Operations Lead & Executive Assistant (Chief of Staff Track)
Somewhere
🇿🇦 Hirezar Summary for South African Applicants
This fully remote full time position at Somewhere is open to applicants from South Africa. The estimated monthly salary is R37,000 – R55,500 ZAR. This role is suited for mid-level professionals. As a remote position, you can work from anywhere in South Africa — whether you're based in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, or a smaller town.
Job Description
Operations Lead & Executive Assistant — Chief of Staff Track
Compensation:
* South Africa:$2,500 – $3,000 USD/month
* Colombia / Argentina:$2,000 – $2,700 USD/month
Location:Remote, South Africa, Colombia, or ArgentinaSchedule:Full-time, aligned with U.S. Pacific Time (PT)Employment Type:Full-Time Independent ContractorReports To:Founder & Fractional CFO
About the Company
Our client is a growing fractional CFO advisory firm serving approximately 30 startup and growth-stage clients, from early-stage companies through Series A and Series B.
The founder operates the advisory firm alongside a senior executive role in the entertainment industry. As the business continues to grow, he is looking for a highly capable operational partner who can bring structure, organization, and leverage to the company.
This is an opportunity to join a growing business at an early stage and develop into a long-term leadership position.
Role Overview
The Operations Lead & Executive Assistant will serve as a trusted operational partner to the Founder & Fractional CFO.
The role will initially focus on executive support, inbox and calendar management, client follow-up, documentation, and keeping day-to-day priorities organized. As the candidate develops a strong understanding of the business, the position will expand into broader operations, process improvement, CRM management, client experience, business development, and strategic project execution.
This isnot a traditional Executive Assistant position.
The ideal candidate is highly proactive, organized, commercially aware, and capable of taking an outcome and independently figuring out how to make it happen.
The long-term goal is for this person to grow into aChief of Staffrole, becoming the founder's operational right hand and taking increasing ownership of the firm's day-to-day operations.
Key Responsibilities
Executive Support
* Own and organize the founder's inbox, including prioritization, follow-up, and professional correspondence
* Manage the founder's calendar across multiple priorities
* Protect focus time and proactively resolve scheduling conflicts
* Prepare the founder for meetings by organizing relevant information, action items, and follow-ups
* Maintain visibility across priorities, deadlines, and outstanding commitments
* Proactively identify loose ends and ensure they are closed
Client Operations
* Coordinate follow-up with the firm's approximately 30 clients
* Track outstanding client requests, financial documents, statements, and reports
* Follow up with clients to ensure requested documentation is received
* Help coordinate client onboarding and ongoing client communication
* Maintain organized client records and workflows
* Identify bottlenecks and escalate issues requiring the founder's attention
* Help ensure clients receive timely, professional communication
Business Operations
* Learn the firm's existing workflows and identify opportunities to improve efficiency
* Build and maintain repeatable processes and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
* Create systems that reduce manual follow-up and prevent tasks from falling through the cracks
* Take ownership of operational projects from concept through completion
* Improve organization, accountability, and visibility across the business
* Identify opportunities for automation, delegation, and process improvement
CRM & Growth Support
* Maintain and organize the company's CRM
* Keep client information, contacts, statuses, opportunities, and follow-ups current
* Track prospective clients and business development activity
* Support outreach to prospective customers
* Coordinate marketing and business development initiatives
* Schedule discovery calls and maintain prospect follow-up
* Help maintain visibility into the company's sales pipeline and growth opportunities
Chief of Staff Development
As trust and capability grow, the role will expand toward:
* Acting as the founder's operational right hand
* Taking ownership of open-ended business initiatives
* Breaking larger priorities into actionable projects
* Driving projects forward independently
* Coordinating across clients, vendors, and other stakeholders
* Identifying operational gaps before they become problems
* Helping determine what should remain with the founder versus what can be delegated
* Taking increasing ownership of the firm's overall operations
Hard Skills
* 3+ years of experience in Executive Assistance, Operations, Project Management, Client Success, or a related role
* Experience supporting a founder, executive, business owner, or senior leader strongly preferred
* Experience within professional services, finance, accounting, consulting, technology, or an agency environment preferred
* Exceptional written and spoken English
* Strong calendar and inbox management experience
* Strong client communication and follow-up skills
* Experience managing multiple workflows and competing priorities
* CRM experience and strong data o
Tips for South African Applicants
Timezone Advantage
South Africa (SAST, UTC+2) overlaps well with European business hours and has a few hours of overlap with US East Coast. Mention your timezone flexibility in your application.
Salary in Context
At R37,000/month, this role is competitive with the average South African remote salary. The USD equivalent ($2,000/mo) benefits from the favourable exchange rate.
Application Tips
Tailor your CV to international standards — use a clean format, highlight remote work experience, and include your English proficiency. Many SA applicants succeed by emphasising their strong work ethic and cultural adaptability.
Load Shedding Preparedness
If you're applying for a remote role, having a backup power solution (UPS, inverter, or generator) and mobile data as a backup internet connection shows employers you're prepared for South Africa's infrastructure challenges.
About Somewhere
Somewhere is a company in the Recruitment & Staffing industry that hires remote workers from South Africa. They currently have 828 open positions on Hirezar. View all Somewhere jobs →