Executive Assistant/Office Manager

Requirements (must-have)

• 3–5 years' experience as an Executive Assistant, Personal Assistant or senior administrative professional supporting a founder, CEO or senior executive
• Proven experience owning a complex, fast-changing calendar and resolving scheduling conflicts independently
• Excellent written English, able to draft correspondence and follow-ups on the executive's behalf
• High discretion and proven trustworthiness handling confidential information
• Able to work in-office, 5 days a week, in Cape Town

About Arilo

Arilo is an AI-native creative production and marketing agency with operations in Cape Town, New York and the Philippines, working with global brands across beauty, healthcare, luxury, FMCG, technology and professional services.

About the Role

We're hiring an Executive Assistant to act as the Founder's right hand, owning his calendar and inbox, protecting his time, and making sure nothing important falls through the cracks. You'll report to the Founder day-to-day, with facilities and vendor matters escalated to the Operations Lead. This is a high-trust role for someone who's done this before and knows what it actually takes to run a principal's day.

Responsibilities

• Own the Founder's calendar: schedule internal and external meetings, coordinate across stakeholders, and arrange travel and itineraries.
• Vet scheduling requests, resolve conflicts proactively, and protect adequate preparation time between commitments.
• Monitor and organise the Founder's inbox, flagging urgent items and drafting routine responses on his behalf.
• Prepare the Founder for every meeting with the materials and information he needs, take notes when requested, and track outstanding follow-ups.
• Handle confidential documents and records, coordinate signatures, manage expense documentation, and support special projects on request.
• Run day-to-day office administration and facilities — supplies, deliveries, couriers, cleaning and maintenance, liaising directly with the landlord, building management and vendors.
• Provide personal assistance to the Founder where appropriate and agreed (appointments, errands and reasonable personal requests).

Skills and Experience

• Strong organisational skills with the judgement to prioritise competing, high-stakes demands.
• Calm, professional communication style under pressure.
• Experience managing vendors, suppliers or office facilities is a strong plus.
• Experience in a small or fast-growing company, or a creative/marketing agency, is advantageous.
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint); Asana experience or willingness to learn quickly.
• Comfort with AI productivity tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot) is a plus, not a requirement.

Benefits

• Full-time, permanent role with direct, high-trust exposure to the Founder and senior leadership.
• Market-related compensation based on experience.
• Based in Cape Town, working alongside a global team spanning Cape Town, New York and the Philippines.

Job Details

Job Type: Full-time, Permanent. Schedule: Monday to Friday, in-office. Pay: Market related. Start date: As soon as possible.

Application Question(s):

• Are you comfortable handling confidential and sensitive information with discretion?
• Do you have experience managing vendors, suppliers or office facilities?

Experience:

• Executive Assistant : 3 years (Required)

Location:

• Cape Town, Western Cape 8001 (Required)

Work Location: In person