Personal Operations Manager at Nova Founders… · Lisbon

PERSONAL OPERATIONS MANAGER – Lisbon

Location: Lisbon / Cascais / Oeiras area, Portugal Role type: Full-time Working style: Highly in-person, flexible, with regular travel

Job Summary

We are looking for an exceptional Personal Operations Manager to support a busy entrepreneur and family across personal logistics, travel, calendar, inbox, household coordination and daily life operations.

This is not a traditional office-based assistant role. It is a high-trust, highly practical, in-person role for someone who enjoys creating order around a fast-moving principal and family life.

The core mission is simple:

Remove decisions, admin, logistics, friction and unnecessary communication so the principal can focus on business, family, health and high-value work.

The ideal person is proactive, discreet, service-minded, highly organised and comfortable doing everything from calendar and inbox management to travel logistics, errands, restaurant bookings, food coordination, Portuguese admin, packing support during travel, and working with household staff and external providers.

Key Responsibilities

1. Daily life and personal operations

You will help run the principal’s personal operating system.

Responsibilities include:

• Managing daily logistics and priorities
• Removing unnecessary decisions from the principal’s day
• Handling errands, bookings, reservations, purchases and returns
• Coordinating appointments, suppliers, deliveries and services
• Making sure practical issues are solved before they become problems
• Creating systems, checklists and routines that make life smoother
• Sitting down with the principal once per day to go through priorities, decisions and open loops

The role requires someone who can think ahead, act independently and learn preferences quickly.

2. Calendar and communication management

You will help protect and manage the principal’s time and attention.

Responsibilities include:

• Managing and protecting the calendar
• Scheduling meetings, calls and personal appointments
• Filtering emails and escalating only what truly needs attention
• Drafting replies and, over time, replying on behalf of the principal where appropriate
• Managing selected communication channels once trust is established
• Reducing noise, unnecessary communication and low-value decisions
• Following up with people so nothing falls through the cracks

The goal is not just to organise communication, but to reduce the amount of communication the principal personally needs to deal with.

3. Travel management

Travel is a major part of the role.

The assistant should be comfortable travelling with or ahead of the principal when needed.

Responsibilities include:

• Booking flights, hotels, transport and restaurants
• Creating itineraries and travel plans
• Coordinating luggage, packing lists and practical travel preparation
• Travelling ahead or alongside the principal to ensure everything is ready
• Checking hotel arrangements, rooms, transport, food, gym access and local logistics
• Solving issues before arrival
• Making sure travel feels seamless and low-friction

The person should be comfortable with a flexible travel schedule and practical arrangements. Travel will normally be handled in a sensible, cost-conscious way.

4. Household and lifestyle coordination

The family has household support, including a maid, so this is not a cleaning or housekeeping role. However, the assistant will help coordinate the system around the household.

Responsibilities include:

• Coordinating with the maid and other household providers
• Making sure the home is prepared and functioning smoothly
• Managing repairs, suppliers, maintenance and deliveries
• Coordinating laundry, dry cleaning, car-related tasks and other practical matters
• Making sure groceries and key household items are stocked
• Coordinating food, meals, restaurant bookings and delivery
• Helping practically with food on occasion if needed
• Supporting family logistics where relevant

The right person should be comfortable both with high-level coordination and practical hands-on help.

5. Food, health and personal preferences

The assistant should learn the principal’s preferences and routines, including food, health, training and travel preferences.

Responsibilities include:

• Coordinating groceries and meals
• Understanding dietary preferences
• Booking restaurants that fit preferences
• Coordinating with the maid on food preparation
• Managing health-related appointments such as doctors, dentists, physio, etc.
• Helping maintain routines during travel

This is not a chef role, but the person must be practical and willing to help solve food-related needs when necessary.

6. Portuguese admin and local support

Because the role is based in Portugal, strong local knowledge is important.

Responsibilities include:

• Handling Portuguese bureaucracy and appointments
• Speaking with local suppliers, service providers and authorities
• Booking and managing local services
• Helping with forms, appointments, car-related admin, doctors, schools and other local logistics
• Translating or clarifying Portuguese communication where needed

The person must be fluent in Portuguese and have strong English.

About You

We are looking for someone who is:

• Highly organised and detail-oriented
• Discreet and trustworthy
• Calm under pressure
• Proactive and able to anticipate needs
• Practical and not status-sensitive
• Warm, but professional
• Comfortable around a family environment
• Comfortable with children, while not being hired as a nanny
• Able to push back respectfully to protect time and priorities
• Comfortable with both luxury environments and everyday errands
• Strong at solving problems independently
• Flexible with travel and changing schedules
• Excellent in Portuguese and strong in English
• Based near Lisbon, Cascais or Oeiras
• Legally able to work in Portugal

The ideal background could include experience as a:

• Private PA
• Executive Assistant
• Lifestyle Manager
• Family office assistant
• Luxury hospitality / concierge
• High-end household manager
• Travel coordinator

A pure corporate EA may be too removed from the practical side of the role. A pure housekeeper may not have the inbox, calendar and communication skills required. The ideal candidate sits between the two: polished, trusted and administratively strong, but also practical, hands-on and service-minded.

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

After three months, success would mean:

• The principal spends much less time on admin, logistics and small decisions
• Travel is smooth and requires very little input from the principal
• The calendar is protected and well managed
• Emails and messages are filtered effectively
• Household and personal logistics are running smoothly
• Food, appointments, errands and local admin are handled proactively
• The assistant understands preferences and can make good decisions independently
• The principal feels that life has become calmer, simpler and more focused

ACCESS AND TRUST

This is a high-trust role. The successful candidate will gradually receive access to sensitive information and systems as trust builds.

This may include:

• Calendar
• Email
• Travel accounts
• Selected communication channels
• Household and supplier information
• Expense tools or an assistant card with limits

Access will be introduced gradually. Confidentiality and discretion are essential.

A confidentiality agreement will be required.

WORKING STYLE

This role requires high flexibility. It is not a standard 9–5 office role.

The assistant should be comfortable with:

• Regular in-person work
• Being physically close to the principal when needed
• Occasional evening or weekend flexibility
• Travel
• Fast-changing priorities
• Handling both important and small practical tasks
• A daily check-in with the principal to review priorities and decisions

The role should be intense but sustainable. Clear communication, trust, good judgment and reliability are more important than being constantly busy.

COMPENSATION

Compensation will be competitive and based on experience, capability and fit.

The right person will have the opportunity to build a long-term, trusted role with significant responsibility and variety.

REQUIREMENTS

Essential:

• Fluent Portuguese
• Strong English
• Based near Lisbon / Cascais / Oeiras
• Able to work in person
• Able and willing to travel
• Strong organisational skills
• Excellent discretion and confidentiality
• Comfortable with both executive-level tasks and practical lifestyle tasks
• Strong problem-solving ability
• Valid driving licence preferred

Preferred:

• Experience as a private PA, EA, lifestyle manager, family office assistant or luxury concierge
• Experience supporting entrepreneurs, founders, executives or high-net-worth families
• Experience with travel planning and household coordination
• Experience managing inboxes, calendars and suppliers
• Strong local knowledge of Portugal

SUMMARY

This is a rare role for someone who enjoys being deeply useful, highly trusted and close to the action.

The right candidate will become the person who makes daily life run smoothly: managing the calendar, inbox, travel, household coordination, errands, food, local admin and personal logistics — while removing decisions and friction wherever possible.

The ideal candidate is polished enough to manage sensitive communication and high-level logistics, but practical enough to pick up food, pack luggage during travel, coordinate repairs, solve small problems and make life easier every day.