Job Title: Strategic Operations Partner & Executive Buffer (Fractional / Contract)
Location: Remote (New Zealand wide). Ability to connect via Zoom/Teams is essential.
Hours: 7.5 to 10.5 hours per week (Flexible pacing)
Term: Initial 3-month contract, with a view to co-develop and expand the role long-term.
Rate/Salary: $65+ per hour (depending on experience) or equivalent pro-rata
contract package.
About the Opportunity
After a period away from the sector, a former Director of a prominent European design practice is returning to focus on social innovation. We are intentionally building a brand-new, bespoke working environment from scratch—one centered on focus, psychological safety, and high creative impact.
As a neurodivergent practitioner, the Director possesses a highly visionary creative drive but requires an elite coordinator to absorb the daily digital, administrative, and logistical "noise" of both business re-entry and select personal spaces.
We are seeking an operational co-builder. This is a highly fractional, low-hour start designed to let us test our working dynamic, establish clean boundaries, and collaborate on what this role will grow into as the innovation practice expands.
The Core Focus: Removing the Noise
● The Cognitive Filter: Serve as the sole gateway for the outside world. You will absorb messy incoming communications, emails, and community-sector pitches, distilling them into calm, bite-sized, structured updates.
● Calm Boundary Management: Protect time and energy fiercely. You will manage calendar pacing, ensure mandatory decompression gaps between commitments, and politely but firmly gatekeep access.
● Process & Workflow Setup: In conjunction with a supportive hands-on team, help design and refine the light digital frameworks, simple automations, and physical routines that prevent sensory overload and executive fatigue.
● Social Innovation Support: Assist with low-volume, high-value coordination as the Director steps back into the NZ social impact sector (basic networking follow-ups, tracking project touchpoints).
● Lifestyle Integration: Provide parallel, seamless management for minor personal logistics (appointments, properties) so that life outside of work remains predictable and quiet.
The Ideal Profile
We are an Equal Opportunity Employer looking for a specific professional anchor.
This role requires a unique cognitive profile to complement the Director’s way of working. You will thrive here if you possess:
● A Grounded, Unflappable Presence: You are an emotional and operational stabiliser. You do not absorb external stress or chaos; you diffuse it with a calm, steady baseline.
● Exceptional Executive Functioning: Your brain naturally untangles clutter.
You love creating order, simplifying messy systems, and thinking three steps ahead.
● High Situational Intelligence: You can read cognitive fatigue or sensory overwhelm early, stepping in seamlessly to handle the friction without needing to be asked.
● Clarity and Brevity: You communicate with extreme precision, using short sentences, punchy lists, and zero fluff.
● An Interest in Design or Social Impact: While design experience isn't mandatory, an appreciation for creative minds and social innovation will help you understand the intent of the work.
What We Offer
● Total Autonomy over System Design: You are not stepping into a rigid corporate cage; you are helping build the harbor.
● True Flexibility: The 7.5 to 10.5 hours can be spread across the week in a way that respects both your lifestyle and the Director's pacing.
● A Low-Stress, Supported Process: You will not be building alone. The hands-on setup of physical environments will be done collaboratively with others to ensure the process is mutually beneficial and sustainable for everyone.
● A Long-Term Horizon: For the right partner, this initial 3-month test phase is a runway to co-define, develop, and scale a permanent, highly rewarding role as the practice grows.
How to Apply (Low-Stress Recruitment Process)
To ensure this process is sustainable for everyone, we are using a staged approach:
Stage 1: Please submit your CV along with a short, informal video introduction (maximum 2–3 minutes) telling us why an "operational buffer" role appeals to you.
Stage 2: Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a brief, structured video meeting via Zoom/Teams.
Stage 3: A final in-person meeting will be arranged only for the preferred candidate before finalising the contract.
How to Apply (Low-Stress Recruitment Process)
To ensure this process is sustainable for everyone, we are using a staged approach:
Stage 1: Please submit your CV along with a short, informal video introduction (maximum 2–3 minutes) telling us why an "operational buffer" role appeals to you.
Stage 2: Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a brief, structured video meeting via Zoom/Teams.
Stage 3: A final in-person meeting will be arranged only for the preferred candidate before finalising the contract.
Former design practise director returning to contributing again after a long absence.