Personal Assistant

Personal Assistant to a Senior Business Principal (Remote)

Location: Remote (work from home), based in Johannesburg, ideally in the Sandton or Bryanston area
Employment type: Full time

About the role

A privately owned group of businesses is looking for a Personal Assistant to act as the right hand of its owner. You will support him across all of his business interests, keeping his diary, communications, travel and priorities running smoothly so that he can focus on the decisions that matter.

This is a role for someone who thinks ahead. You will be trained on the businesses, so we are looking for the right working style and strong core skills rather than industry knowledge.

This is not a typical 9 to 5 role. You must be available at short notice, including some evenings and weekends, and he may need to brief you or ask for something on a Sunday night. There will also be occasional errands and driving, so you need your own car.

What you will do

• Manage a busy diary, email and calendar, and protect his time
• Plan travel, bookings and itineraries
• Prepare for meetings, take notes and follow up on actions until they are closed
• Prepare spreadsheets, presentations and documents to a professional standard
• Handle basic expense tracking, invoicing support and admin for suppliers and service providers
• Coordinate projects and events across several businesses at the same time
• Handle sensitive information with complete discretion

Non-negotiables

• At least 3 years' experience as a Personal Assistant or Executive Assistant, with a record of handling multiple projects at the same time
• Highly organised, able to run many tasks in parallel without dropping any
• Absolute discretion and trustworthiness. The employment contract will include high-level confidentiality and NDA terms
• Proactive, anticipating needs rather than waiting for instructions
• Strong Excel, plus presentation and writing programs (PowerPoint, Word, Google Workspace)
• Own car and driver's licence
• Available at short notice, including some evenings and weekends
• Based in Johannesburg

Also valuable

• Experience supporting a founder, owner or senior executive
• Remote working experience and strong self-discipline
• Comfortable with digital tools, task and project apps and AI tools, and quick to learn new systems
• Clear, professional written and verbal communication, and good judgement under pressure