Executive & Operations Assistant to Founder

Executive & Operations Assistant to Founder

Remote – Philippines | Part-Time Initially | Long-Term Opportunity

About Northwest Floors

Northwest Floors is an established flooring business based in Cheshire, UK. We supply and install LVT, carpets, laminate, engineered wood and other flooring products for residential and commercial customers.

We are a growing business with a showroom, fitting teams, suppliers and a busy schedule of installations.

I’m the owner of the business and I’m looking for an exceptional Executive & Operations Assistant who can become my right-hand person.

This is much more than a traditional Virtual Assistant position.

I’m looking for somebody who can gradually help me run and coordinate the day-to-day operation of the business, while also supporting me personally as the owner.

My goal is to spend more of my time on sales, customers, relationships, marketing and growing Northwest Floors — and less time chasing people, coordinating jobs, answering routine email s, checking orders and remembering hundreds of small things.

Your job will be to help make that happen.

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The Person I’m Looking For

The most important qualities I’m looking for are:

Ownership, initiative, organisation and communication.

I don’t want somebody who waits all day to be given tasks.

I want somebody who notices things.

If a fitter hasn’t confirmed tomorrow’s job, you notice.

If a supplier hasn’t confirmed a delivery, you chase it.

If a customer is waiting for an update, you make sure they receive one.

If someone says they’ll send something tomorrow, you remember tomorrow so I don’t have to.

If you spot something that could become a problem next week, you raise it before it becomes a problem.

Ultimately, I want somebody who starts to think:

“What can I take care of so Alex doesn’t need to?”

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Your Responsibilities

The position will develop as you learn the business and gain my trust.

Initially, your responsibilities will include:

Executive Assistance

• Managing and organising my email inbox
• Drafting and responding to email s on my behalf
• Identifying email s that genuinely require my attention
• Managing my business and personal calendar
• Organising appointments and meetings
• Helping protect my time and avoid unnecessary interruptions
• Turning my WhatsApp messages and voice notes into organised tasks
• Keeping track of things I’ve said I’ll do
• Chasing people on my behalf
• Helping with occasional personal administration, appointments, bookings and research
• Producing concise daily updates so I know what genuinely needs my attention

The objective is for you to gradually become an external brain for me, making sure things don’t get forgotten.

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Customer Communication

You will become an important point of contact for our customers.

This will include:

• Answering routine customer email s
• Communicating with customers through email , telephone and WhatsApp
• Confirming appointments and installation dates
• Keeping customers informed about their upcoming flooring installation
• Informing customers of fitter arrival times
• Following up outstanding quotations
• Chasing deposits where appropriate
• Gathering information required before installations
• Helping resolve routine questions
• Following up after installations
• Coordinating snagging or outstanding work
• Helping ensure final balances are collected

You must be confident communicating in English and comfortable speaking directly with UK customers.

Customer service is extremely important to us, so communication should always be professional, friendly and proactive.

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Managing Flooring Projects

A major part of this position will eventually be taking ownership of projects after the sale has been made and the customer has paid their deposit.

I enjoy meeting customers, helping them choose their flooring and making the sale.

What I want to move away from is having to personally manage every detail that happens afterwards.

Once a project is handed over, you will help coordinate the journey through to completion.

This will include:

• Checking the job information is complete
• Confirming fitting dates
• Liaising with fitters
• Liaising with Josh in our showroom
• Checking materials have been ordered
• Confirming supplier deliveries
• Making sure materials have arrived before they’re required
• Checking preparation requirements
• Ensuring fitters have the information they need
• Keeping the customer informed
• Coordinating access and other trades where required
• Monitoring jobs while they are taking place
• Recording changes or additional work
• Collecting completion information
• Collecting photographs from our fitters for our records and social media
• Coordinating snagging or return visits
• Making sure completed jobs are invoiced
• Following up outstanding balances

I don’t expect you to understand all of this immediately.

We will teach you.

Over time, however, I want you to understand our processes well enough to take genuine ownership of them.

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Working With Our Team & Fitters

You’ll act as an important link between me, Josh, our fitters, customers and suppliers.

Part of your job is making sure information gets to the right person and that agreed actions actually happen.

For example, if Josh needs to order flooring for an upcoming installation, you may not necessarily place that particular order yourself.

However, you may be responsible for making sure it has been ordered, checking the supplier has acknowledged it and confirming it will arrive in time.

The same applies to our fitters.

You will help confirm their schedules, make sure they have job information and follow up when information is outstanding.

The aim is that I no longer need to be the person remembering and chasing everything.

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Stock Control & Forward Planning

You will also help manage our regularly used stock and installation materials.

I don’t simply want someone who counts stock.

I want somebody who looks ahead.

You will regularly review our confirmed jobs for approximately the next 4–6 weeks and make sure we are likely to have enough materials available.

This will include monitoring items such as:

• Smoothing compounds
• Primers
• Flooring adhesives
• DPM products
• Underlays
• Plywood
• Flooring accessories
• Other regularly used installation materials

You will:

• Carry out regular stock checks
• Maintain accurate stock records
• Understand what stock has already been allocated to specific jobs
• Look at upcoming jobs and estimate likely requirements
• Check supplier lead times
• Identify potential shortages early
• Liaise with Josh and our fitters about requirements
• Recommend or arrange replenishment
• Flag unusual stock usage or discrepancies
• Help prevent unnecessary over-ordering
• Produce a simple forward stock forecast

The objective is:

We should know what we’re going to need before we need it.

I don’t want us discovering on the morning of an installation that we’ve run out of an important product.

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Learning About Flooring

You do not need previous flooring experience to apply.

However, you must genuinely want to learn about the industry.

I don’t want somebody who is still saying “I don’t really understand flooring” a year after joining us.

We will dedicate a minimum of one paid hour every week specifically to flooring education and product knowledge.

This could include learning about:

• LVT
• Carpet
• Laminate
• Engineered wood
• Different installation methods
• Subfloors
• Moisture
• Smoothing compounds
• DPMs
• Plywood preparation
• Adhesives
• Underlays
• Measuring and wastage
• Common installation problems
• Our major manufacturers and product ranges

I can also arrange for you to speak directly with our suppliers and manufacturers and participate in product training so that you can learn from people within the industry.

You will be encouraged to ask questions.

The purpose isn’t to turn you into a flooring installer.

It’s to give you enough understanding that when a customer, fitter or supplier discusses a flooring issue, you understand what they’re talking about.

The more you learn, the more decisions you’ll eventually be able to make independently.

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Administration & Financial Organisation

As the position develops, you will also help us keep our administration organised.

This may include:

• Matching supplier invoices against orders
• Checking purchase information
• Assisting with QuickBooks administration
• Monitoring outstanding customer balances
• Checking deposits have been received
• Maintaining job records
• Keeping CRM information accurate
• Checking paperwork is complete
• Helping with basic reporting

You don’t need to be an accountant.

The important thing is being accurate, organised and comfortable working with numbers and systems.

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How I Want Problems Handled

Things inevitably go wrong in a flooring business.

Deliveries get delayed.

Customers change dates.

Fitters become unavailable.

Unexpected preparation is discovered.

I don’t expect you to magically solve everything.

But I also don’t want every problem simply forwarded to me with:

“Alex, what should I do?”

I want you to investigate first.

Ideally, you come to me with:

“This has happened. I’ve looked into it. We have option A or option B. I recommend option B because of X. Are you happy for me to proceed?”

As your knowledge and experience grow, there will be more situations where you won’t need to ask me at all.

That’s how I want this position to develop.

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Communication With Me

I don’t want 30 interruptions every day.

Part of your job will be understanding what genuinely requires my attention.

I’d like us to develop a simple system where I receive a concise update containing things such as:

HANDLED

Things you’ve dealt with that I don’t need to worry about.

WAITING

Things we’re waiting for somebody else to provide.

NEEDS ALEX

Decisions or actions that genuinely require me.

HEADS-UP

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