Executive Assistant - Operations Manager Trainee

Job description

We are looking for an experienced Executive Assistant to work closely with the founder of a successful and growing business. This is not a traditional EA role focused purely on diary management and basic administration. The right person will become closely involved in the day-to-day running of the business, learn how everything works, take ownership of operational responsibilities and, over time, develop into an **Operations Manager**. The immediate objective is to take a significant amount of operational work away from the founder so they can spend more time on clients, business development and strategic growth. Over the first 4–6 months, you will work closely with the founder to understand the business, take over recurring responsibilities, document processes and identify areas where the business can operate more efficiently. As your knowledge and responsibility increases, the role will develop towards managing processes, people and day-to-day operations. **Due to the working environment of this role, we will only be reviewing applications from British nationals at this stage.** ### Key Responsibilities #### Executive Support - Manage the founder's inbox and day-to-day correspondence - Handle routine client communications and follow-ups - Manage calendars, meetings and appointments - Prepare information and documentation ahead of meetings - Keep track of outstanding actions and make sure nothing falls through the cracks - Follow up with clients, suppliers and team members as required - Take ownership of recurring administrative responsibilities #### Business Administration - Keep business administration organised and up to date - Monitor outstanding tasks, deadlines and commitments - Ensure documents are prepared, sent and filed correctly - Maintain internal records and systems - Coordinate information between the founder, clients and contractors - Identify administrative bottlenecks and deal with them before they become problems - Establish and maintain simple, effective processes #### Operations As you become familiar with the business, you will gradually take on greater operational responsibility, including: - Documenting existing processes and creating SOPs - Reviewing how work is currently being completed and identifying improvements - Managing recurring operational tasks without founder involvement - Coordinating contractors and team members - Monitoring deadlines and deliverables - Helping manage workloads and priorities - Maintaining accountability across the team - Identifying issues and bringing solutions rather than simply reporting problems - Taking responsibility for keeping the business running smoothly day to day ### Progression to Operations Manager The long-term intention is for this position to develop into an **Operations Manager** role. The successful candidate will gradually move from completing tasks personally to managing the systems and people responsible for completing them. This may include: - Managing day-to-day operations - Overseeing contractors and team members - Implementing and improving SOPs - Managing workflows and internal systems - Monitoring performance and deadlines - Supporting recruitment and onboarding - Identifying operational inefficiencies - Taking responsibility for projects from start to finish - Becoming the main operational point of contact for the founder ### What We're Looking For We are looking for an experienced EA or senior administrative professional who wants more responsibility than a traditional assistant position provides. You should have: - Previous experience as an Executive Assistant, Senior Administrator, Operations Assistant or similar - Experience supporting a business owner, executive or senior leader - Excellent written and spoken English - Strong organisational and time-management skills - Excellent attention to detail - Confidence managing multiple priorities - Strong communication skills - Good judgement and discretion - Experience working with a range of online business systems - The ability to learn a business quickly and understand how its different parts fit together Experience with operations, project management, process improvement or team coordination would be highly desirable. ### Personality & Working Style This role will suit someone who naturally takes ownership. We are **not** looking for someone who waits for a list of instructions each morning. You should be comfortable looking at what needs to be done, prioritising it and getting on with it. The ideal candidate will: - Be proactive rather than reactive - Spot problems before they reach the founder - Follow things through to completion - Be comfortable chasing people when necessary - Take responsibility rather than passing problems upwards - Ask questions when needed, but also be capable of finding answers independently - Be commercially aware and interested in how a business operates - Be comfortable with change and increasing responsibility - Have the confidence to make sensible recommendations - Take pride in keeping things organised and under control A key test of suitability will be whether you can genuinely **take work off the founder's plate**, rather than creating another layer of management for them. ### The First 4–6 Months Initially, you will spend significant time working alongside the founder and learning the business. The expectation is that you will progressively: **Learn → Take Ownership → Improve → Manage** You will first understand how the business works, then take over recurring responsibilities, document and improve the processes, and eventually begin managing those processes and the people involved in them. The aim is for the founder to become increasingly removed from day-to-day administration and operations as your responsibility grows.