Virtual Assistant, Operations & Scheduling

About Bestie

Bestie is a concierge-style pet care company serving Downtown Manhattan. We provide dog walks, drop-ins, daycare, boarding, and house sitting for dogs and cats. Members pay a monthly membership fee and get access to a dedicated concierge team, so they never have to scramble to find someone they trust with their pet. Behind the scenes, a lot of coordination happens. We have 170+ members, 150+ independent contractors who make up our sitter team, and a calendar that changes every day.

The Role

Bestie is growing, and we're adding a second virtual assistant to our operations team. We already have an Executive Assistant who runs our day-to-day operations. You'll work closely with them, take on the behind-the-scenes admin work, and act as their backup so nothing slips through the cracks when things get busy.

At first, your focus will be backend operations: scheduling, booking entry, records, billing checks, responding to email inquiries, tracking leads, and supporting the Executive Assistant we already have. You won't be handling our concierge phone line at the start. This role suits someone who enjoys owning systems, catches small discrepancies before they become problems, and works well as part of a team.

As you grow into the role, there's also an opportunity to work directly with our members and sitter team and help run our day-to-day concierge line. This isn't the focus at the start, but if you enjoy customer service and relationship management, there's room to grow in that direction as part of a full time role.

Part-Time to Full-Time
The role starts at 20–25 hours per week, with the goal of transitioning to full-time after approximately two months for the right candidate, based on performance and business needs.

Training
You'll get a structured onboarding period during November and December. The training includes:

• Studying our operations handbook
• Shadowing sessions with our current EA
• Handling tasks on your own, then reviewing them together until you're confident

What You'll Do

Scheduling

• Enter each week's confirmed bookings into Time To Pet (a comprehensive, all-in-one pet care management software) and flag any double bookings to the team
• Help schedule recurring and upcoming bookings and keep our sitter availability tracker current

Email & lead management

• Respond to new member inquiries by email and through our website
• Track every lead in our Lead Tracker so no inquiry goes unanswered

Billing, payroll & records

• Help make sure members are charged correctly through Time To Pet
• Double-check invoices before weekly billing runs
• Log bookings in our master Excel tracker

Onboarding

• Members: Set up new member profiles in Time To Pet, create care instruction docs, and update member records
• Sitters: Support the full sitter onboarding process, including profile setup, documentation, availability, and payroll information

What Success Looks Like

• Bookings are entered accurately and on time
• Time To Pet, Google Calendar, and our internal trackers stay in sync
• Double bookings and scheduling conflicts are caught before they become problems
• Member and sitter records are complete and up to date
• Billing discrepancies are identified before invoices are sent
• Every inquiry and lead is tracked and receives a timely response
• You communicate proactively when something is unclear or at risk of being missed

What This Role Is Not

• This is not a personal assistant role.
• You will not be managing the founder's personal schedule or errands.
• You will not be responsible for sales or social media.
• You will not initially be responsible for answering the concierge phone line.

Tools You'll Use

• Google Workspace (Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Gmail), Excel, Time To Pet, WhatsApp, Quo
• Experience with Time To Pet or similar booking software is a plus, but we'll train you on our systems.

Who You Are

• At least 3 years of experience as a virtual assistant, executive assistant, or in an admin or operations role, ideally supporting a US-based or services business
• Highly organized and detail-oriented. You notice when a calendar entry, invoice, and spreadsheet don't match, and you fix it.
• Strong written English. You communicate clearly and warmly with members and teammates.
• A good collaborator who keeps your teammate in the loop and is comfortable sharing ownership of systems
• Able to work independently. You won't always have someone available to answer a question immediately. You should be comfortable assessing a situation, checking our existing processes/documentation, and escalating when a decision is needed
• Proactive. You spot problems before anyone asks and bring solutions along with them.
• Trustworthy with sensitive information, including payroll
• Comfortable with multiple systems and quick to learn new tools
• Available to work hours that overlap with US Eastern Time, including Sundays
• Timely and collaborative in team communication, staying actively engaged and responsive during scheduled working hours
• Flags urgent booking or sitter issues immediately
• Eager to clarify details to ensure high-quality support; Asks questions when information is unclear rather than making assumptions

Nice to have: Experience in pet care, hospitality, or client-facing service businesses, and a genuine love of dogs and cats.

Details
Compensation: $6.00-$7.00/hour
Schedule: 20–25 hours/week, including a required Sunday shift during US Eastern Time. Exact schedule will be established during onboarding based on business needs.
Start date: Training begins early November

How to Apply
Apply through our application form: ----------
(remove the spaces)

The form includes:

• A few short screening questions
• Your resume
• A 1-minute video introducing yourself

To show us you read all the way through, please rename your introduction video title to your name and your favorite dog breed.

Applications sent outside the form won't be reviewed. The form will be open until Friday, October 16.