An Opportunity to Help Shape Vancouver's Future

About Artopia & The Narrow Group

We're not your typical company, and we're not looking for your typical executive.

For nearly 20 years, The Narrow Group has been creating some of Vancouver's most unique spaces for people to work, play, and connect. From independent restaurants and bars to artist studios, entertainment venues, and motorcycle culture, we've built our businesses around creativity, community, and doing things differently.

Today, Artopia and The Narrow Group operate a growing collection of businesses across Vancouver, including award winning restaurants and bars such as Key Party, The Narrow, and Slim’s BBQ, alongside more than 170,000 square feet of creative space supporting over 400 artists.

Our mission is to help shape Vancouver's future by supporting unconventional ideas, challenging the status quo, and creating spaces that bring people together.

Our core values guide everything we do: Integrity, Humility, Work Is Play, and Reject Conformity.

We're entrepreneurial, unconventional, and ambitious. We run a lean organization, move quickly, and believe that great ideas are only valuable when someone makes them happen.

The Opportunity

We're looking for an exceptional COO / Chief of Staff to become the CEO's second-in-command and work side by side with the CEO to lead and grow our businesses.

This isn't a traditional COO position where you're handed the keys and expected to run the company independently. It's a unique opportunity to work directly with an entrepreneurial founder, helping turn ambitious ideas into successful businesses.

You'll be involved in everything from big-picture strategy and new business opportunities to supporting senior managers, improving operations, solving problems, and ensuring priorities turn into results.

We're looking for someone who can see the big picture without losing sight of the details. Someone who understands what's happening across the organization, anticipates challenges, takes ownership, and makes sure things get done.

The relationship with the CEO is central to this role. Open, honest communication, mutual trust, sound judgment, and a shared commitment to the company's success are essential.

This is a hands-on leadership position with real responsibility for people, operations, and financial performance. You'll need to be organized, adaptable, quick on your feet, and comfortable working in an environment where priorities can change rapidly.

Most importantly, we're looking for someone who genuinely enjoys building businesses, working with people, solving problems, and making things happen.

If you're an experienced leader who thrives in an entrepreneurial environment, believes work should be enjoyable, and wants to help build something unconventional and meaningful, this could be a very exciting opportunity.

Key Responsibilities

Support the CEO and Help Run the Companies

- Work side by side with the CEO on priorities, decisions, problems, and opportunities. Understand the vision and translate it into practical plans, clear responsibilities, and completed work.
- Help organize priorities, anticipate where support is needed across the business and broader team, and provide backup where needed. Proactively bring forward solutions and constructive challenges, stay aligned as priorities evolve, and translate the CEO’s vision into action.

Lead, Manage, and Hold People Accountable

- Serve as the EOS Integrator across the companies ensuring alignment, accountability, and execution to drive business performance and achieve company wide goals.




- Have direct reports consisting of all senior managers and project leaders. Set clear expectations, ownership of priorities, and deadlines; remove operational barriers; and follow through on commitments.
- Oversee hiring based on company core values and oversee performance reviews and bonus structures. Help managers succeed while holding them accountable for their results.

Keep the CEO Informed and Catch Dropped Balls

- Maintain visibility across departments, finances, staffing, projects, and the CEO's work.
- Communicate openly about successes, problems, mistakes, disagreements, and risks—even when the conversation is uncomfortable. Raise issues early with enough information to make decisions together.
- Track important commitments, identify missed responsibilities, and get work back on track. Make sure the CEO has a clear picture without needing to chase information.

Own Financial Performance and Support Growth

- Own company-wide profit and loss performance in alignment with the CEO. Drive business planning, budgeting, and financial strategy, working with the finance team.
- Identify performance gaps and ensure corrective actions have clear owners and follow-through.
- Be fully committed to scaling Artopia to $10 million in annual revenue within two years. Help build the team, systems, and management discipline needed to support that growth.
- Support the company's broader growth ambitions while maintaining financial discipline and accountability across the businesses.

Drive Operations and Execute Priorities

- Oversee technology, systems, vendors, integrations, and side projects. Coordinate and help deliver special projects, festivals, activations, and strategic initiatives.
- Keep work moving across departments and resolve obstacles. Ensure the right people own the work and that it gets completed.
- Stay organized, nimble, and resourceful as priorities change, without losing track of important commitments.

Who You Are

There isn’t one perfect background for this role. We’re looking for someone who brings the right mix of experience, leadership, and mindset – and who is excited to make the role their own. You are someone who:

- Brings senior leadership experience from a company with at least $20 million in annual revenue and knows how to adapt that experience to a lean operation.
- Has a strong track record of leading people, managing financial performance, and driving execution across competing priorities.
- Enjoys working closely with an entrepreneurial CEO, sharing responsibility, tackling challenges together, and finding solutions.
- Is highly organized, punctual, quick on your feet, and able to make sound decisions without perfect information.
- Leads with integrity and humility, believes work is play, and embraces non-conformity.
- Communicates honestly, welcomes feedback, enjoys the work, brings a sense of humor, thinks creatively and isn't afraid to challenge the status quo.
- Is motivated by growth, thrives on making things happen, and is willing to roll up your sleeves and get hands-on where needed.

What Success Looks Like

- The CEO has dependable support in running the companies and more capacity to pursue growth.




- Managers have clear direction, support, and accountability.
- All the senior management team are the right person in the right seat.
- Increase annual revenue by over 10% year by year.
- Raise the profitability of each business annually.
- Decisions become completed actions, with fewer missed commitments.
- Problems and financial performance gaps are identified and addressed early.
- The CEO stays informed through honest, proactive communication.
- The businesses remain responsive while building the team and systems needed to scale.
- Scale Artopia to $10 million in annual revenue within the next two years.
- There is 100% alignment with the company's core values.

The central responsibility: Work alongside the CEO to run the companies together and make sure the vision becomes results.

Why This Role Is Different

We're not looking for someone who simply takes over operations and runs the companies independently of the CEO. We're looking for someone who wants to be a thought partner with the CEO, help lead the organization, support and hold managers accountable, solve problems, drive financial performance, and ensure the important things actually get done.

This role requires both strategic thinking and practical execution. You'll need to understand the bigger picture while staying close enough to the details to know what's happening across the businesses, where support is needed, and what might be falling through the cracks.

We're entrepreneurial, we’re lean, and we move quickly. We need someone who can bring structure without unnecessary bureaucracy, accountability without ego, and sound judgment without needing every answer handed to them.

If you're excited about helping build something bigger, working closely with an entrepreneurial CEO, and turning ambitious plans into tangible results, we'd love to hear from you.

Perks of Working with Us

- Extended health and dental benefits
- Staff discounts at our restaurant locations
- Monthly phone allowance
- A grounded, supportive, and down-to-earth team
- Meaningful work supporting the arts through well-run spaces
- Chance to grow alongside the company
- So much fun

Above all, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, welcoming workplace and artist community. We value diverse perspectives and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and identities.

If you are interested in this role but aren't sure you meet all the requirements, we’d still love to hear from you.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $140,000.00-$160,000.00 per year

Benefits:

- Dental care
- Extended health care
- Paid time off
- Store discount

Application question(s):

- What are you salary expectations for this position?
- How many years of experience do you have in a senior leadership role overseeing multiple departments, teams, or business units?
- Have you previously worked directly with a CEO or founder to translate strategic priorities into execution? If yes, briefly describe your role.
- Do you have experience implementing or operating within the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), or a similar business management framework?
- Do you have any previous experience in the hospitality industry in a leadership role?
- What is the largest team you have managed and the highest annual revenue you have been responsible for overseeing?
- What level of responsibility have you had for company-wide financial performance, including budgeting, P&L; management, and profitability?

Licence/Certification:

- Driving Licence (preferred)

Work Location: In person

📌 COO / Chief of Staff (South Main)
🏢 The Narrow Group
📍 South Main