Office Assistant

Howatson+Company; City of Melbourne; On-site; AUD 55,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Howatson+Company in Melbourne is seeking an Office Assistant to deliver a standout client experience and support the Agency Support team. You will greet clients, manage the office and assist with People & Culture onboarding and offboarding processes.

The role requires strong organisation, attention to detail and a proactive approach to multitasking in a busy creative agency environment.

Qualifications

• Meticulous attention to detail.
• Excellent time-management skills.
• Ability to multitask effectively while remaining calm under pressure.
• Highly organised and proactive with the ability to work autonomously and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Greet clients and manage the reception experience.
• Support Office Manager with day-to-day office operations, calendar management and ad-hoc tasks.
• Organise catering for meetings within budget and coordinate room bookings.
• Coordinate IT assets and onboard/offboard new staff in collaboration with People & Culture.

Job description

Howatson+Company is an advertising agency that's committed to expressing creativity in all its forms to positively influence people and culture.

Put simply, we care fiercely. For the people who work here. For the brands we work on. And for the community we live in. That's why we overinvest in training, generosity and pausing to recognise excellence and effort in our people.

It's also why we're 100% carbon neutral.

What's my job?

Based in our Melbourne office, you're the Office Assistant in the Agency Support team. Your main responsibilities focus on greeting clients, making coffees and creating a memorable office experience.

This role requires meticulous attention to detail, excellent time-management skills, and the ability to multitask effectively while remaining calm under pressure.

A day in the life

Office and Facilities Maintenance

• Create a brilliant first impression for clients, external visitors and staff. Along with the Office Manager, you are the go-to person for all things client experience.
• Complete a morning walk-through to ensure the office is open and ready for the day, with lights, music, screens and the kitchen all sorted before the first meeting.
• Organise all catering requirements for meetings as required, within a reasonable budget and to the company's standards. You will be required to set up water and take coffee and tea orders.
• Manage the day-to-day running of the main office, and the studio, ensuring both locations are kept clean, tidy and well stocked.
• Order and restock office supplies for the main office and the studio, including stationery and groceries.
• Support the Office Manager in managing a busy and ever-changing calendar of meeting room bookings, with the ability to troubleshoot AV/IT set-up if required.
• Manage relationships with external service providers, such as cleaners and maintenance personnel.
• Help with ad-hoc and overflow tasks across the team.

People & Culture Support

• Facilitate the onboarding process for all new starters from start to finish, as well as the offboarding for all leavers. This covers swipe pass allocation, a tour of the office and introductions to key people, and desk allocation and set-up.
• Make sure new starters know where to go for support internally.
• Purchase and manage IT assets for new and existing equipment.

How will we know you are the one

• You will be able to manage a variety of tasks at any given time, across office, facilities and People and Culture support.
• You are highly organised and can complete tasks autonomously and in a timely manner or to deadlines, with great attention to detail.
• You are proactive and always thinking one step ahead.
• You have positive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• You are able to report and communicate regularly with the Head of People Experience with status updates.
• You are solution-orientated and can quickly adapt when new tasks take precedence or when competing priorities need to be managed. No task is ever too big, or too small.
• You play a key role in championing our social, DE&I, wellbeing and L&D initiatives.

Other things that would make you excel in this role

• Barista skills or a background in the hospitality industry.
• You build strong rapport with everyone you work with, bringing a warm, calm presence to people at every level, from new starters to visiting clients.

Who are Howatson+Company?

Howatson+Company are a fully integrated creative agency that believe in the power of influence.

We believe that the magic comes from the '+'.

The intersection of diverse people, culture and capabilities, that create solutions that drive business outcomes for our clients and leave the world a better place.

We care fiercely about the people we work with, the brands we work on and the world we live in.

We have several key values:

We act without judgement or preconceptions.

Diversity creates breakthrough

We embrace challenges and different points of view.

Collaboration is the only way

The intersection of our specialisms creates our magic.

Creativity is our weapon

We believe creativity can solve problems, create things people love and change the world for good.

We can only afford to be distinctive

No 'house style', we express creativity in all its forms.

Never walk alone

We bring everyone on the journey and it's everyone's job to contribute.

Values cost something

Some of our most recent accolades

• Cannes #1 Independent Agency Australia 2024
• Campaign Asia Best Culture, Creative AOTY (Silver), Media AOTY (Silver) 2025
• Adnews Employer of the Year, Independent AOTY 2025
• B&T Victoria AOTY 2025
• D&AD Global Independent Agency of the Year 2022

Howatson+Company is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, colour, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We invite anyone to apply.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process or the role, please let the recruitment consultant know.