Director of Operations

Role Overview

Our fast-paced, results-oriented, and strategic PR agency is seeking a high-caliber Director of Operations to serve as the operational backbone of our organization. This is an executive-level leadership role designed for a "systems-first" thinker who can manage the agency’s infrastructure with minimal oversight.

As the Director of Operations, you will bridge the gap between vision and execution. You won't just manage tasks; you will own the agency’s operational cadence, refine our systems, and lead team accountability. We are looking for a proactive partner who reduces the CEO's operational load by anticipating needs two steps ahead and solving problems before they escalate.

Position Details

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Employment TypeFull-Time Independent Contractor

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CompensationMarket Related

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Hours40 hours/week (Fixed Schedule: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM EST)

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LocationRemote (Latin America or South Africa preferred)

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Reporting ToFounder & CEO

Core Responsibilities

- Executive Support & Gatekeeping

- Calendar & Time Protection: Manage the CEO's calendar, prioritizing requests, resolving conflicts, and actively protecting strategic working time.

- Inbound Triage: Triage email and meeting requests to flag urgent items requiring direct CEO attention while autonomously handling, delegating, or deferring the rest.

- Event & Logistics Coordination: Coordinate all logistics for external commitments (e.g., speaking engagements, media interviews) to ensure the CEO arrives fully briefed and prepared.

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Team & Self-Accountability & Workflow

- Operational Cadence: Own daily Asana management, tracking deadlines, and ensuring team members stay on schedule.

- Proactive Accountability: Lead weekly team check-ins, identify bottlenecks, and resolve capacity risks. Demonstrate rigorous self-accountability by proactively flagging your own at-risk deadlines before they are missed, including end-of-day status updates whenever a deliverable is running behind schedule.

- Deliverable Standards: Ensure all final work products (reports, documents, decks) are delivered complete, proofed, and ready to use with zero rework required. Clearly mark in-progress work as such—never presenting drafts as final.

- SOP Development: Audit existing processes and build/refine Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for onboarding, reporting, and internal communications.

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New Business & Research Support

- Prospect Intelligence: Conduct deep-dive research into target brands (funding, decision-makers, current PR agency relationships) to build a prospect library.

- Meeting Prep: Generate one-page pre-call briefs and polish pitch decks/capability presentations using existing templates.

- Pipeline Management: Manage post-meeting follow-ups and lead the transition from signed contract to client onboarding.

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Vendor & Financial Management

- Vendor Relations: Research, vet, and negotiate terms with US-based vendors and contractors; maintain organized contract records.

- Budget & Financial Oversight: Process timecards, invoices, and expense reports weekly, flagging discrepancies. Drive proactive budget management by tracking spend against target budgets and actively identifying opportunities to streamline operations or reduce agency costs.

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HR & Hiring Support

- Talent Acquisition: Write job descriptions, screen resumes, and conduct first-round candidate screenings to streamline hiring for the CEO.

- Onboarding: Manage documentation and system access for all new contractors.

Candidate Profile

- Hard Skills & Qualifications

- Experience: 5+ years in Operations, Executive Assistance, or Account/Project Management within a PR, communications, or marketing agency strongly preferred. Direct familiarity with media/press cycle deadlines and high-caliber client-facing deliverable standards is a major differentiator.

- Track Record: Demonstrated history of meeting tight deadlines consistently without requiring reminders, hand-holding, or follow-up.

- AI-Augmented, Not AI-Dependent: Expert-level proficiency in Asana (or similar PM tools) and AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT) for research and drafting. Must treat all AI output strictly as a first draft—independently verifying all facts, dates, tool references, and figures before presenting work.

- US Context: Prior experience supporting US-based clients or businesses remotely is strongly preferred.

- Communication: Exceptional written and verbal English; ability to synthesize complex research into actionable summaries.

- Logistics: Reliable high-speed internet and a dedicated, professional home workspace.

- Soft Skills (The "Must-Haves")

- Executive-Level Thinking: The ability to operate independently and make confident decisions within your scope.

- Proactive Ownership: You bring solutions to problems, not just observations.

- Direct Communication: High emotional intelligence paired with the ability to hold team members accountable professionally.

- Intellectual Curiosity: A natural drive to research US industry events, media landscapes, and competitive benchmarks without being prompted.

What to Expect

- High Autonomy: We provide the tools and context; we expect you to run the engine.

- Structured Success: Structured onboarding with formal review check-ins at 30, 60, and 90 days featuring clear go/no-go criteria based on deliverable quality and communication cadence.

- Consistent Rhythm: Daily async updates via Asana and weekly video syncs with the CEO.

Why This Role? This is a rare opportunity for a top-tier operator in Latin America or South Africa to take a seat at the leadership table of a fast-paced, strategic US agency. You will have a direct impact on the scale and efficiency of a high-performing firm representing some of the most exciting brands in the beauty industry.