Personal Assistant (Maternity Cover)

Cape Town-Based | Scale-Up | Fixed-term Contract (7 months) | Enablement Machine | Hiring Manager: Caroline van der Merwe

Jem is hiring a Personal Assistant on a seven-month fixed-term contract (15 October 2026 to 15 May 2027) to cover our Executive Assistant's maternity leave.

Jem is a fast-growing HR tech scale-up building payroll, HR and benefits tools for frontline teams. We currently support just under 200,000 frontline employees across South Africa.

This role is all about creating continuity while our Executive Assistant is away. You'll support both founders, with a particular focus on helping Caroline, our COO, stay organised by managing her personal admin, household logistics and day-to-day tasks, while also keeping the business running smoothly behind the scenes.

⭐️ Your Mission

• You'll manage travel, calendars, personal admin and the operational details that keep the team moving.
• From ordering office snacks and organising events to managing suppliers, you'll make sure nothing falls through the cracks.
• You'll be the person who quietly keeps everything running.
  
  

⭐️ What Success Looks Like

• The founders' calendars, travel and personal admin are always under control.
• Caroline's personal systems and household logistics run smoothly with minimal input from her.
• Flights for the team are booked accurately and on time.
• Office supplies, snacks, catering and event logistics are proactively managed.
• The Johannesburg office is well looked after, with maintenance, suppliers and day-to-day needs handled quickly.
• The team can rely on you to notice the small things before they become problems.
  
  

⭐️ What You'll Do

Founder support

• Manage calendars, travel and meeting logistics for the founders.
• Book flights, accommodation and transport for the wider team.
• Handle personal tasks including sourcing gifts, booking visas, arranging insurance and managing household logistics.
• Take ownership of Caroline's personal admin and day-to-day systems so she can stay focused on running the business.

Business operations

• Manage the day-to-day running of our Cape Town and Johannesburg offices.
• Order office supplies, snacks and anything else the team needs.
• Coordinate catering, team lunches, all-hands, socials and client events.
• Organise maintenance, suppliers and any fixes needed to keep the offices running smoothly.

General

• Be the person who picks up the small things before anyone has to ask.
• Work proactively and independently, taking ownership wherever you can.
• Bring positive energy and a willingness to help across the business.
  
  

⭐️ You'll Thrive Here If You

• Have 2 to 4 years of executive or personal assistant experience.
• Can juggle competing priorities and keep track of everything without dropping the ball.
• Are proactive and solve problems independently rather than escalating everything.
• Can write clearly and quickly, editing comms and documents under time pressure.
• Show discretion with sensitive personal and commercial information.
• Know the difference between urgent and important, and manage both.
• Are comfortable with ambiguity and changing priorities. You're in a startup, not a steady-state organisation.
• Have strong attention to detail and catch errors before anyone else does.
  
  

⭐️ Requirements
Minimum:

• 2 to 4 years of experience in an executive assistant, personal assistant or similar administrative support role.
• Proficiency in Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Calendar, Gmail).
• Ability to work 4 days per week in our Cape Town office.
• Current South African residency and willingness to travel to Johannesburg monthly.
• Valid driver's licence and a car.

Nice to have:

• Previous experience supporting C-suite or founders.
• Experience managing offices.
• Background in a fast-paced startup or scale-up environment.
  
  

⭐️ What You Can Expect From Us

• In-office environment with a 4-day-a-week attendance requirement at our renovated Cape Town office.
• Monthly salary of R25,000 (fixed-term contract, 15 October 2026 to 15 May 2027).
• Full benefits including medical aid contribution, retirement annuity contribution, Employee Assistance Programme, company laptop, lunch 4 days a week and pro-rata annual leave for the 7-month contract period.
• A temporary fixed-term role with a clear end date, so you know exactly what you're signing up for.
• You'll work directly with the founders and see the real impact of keeping operations running smoothly.
• We respond to all applications. You can expect feedback on your application, even if we decide not to move forward.