Executive Assistant

Premium Automotive Protection & Enhancement Business | Remote | Full Time (Mon to Fri, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM EST)

ABOUT US

We are a premium automotive protection and enhancement shop in Pickering, Ontario.

We specialize in paint protection film, window tint, ceramic coating, anti-theft systems, and more.
We've built our reputation over 12 years on relationships, trust, and doing right by our clients.

We're also an authorized service provider for a regional ignition interlock program. The program supplies ignition interlock devices: in-vehicle breathalyzer systems that drivers use as part of a licence reinstatement program. We handle the installations, servicing, calibrations, and removals for our area, and we're known as the most responsive shop in the program.

THE ROLE

This role wears two hats.

Your primary focus is executive support. You're the founder's right hand, keeping his inbox, payments, calendar, and follow-ups running so he can focus on leading the business. This is detail-heavy, trust-heavy work. You'll see sensitive information and handle real money, so integrity and discretion aren't nice-to-haves, they're the whole job.

Your second hat is client care for our ignition interlock program. Most of these calls come from the program's call center: their team calling us to book, confirm, or reschedule appointments on behalf of drivers. You are the voice of the business to them, and the reason we're known as the most responsive shop in the program. Occasionally you'll speak with a driver directly, and when you do, remember many are going through a difficult chapter in their lives and deserve patience and dignity.

This is low volume: roughly 8 calls a day, about 2 minutes each. The value isn't in call volume, it's in being reliably there. The calls are short and spread out, which leaves real focus time in between, and we'll help you structure your day so the deep work happens in protected blocks.

PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY

• You'll have founder-level access: business email, banking and payment activity, contracts, HR files, and personal scheduling. You'll also handle sensitive client information on ignition interlock program calls. That level of trust is not handed out lightly, and it isn't negotiable once it's given.
• Everything you see and handle stays strictly confidential, during this role and after it ends
• You'll sign a confidentiality agreement before day one, and we take it seriously
• If you're ever unsure whether something is sensitive, treat it as sensitive
• A single breach of trust, whether careless or intentional, ends the working relationship immediately

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Inbox and Communication

• Manage and triage the founder's business email daily, flagging what needs his attention and handling the rest
• Draft replies for his review on routine matters
• Serve as the first point of contact when a customer complaint or conflict lands in the inbox: acknowledge it, de-escalate, and gather the full picture (what happened, what they want, what's already been tried) before handing it to the founder for resolution
• Reply to positive Google reviews warmly and in brand voice; flag negative or sensitive reviews for leadership rather than responding solo Keep his inbox at or near zero

Payments and Financial Admin

• Prepare weekly payment batches for bills and subcontractors (founder approves all payments)

• Verify subcontractor invoices against work records and flag duplicates or discrepancies

• Respond to accountant requests: pull statements, receipts, and documents
• Track money owed to us (dealer accounts, business clients, tenants) and follow up on overdue invoices and rent until they're paid
• Keep an aging list of outstanding receivables and flag anything going stale before it becomes a problem
• Keep financial records organized monthly so nothing piles up

Negotiation and Advocacy

• Vendors often quote businesses higher just because we're a business. We don't accept that, and neither should you.
• Negotiate with providers and vendors when we're adding services or making purchases (phone plans, internet, software, equipment): leverage our business account, bundling, and competitor offers to lock in the best deal before we sign
• Handle billing errors and service issues with providers (phone, internet, utilities, banking) on the founder's behalf
• Push for credits, refunds, and compensation when we've been overcharged or had time wasted
• Review our recurring expenses and subscriptions regularly: flag what we're overpaying for, duplicating, or no longer using, and bring options to cut or renegotiate
• Keep records of every dispute and every deal: dates, names, reference numbers, outcomes

Purchasing

• Research and source supplies and equipment for the shop

• Compare pricing and present the best two options for purchases over the approval threshold
• Handle routine reorders independently within an agreed budget

Scheduling and Coordination

• Manage the founder's calendar, business and personal
• Look ahead and lighten the load: when a week is packed, proactively reach out to move appointments around before being asked. When a partner or vendor rep is visiting the shop, have lunch and a small gift arranged without prompting
• Book travel (flights, hotels) when needed
• Follow up with contractors and vendors on deliverables and deadlines
• Track key dates and deadlines so nothing slips

Admin Support

• Onboarding paperwork for new hires, collecting signed documents
• Keep shared files and records organized
• Run weekly CRM checks: audit leads against our follow-up standards, confirm recent customers are happy, and compile a report for leadership
• Process warranty claims with vendors and manufacturers, and make sure we're credited for defective products
• Bring forward ideas: if you see a faster, cheaper, or smarter way to handle something, we want to hear it
• Ad hoc tasks and projects as they come up

Team Appreciation and Culture

• Track team birthdays, work anniversaries, and holidays, and bring the founder ideas ahead of time rather than waiting to be reminded
• Use our team onboarding form (favourite colour, food, dessert, hobbies) to make gifts personal
• Plan ahead for holidays and team events so we're never scrambling in the last week

Team Support

• Be the team's first stop for admin blockers: password resets, access issues, CRM problems. Route them to the right person instead of sending them to the founder
• Check in with the team regularly to see how they're doing and whether anything is getting in their way
• Notice and surface wins so people get recognized

Recruiting and Hiring Support

• Screen resumes and applications against criteria the founder provides, and build a shortlist
• Schedule interviews and manage candidate communication
• Conduct initial phone or video screens to confirm the basics before a candidate reaches the founder
• Coordinate reference checks
• Keep the hiring pipeline and candidate notes organized

Smart Start Client Care

• Answer inbound ignition interlock program calls promptly throughout your shift, primarily from the program's call center team
• Book, confirm, and reschedule appointments accurately in GoHighLevel
• Follow our call scripts and communication standards exactly
• Log every call and outcome accurately
• Handle the occasional direct call from a driver with empathy and discretion
• Escalate anything outside your authority to the Shop Manager or Sales Manager

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• 2+ years as a VA, EA, or in an admin-heavy role, and 2+ years in phone-based customer service or scheduling
• You match energy in writing. You'll be writing from the founder's inbox, so it needs to sound like him: warm, direct, fast, a little playful, never stiff or corporate. If a client feels a shift in tone when the founder jumps into the thread, we've missed. You're also quick to respond; we don't leave people hanging
• Detail-obsessed: you catch the double-charge, the typo, the missed deadline
• Confident negotiator: you don't take the first no from a billing company, and you don't accept sticker price when we're signing up for something new. You ask for the better deal, escalate politely, stay persistent, and come back with the win
• Anticipates instead of waiting to be told: you see what's coming and act on it before it's asked of you
• Improvement-minded: you notice inefficiencies and suggest better ways of doing things, but you respect existing systems and always propose before changing anything
• Self-starting and resourceful: you try to figure things out on your own first (documentation, Google, asking the right team member) before bringing questions to the founder. When you do escalate, you come with what you've already tried
• Near-native spoken and written English, clear and neutral on the phone
• Professional and reliable on the phone. Most calls are coordination with the program's call center team, so accuracy and consistency matter most, and you're warm without being scripted
• Genuine empathy for the occasional direct call from a driver. Some are stressed or going through a hard time, and you meet them with patience and a real desire to help
• Calm and steady under pressure: you can de-escalate an upset caller or client and leave them feeling heard
• Comfortable screening candidates and conducting initial interviews (final hiring decisions stay with the founder)
• Discreet and trustworthy, comfortable signing a confidentiality agreement
• Tech savvy and quick to learn new tools. We run on Google Workspace, Slack, GoHighLevel (CRM), Urable (shop management), and QuickBooks. You don't resist new software, and you're comfortable on video calls with your camera on

YOUR WORKSPACE

• Quiet, professional home workspace with no background noise during calls
• Reliable high-speed internet, plus a backup internet plan
• Available 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern every weekday

NICE TO HAVE

• Experience supporting a small business owner or founder
• Event planning experience: you'll help plan team events, holiday celebrations, and partner visits
• Accounts receivable, collections, or bookkeeping experience
• Comfortable using AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) to work faster and smarter: drafting, summarizing, research, and organizing information. If AI is already part of your daily workflow, tell us how
• Automotive industry interest (not required, but you'll enjoy this more if cars don't bore you)

HOW WE WORK

• End each workday with a short EOD report: what's done, what's pending, what you need from us, and anything we should know about
• Urgent items get flagged immediately via Slack; everything else waits for the report
• Questions are welcome, but we'll point you to the right person for each area during onboarding. The founder is the last stop, not the first
• We value people who spot problems early and say so

DETAILS

• Full time, Monday to Friday, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern
• Fully remote
• Salary: $1,300–$1,500 per month, based on experience
• Starts with a 30-day trial period with clear expectations, then ongoing