personally sending the first hundred messages.
• The ability to create structure from ambiguity and solve unfamiliar problems without waiting for detailed instructions.
• High ownership, urgency, and ambition to build something from an early stage.

You Might Be a Strong Fit If

• You prefer building the sales playbook over inheriting one.
• You enjoy understanding how different startups operate and what makes their hiring challenges unique.
• You are equally comfortable speaking with a founder, analyzing funnel data, and writing a cold email.
• You are motivated by measurable outcomes rather than activity alone.
• You want a role where your scope grows quickly as the company grows.

Role Details

• Location: San Francisco, CA (in person)
• Type: Full-time

About Clera

Clera is an AI talent agent that helps exceptional professionals discover and access opportunities at high-growth startups. We combine technology with high-touch support to make recruiting faster, more personalized, and more effective for both candidates and companies.