Operations Associate

Rival; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 50 000 - 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A marketing consultancy for challengers in Cape Town seeks an Operations Associate to ensure smooth business operations. This role includes managing financial processes and supporting employee onboarding initiatives. Ideal candidates are proactive, detail-oriented, and eager to learn about various operational functions. The position offers competitive compensation and opportunities for profit sharing and professional development in a dynamic environment.

Benefits

20 vacation days plus public holidays

Discovery Health Medical Aid contribution

Retirement Annuity with company contribution

Qualifications

• Ability to manage multiple operational tasks effectively.
• Experience in operations/finance support or administrative roles is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Assist with financial operations including AP and AR cycles.
• Support employee onboarding and offboarding processes.
• Build processes to streamline tasks.

Skills

Highly organised

Detail-obsessed

Proactive

Strong communicator

Eager to learn multiple operational functions

Education

Qualifications in Business/Finance

Tools

Quickbooks

Expensify

ERP systems

Job description

Rival is a marketing consultancy for challengers—and we’re looking for an Operations Associate to join our Cape Town team.

As an Operations Associate, you will play a key role in ensuring the smooth running of the business. This is a rare opportunity to gain hands‑on exposure to how a fast‑growing agency operates and to help shape how we scale. You’ll work across our broader Operations function, so the ability to pivot quickly and handle a wide range of tasks is essential. With the right support and development from the Rival team, we see this role suiting someone with an interest in business operations and is excited about the detail and getting stuck in.

What You’ll Do

• Finance Operations
• Work closely with our Finance Manager to understand the ins and outs of our financial model.
• Assist with the end-to-end Accounts Payable (AP) and Accounts Receivable (AR) cycle, including invoice processing, vendor setup, payment scheduling, and collections follow‑up.
• Maintain accurate financial records by ensuring all transactions are properly recorded and supported with the required documentation
• Assist with monthly reconciliation processes, including:
• Bank reconciliations to verify that internal records match bank statements.
• Intergroup loan reconciliations to ensure balances between related entities are accurate and up to date.
• Track and manage outstanding invoices and internal approvals.
• Partner with the finance manager to ensure timely and accurate month‑end close activities.
• Assist with payroll preparation and coordination across multiple Geographies.
• Assist with employee expense submissions, ensuring policy compliance and accurate coding.
• Help maintain internal systems, documentation, and operational workflows.
• Wider Operations Support
• Support the end-to-end employee onboarding and offboarding experience — ensuring new joiners feel welcomed and equipped from day one.
• Be a key part in building our company culture, whether that be planning events, assisting with employee engagement initiatives or internal communications.
• Support cross-functional administrative projects as needed.
• Building processes to streamline and automate recurring tasks

Why Rival, Why Now

• A consultancy built differently. We’re four years in, growing fast, and proving there’s a premium alternative to the bloated incumbents.
• Global perspective. Work with ambitious clients across North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
• Small team, big impact. With boutique sizing, every project is high visibility and high impact—no hiding in the back row.
• Direct influence. Work alongside Rival’s founders, shaping the consultancy’s future as much as our clients’.

Who Thrives Here

We don’t hire CVs, we hire people who think and act like challengers.

• Highly organised, detail‑obsessed, and proactive.
• Curious about how businesses run and eager to learn multiple operational functions.
• A strong communicator who thrives in a fast‑moving, high‑expectation environment.
• Can be our ‘go to’ person in our growing Gardens office - in person working must be something you love!
• Comfortable working across different time zones and collaborating remotely.
• Motivated by helping teams work smarter, better, and faster.
• You have qualifications in Business/finance.
• You have a start‑up mentality
• Have experience with Quickbooks/Expensify/ERP systems.
• Have experience in operations/finance support or administrative roles.

Premium Compensation, Real Upside

• Base Salary: Competitive within consultancy/agency benchmarks.
• Profit Share: Twice‑yearly distributions (eligibility after 90 days), tied to performance.
• Employee Liquidity Plan (“shadow stock”): Share in Rival’s long‑term success—without the friction of traditional options (eligibility after 1 year)

Benefits Designed for Impact

• 20-days vacation days for South African employees + public holidays
• Discovery Health Medical Aid contribution
• Rival will contribute up to R3750 per month
• Retirement Annuity
• Rival will contribute a maximum of 3% of the employee’s Cost to Company (CTC) to the RA fund.
• The employee must at a minimum match the company’s contribution of 3%.

About Rival

Rival is a marketing consultancy built for challengers. Incumbent best practices deliver average results—we don’t do average. We apply challenger brand thinking to help CMOs achieve outsized impact with smarter, leaner, bolder marketing strategies.

Our Hiring Philosophy

We’re building a consultancy that’s both premium and progressive—a home for the world’s best marketing talent and a model for diversity in our industry.

Our commitments

• Clarity and fairness in every process
• Respect for candidates’ time (including paid tasks)
• Speed and transparency in communication
• Feedback opportunities throughout
• You’ll speak to a range of people in different roles, to give you a flavour of what it’s like here

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We know diverse perspectives drive better strategies. Rival is committed to building a consultancy where individuality fuels innovation. Authenticity isn’t an initiative—it’s a requirement.