Nova Founders Capital
Executive Assistant to Founder
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Executive Assistant to Founder – Lisbon
Location: Lisbon / Cascais / Oeiras area, Portugal
Role Type: Full-time Working Style: Highly in-person, flexible, with regular travel
Job Summary
We are seeking an exceptional Executive Assistant to Founder to support a busy entrepreneur and family in managing personal logistics, travel, calendar, inbox, household coordination, and daily life operations.
This is not a traditional office-based role. It is a high-trust, hands-on, in-person position for someone passionate about creating order in a fast-paced environment.
Core Mission
Remove decisions, admin, logistics, and unnecessary communication so the principal can focus on:
- Business
- Family life
- Health
- High-value work
The ideal candidate is: ✔ Proactive, discreet, and service-oriented ✔ Highly organised and adaptive ✔ Comfortable with responsibilities ranging from calendar management to travel logistics, errands, restaurant bookings, meal coordination, Portuguese administrative tasks, household coordination, and household staff management.
Key Responsibilities
1. Daily Life & Personal Operations
- Manage daily logistics and priorities efficiently
- Eliminate unnecessary decisions for the principal
- Handle errands, bookings, reservations, and returns
- Coordinate appointments, supplier deliveries, and services
- Prevent issues before they arise
- Create checklists, systems, and routines for smooth operations
- Conduct daily meetings (15-30 min) to review priorities and open tasks
Note: Role requires forward thinking, independent problem-solving, and quick learning.
2. Calendar & Communication Management
- Protect the principal’s time by managing and blocking the calendar
- Schedule meetings, calls, and appointments
- Filter emails, escalating only essential matters
- Draft and reply on behalf of the principal (over time)
- Manage other communication channels (as trust develops)
- Reduce noise and unnecessary communication
- Ensure no outstanding tasks fall through the cracks via follow-ups
Goal: Minimise the principal’s direct communication burden.
3. Travel Management
Travel is a key part of this role; candidates must be comfortable with:
- Booking flights, hotels, transport, and restaurants
- Creating detailed itineraries
- Packing and travel preparation (including luggage checks)
- Travelling ahead/alongside the principal as needed
- Ensuring hotel check-ins, transport arrangements, food, and local logistics are flawless
- Handling last-minute issues before arrival
Note: Frequent, flexible local/overseas travel; expect cost-conscious yet seamless arrangements.
4. Household & Lifestyle Coordination
The family has household support (a maid), but the assistant’s role includes coordinating systems:
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- Work with the maid and local providers to manage the home
- Ensure repairs, maintenance, deliveries, and household items are handled smoothly
- Coordinate laundry, car-related tasks, and groceries
- Manage daily meals, restaurant bookings, and food delivery
- Assist with practical food-related tasks when needed
- Support family logistics appropriately
Note: Blend high-level coordination with hands-on problem-solving.
5. Food, Health & Personal Preference Management
The assistant should learn and anticipate choices, including:
- Daily meals and grocery coordination
- Understanding dietary preferences/rules
- Booking convenient and fitting restaurants
- Managing local health appointments (doctors, physiotherapy, etc.)
- Keeping health routines intact during travel
Note: Not a chef role—must be practical and capable of hands-on help.
6. Portuguese Administrative & Local Support
Local knowledge and fluency in Portuguese are essential.
- Handle Portuguese bureaucracy and documentation
- Engage with local authorities, suppliers, and service providers
- Manage forms, appointments, car admin, medical visits, schools, and general logistical paperwork
- Act as an intermediary for communication translation/clarification if needed
About You
We seek someone who embodies these traits:
✔ Highly organised (methods-based, detail-oriented) ✔ Discreet and trustworthy (confidentiality matters) ✔ Resilient under pressure ✔ Proactive (anticipates needs, learn fast) ✔ Comfortably practical (no formality bias; works on bigger and smaller matters) ✔ Warm but professional ✔ Family environment-appropriate (not a nanny, but comfortable with children) ✔ Confident in bounding priorities (pushback if necessary) ✔ Flexible and adaptable (varies between on-site and errands) ✔ Bilingual: fluent Portuguese; strong English ✔ Based in/near Lisbon, Cascais, or Oeiras ✔ Legally entitled to work in Portugal
Preferred Background (Not Required but Helpful)
- Successful private PA/EA, lifestyle manager, family office assistant, or luxury executive assistant experience
- Travel/logistics coordination in a fast-moving environment
- Experience with hospitality, concierge roles, or luxury household systems
- Familiarity with covering professionals, entrepreneurs, or HNW families
Note: Mix of corporate admin skills with hands-on family/household experience. A specialist in one area may insufficiently address the full scope.
Success Metrics (After 3 Months)
- Principal spends less time in small decisions/admin
- Travel operates smoothly with minimal intervention
- Calendar proactively managed and protected
- Emails and messages filtered effectively
- Household/personal logistics run seamlessly
- Food, health appointments, errands handled smoothly
- Assistant understands preferences and acts independently
- Principal perceives life as calmer, more focused
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Access & Trust
This is a high-trust role. Initially tightly controlled but expands as trust grows:
⏷ Emails and calendar access ⏷ Travel booking privileges ⏷ Communication channels ⏷ Household/supplier contact details ⏷ Access to expense tools
- Confidentiality essential (agreement signed).
- No matter sent unread.
Working Style
This is not a 9–5 desk job. Requirements include:
- Regular in-person presence as needed
- Availability for evenings/weekends occasionally
- Direct access to principal when priorities shift
- Travel frequency (some in advance to preplan)
- Painstaking spontaneous problem-solving
- A willingness to be unusually hands-on—manage both the vision and the details, assisting wherever needed
Note: Reliability, judgment, and communication matter more than busyness.
Compensation
- Doubly competitive (title: Multiple times local averages)
- Action-based payments (open to negotiation based on experience)
- Log-term growth potential (clear path to deep responsibility)
A great assistant becomes trusted counsel, valued as much for efficiency as for high-level foresight.
Requirements
Essential:
- Fluent Portuguese
- Strong English
- Based near Lisbon/Cascais/Oeiras
- Ready to be fully on site
- Prepared to travel
- Neat, highly organised
- Unquestionable discretion
- Hands-on approach (comfortable in luxury and quotidian)
- Problem solver (solve problems before they’re questions)
- Valid national/foreign driving license preferred
Preferred:
- Private EA, lifestyle manager, or family office assistant history
- Start-up/VC/founder clientele experience
- Local knowledge about Portuguese local tasks
- Child/pet/practical awareness (but no parental transition)
Summary
This is an intense, hands-on opportunity to become the backbone of a hectic household—managing logistics, communication, travel, and daily priorities while removing obstacles for high-level decisions.
Ideal candidate: ✅ Fluently bridge executive admin and family needs ✅ Protects and enhances a schedule, so the principal can excel in pivotal areas ✅ Thives in fast-paced, ever-shifting environments
The prompt comes: Are you who we need to keep life running smoothly? We handle the quiet-level support. Candidate leverage comes in problem-solving, system-making, and calm assurance.
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