Work closely with a Founder. Learn how high-growth businesses are built.

Our client is a founder-led business operating across entertainment, real estate, investment and strategic partnerships in Australia and internationally.

We are looking for an exceptional Executive Associate to the Founder to become a trusted extension of the Founder’s office and play a meaningful role in helping him operate at his highest level.

This is an opportunity for an ambitious, highly organised and commercially curious person who wants to get unusually close to how key decisions are made — and to grow beyond traditional executive support into project coordination, project management and broader executive operations.

What you'll be doing

This role goes well beyond traditional diary and administrative management.

Executive Support

- Manage and optimise the Founder’s calendar in line with business priorities.
- Prepare the Founder for meetings, negotiations and key decisions.
- Coordinate complex domestic and international travel, including contingency planning.
- Prepare correspondence and communications on behalf of the Founder.
- Track and ensure follow-through on actions, commitments and key outcomes.

Founder Office Operations

- Monitor key commitments, projects, priorities and follow-ups.
- Keep cross-functional initiatives moving between meetings and milestones.
- Develop and improve systems, workflows and reporting processes.
- Create structure and organisation in a fast-paced and evolving environment.

Research & Executive Intelligence

- Research people, companies, markets and opportunities ahead of important meetings.
- Prepare concise and insightful briefing materials to support decision-making.
- Use AI tools extensively for research, analysis, drafting and workflow optimisation.
- Develop systems to capture and organise knowledge so valuable research can be accessed and reused.

Relationships & External Engagement

- Coordinate interactions with investors, family offices, partners and VIP stakeholders.
- Ensure external interactions consistently reflect the professionalism of the Founder and the business.
- Coordinate high-level meetings, visits and events.
- Maintain accurate relationship records and ensure appropriate follow-up.

Continuous Improvement

- Identify inefficiencies and proactively develop better ways of working.
- Evaluate and implement AI tools and workflows that improve productivity and outcomes.




- Build and refine systems that increase the effectiveness of the Founder’s office.

What we're looking for We value character, judgement and potential more than a particular qualification.

You may be early in your career. What matters is that you are capable, curious, ambitious and eager to learn.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate:

- Exceptional organisation – able to manage multiple priorities while maintaining attention to detail.
- Strong judgement – able to distinguish between what is urgent, what is important and what can wait.
- Ownership – naturally looks for solutions rather than simply escalating problems.
- Curiosity – seeks context and understands the “why” rather than simply waiting for instructions.
- Discretion and integrity – understands the importance of confidentiality and can be trusted with sensitive information.
- Excellent communication – communicates clearly, concisely and appropriately with different audiences.
- Commercial curiosity – genuinely interested in understanding businesses, investments, relationships and strategic decisions.
- AI fluency – confident using AI as part of everyday work and enthusiastic about finding smarter and more efficient ways to work.
- Ability to create order from complexity – can take an ambiguous or unstructured situation and turn it into something organised and actionable.
- Resilience and composure – remains effective when priorities change and the pace increases.

Excellent written and spoken English is essential. Fluency in Chinese is not required, but would be highly regarded given the international nature of the Founder’s work and regular interaction with Chinese-speaking partners, investors and stakeholders across Asia-Pacific. This is consistent with the original position description. Why join us?

This role offers something that most Executive Associate positions do not.

You will work directly alongside the Founder, gaining exposure to:

- International business development and strategic investment




- Entertainment and real estate projects
- CEOs, investors, family offices and major strategic partners
- Cross-border negotiations and transactions
- Major industry conferences and international markets
- Strategic decision-making and the operations of a growing founder-led business

Melbourne is your base, but the role has an international dimension across Asia-Pacific and the United States. As your capability and trust develop, opportunities to travel with the Founder may follow. A career path, not just a job

We are deliberately hiring for potential.

A strong performer can progressively take on broader responsibility — from Executive Associate to project coordination, project management and eventually wider executive operations.

Progression will be based on the responsibility you earn and the value you create.

Within your first 12 months, we expect you to have:

- Made a measurable difference to the Founder’s time and effectiveness.
- Developed sufficient business context to anticipate needs rather than simply react to requests.
- Built or significantly improved at least one system or workflow used by the wider business.
- Earned greater responsibility through demonstrated judgement, ownership and performance.

The role is specifically designed to provide a pathway into broader responsibility rather than remaining within a traditional executive support function. The person we're looking for

If you're switched-on, highly organised and ambitious, and want to learn how sophisticated businesses operate from close range, we'd like to hear from you.

This is a demanding role. There is no finished playbook, and you'll be expected to think independently, take ownership and use sound judgement.

If you thrive on responsibility, learn quickly and want your career to develop beyond administration into business, projects and leadership, this could be an exceptional opportunity.

How to apply

Please submit your resume and a short cover letter explaining why this role interests you and what makes you the right person to work closely with a Founder.

We encourage high-potential early-career candidates to apply. Formal qualifications are less important than demonstrated capability, judgement and potential.

Remuneration

Competitive remuneration package, commensurate with the successful candidate’s skills, experience and individual capabilities.

📌 Executive Associate to the Founder (Melbourne)
🏢 Hatcher Advisory
📍 Melbourne