Executive Personal Assistant

Pillangó Placements; Randburg; On-site; ZAR 300,000 - 420,000; Full time

Job summary

Pillangó Placements is seeking an experienced Executive/Personal Assistant to support a busy CEO within a diversified investment group. The role requires proactive ownership, discretion, and the ability to anticipate needs before they arise.

You will manage the CEO’s calendar, coordinate travel, handle correspondence, prepare briefs and liaise with stakeholders across ~40 entities. Fluent Afrikaans and English, own car and strong organisational skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Strong Executive Assistant or senior executive support experience.
• Fully bilingual in Afrikaans and English with excellent written and verbal skills.
• Own a reliable car and hold a valid driver’s licence.
• Excellent organisation and ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Confident in research and turning information into summaries.
• Proactive, discreet and able to see tasks through to completion.
• Good financial and administrative understanding.
• Strong MS Office skills including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

• Manage a busy diary, priorities, meetings and scheduling conflicts.
• Filter emails and calls and draft responses as needed.
• Prepare research and briefing notes ahead of meetings.
• Track projects and follow up with stakeholders.
• Coordinate travel, expenses, events and general office logistics.
• Support day-to-day office operations with suppliers and facilities.
• Maintain filing systems, both physical and digital.
• Assist with invoices, budgets and basic contract administration.
• Provide trusted support on personal matters and private projects.
• Coordinate acquisitions and collections, including records and shipping.

Skills

Executive support

Diary management

Stakeholder liaison

Bilingual Afrikaans/English

Driver's licence

Discretion & confidentiality

Research & summarising

PowerPoint

Excel

Education

Relevant tertiary qualification

Tools

PowerPoint

Excel

Email & Calendar tools

Job description

Can you bring order to complexity, think ahead and take full ownership of what lands on their desk? Become the trusted extension of a busy executive — someone who spots what needs doing before being asked and makes sure nothing falls through the cracks.

You will support the CEO of a diversified investment group with interests across mining, retail, game farms, property development and other investments, with around 40 entities in its portfolio.

A key summary of the role is outlined below. A more comprehensive job specification with full details is available after initial contact and a successful CV review.

Duties / Key Responsibilities

• Manage a busy diary, priorities, meetings and scheduling conflicts.
• Filter emails, calls and correspondence and draft responses where needed.
• Prepare research, briefing notes and information ahead of meetings and decisions.
• Track projects, actions and commitments and follow up with stakeholders.
• Coordinate travel, expenses, events and general office logistics.
• Help manage the day-to-day running of the office, including suppliers and facilities.
• Maintain organised physical and digital filing, records and document systems.
• Assist with invoices, budgets, insurance documents, shipping records and basic contract administration.
• Provide trusted support on selected personal matters and private projects.
• Coordinate acquisitions and collections where required, including records, valuations, shipping, insurance and supplier liaison.
• Deal professionally with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

Requirements

• Strong Executive Assistant, Personal Assistant or senior executive support experience.
• Fully bilingual in Afrikaans and English, with strong written and verbal communication skills in both.
• Own reliable car and a valid driver’s licence.
• Excellent organisation and the ability to manage several priorities at the same time.
• Confident research skills with the ability to turn information into clear, useful summaries.
• Comfortable following up with people and driving tasks through to completion.
• Good financial and administrative understanding.
• Strong computer skills across email, calendars, documents, spreadsheets and PowerPoint.
• Excellent record-keeping and document management ability.
• A very high level of confidentiality and discretion.

Education

• Relevant tertiary qualification would be advantageous.
• Strong practical experience and proven executive support capability will be equally important.

Soft Skills

• Exceptionally discreet and trustworthy.
• Proactive and able to anticipate what is needed.
• Strong ownership mentality — tasks are finished properly without constant follow-up.
• Calm, organised and dependable.
• Intelligent, practical and able to exercise good judgement.
• Comfortable working in a small team where everyone contributes.
• Hungry, Humble and Smart: driven to get things done, low ego, and good at reading people and situations.