Executive Operations Manager (US-Based AI and Automation Firm)

Pearl; Johannesburg; Remote; ZAR 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading recruitment firm is seeking a Remote Technical Operations professional. This role involves designing operational processes, automating workflows, and closely collaborating with engineering teams. Ideal candidates will have a technical background, strong communication skills, and a detail-oriented approach. This position offers a competitive salary, unlimited PTO, and opportunities for professional growth.

Benefits

Competitive Salary

Unlimited PTO

Direct Mentorship

Ongoing professional development

Global Networking

Flexible work hours

Qualifications

• No minimum years of experience required.
• Comfortable and professional on the phone.
• Strong written communication and documentation skills.
• High learning rate and curiosity.

Responsibilities

• Design and run the operational backbone, automate inefficiencies.
• Drive tasks to completion and ensure clear documentation.
• Facilitate regular check-ins with engineering on project progress.
• Use AI tools for drafting communications and SOPs.

Skills

Technical background or equivalent fluency working with engineers

Demonstrated experience building automations

Strong written communication

Attention to detail

High learning rate and curiosity

Tools

Notion

Airtable

Slack

Zapier

Job description

Work Arrangement : Remote

Work Schedule : Monday to Friday, 10 : 00 AM – 6 : 00 PM CST (Slightly flexible)

Job Type : Full-time

Holiday Adherence : US Holidays

PTO Entitlement : Standard PTO policy as per company guidelines

Salary : Competitive, based on experience

About Pearl Talent

Pearl works with the top 1% of candidates from around the world and connects them with the best startups in the US and EU. Our clients have raised over $5B in aggregate and are backed by companies like OpenAI, a16z, and Founders Fund. They’re looking for the sharpest, hungriest candidates who they can consistently promote and work with over many years. Candidates we’ve hired have been flown out to the US and EU to work with their clients, and even promoted to roles that match folks onshore in the US.

Hear why we exist, what we believe in, and who we’re building for : Watch here

Why Work with Us?

At Pearl, we’re not just another recruiting firm—we connect you with exceptional opportunities to work alongside visionary US and EU founders. Our focus is on placing you in roles where you can grow, make an impact, and build a long-term career. We believe in creating environments where your potential is recognized, your voice matters, and your success is tied to meaningful work—not short-term perks. Joining Pearl means stepping into opportunities that challenge you, support you, and set you up for lasting success.

About the Partner Company

Our partners build tooling to test and improve AI voice agents so they’re reliable in the real world. They’re a small, engineering-heavy team that moves quickly, values clear writing, and prizes extreme ownership. They ship features that save businesses hundreds of hours. They've built a culture of extreme ownership where everyone codes, everyone talks to customers, and everyone ships. This intensity is why they can move 10x faster than anyone else - and why customers trust them to solve their hardest problems.

Role Overview

This is a hands-on technical operations role with executive support responsibilities. You will design and run the operational backbone of our client, automate away inefficiency, and own tasks from request to verified outcome. You’ll partner closely with engineering and leadership, using AI tools and modern ops software to keep work organized, observable, and moving. Traditional assistant work (including phone calls) is part of the job, but the core value is systems, automation, and relentless follow-through.

What Success Looks Like

30 Days : Map out current workflows, implement a receipts pipeline, and ship three automations.

60 Days : Reduce manual operations time by 20%, implement error handling for automations, and ensure project status is consistently self-serve.

90 Days : Zero dropped tasks, 6+ high-impact automations in production, and consistently meeting SLAs for callbacks, receipts, and appointments.

Key Responsibilities

Task Ownership & Follow-through

Drive tasks to completion, ensuring clear documentation and follow-up actions. Maintain a centralized source of truth for assignments, deadlines, and statuses.

Phone Calls & Stakeholder Coordination

Handle inbound and outbound calls to stakeholders, ensuring clear communication, logging outcomes, and escalating as needed to meet SLAs.

Proactive Risk Management

Anticipate issues and create buffers, reminders, and contingency plans to keep tasks on track. Use pre-reads and reminders to align teams with deadlines.

Receipt & Expense Pipeline

Develop a system for receipts, ensuring accurate categorization and reconciliation. Provide weekly reports and flag discrepancies.

Workflow Automation

Design low-code automations using tools like Notion, Airtable, Slack, and Zapier to streamline tasks. Ensure automation reliability with logs and alerts.

Project Operations with Engineering

Facilitate regular check-ins with engineering on project progress, blockers, and next steps. Keep documentation and project boards up-to-date.

AI-Accelerated Execution

Use AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT / Claude) for drafting communications, SOPs, and summaries. Maintain prompt templates and verify outputs for accuracy.

Documentation & Runbooks

Structure Notion spaces and write SOPs. Keep operational documentation organized and regularly updated.

Follow-Up Norms

Track a visible “waiting-on-others” list, ensuring timely follow-ups with clear SLAs. Follow a set cadence for reminders and escalate when needed.

Tools & Communication Channels :

Productivity & Collaboration :

• Notion
• Airtable
• Slack
• Google Workspace

Automation & Integration :

• Zapier
• n8n

Preferred Skills :

• APIs / webhooks
• OAuth basics
• Lightweight scripting (JavaScript / TypeScript or Python)

Requirements

Must-Haves :

• No minimum years of experience required, but should have the following :
• T echnical background or equivalent fluency working with engineers.
• Demonstrated experience building automations and operational systems (portfolio, screenshots, or diagrams welcome).
• Comfortable and professional on the phone ; persistent and courteous follow-up style.
• Obsessive attention to detail and reliability ; zero tolerance for dropped threads.
• Strong written communication; crisp, concise updates and documentation.
• High learning rate and curiosity; you pick up new tools quickly and improve them.
• Bias for action, high energy, and calm under changing priorities.

Nice-to-Haves :

• Experience designing Airtable schemas, Notion architectures, or internal wikis.
• Basic data wrangling (CSV normalization, lookups, deduping, simple scripts).
• Awareness of security / compliance hygiene (permissions, least-privilege, auditability).

Benefits

• Competitive Salary : To be discussed during the interview
• Remote Work : Fully remote—work from anywhere
• Unlimited PTO : Ample paid time off to rest and recharge
• Direct Mentorship : Grow through guidance from international industry experts
• Learning & Development : Ongoing access to resources for professional growth
• Global Networking : Work and connect with professionals around the world
• Work-Life Balance : Flexible hours that support a healthy work-life balance

Our Recruitment Process

• Application
• PreScreening
• Top-grading Interview
• Skills Assessment
• Client Interview
• Job Offer
• Client Onboarding