Research & Operations Assistant — Fashion E-commerce Startup
South Africa / Philippines
VA/EA – Operations /
Virtual Assistant / Part - Time /
Remote
About the role
We’re an early-stage fashion e-commerce company (apparel, footwear, accessories) looking for a high-initiative Research & Operations Assistant who can take projects from brief to completion with minimal hand-holding. You’ll own grant/trust research and applications, vendor and professional sourcing (e.g., fashion counsel, 3PL/warehousing), light ops setup, and occasional personal admin. You should be tech-savvy, AI-literate, and fast, using AI tools to accelerate research and drafting.
What you’ll do
Grants, trusts & proposals (core | ~40%)
● Identify aligned grants/trusts for a fashion/e-commerce startup; build a tracker with criteria, deadlines, and status.
● Draft application materials using founder-provided inputs; manage end-to-end submissions and follow-ups.
● Maintain a repository of reusable answers, documents, and templates.
Legal & professional sourcing (core | ~20%)
● Research fashion/brand attorneys for contracts, IP, and vendor agreements; compile ranked shortlists with fees, scope, and reviews.
● Book consultations, manage calendars, and prep decision matrices/notes.
Ops & vendor research (core | ~25%)
● Compare US warehousing/3PL options: rates (storage, pick/pack, inbound/outbound), SLAs, integrations, and startup friendliness.
● Build clean comparison sheets (Excel/Sheets) with assumptions, total landed cost, and recommendations.
● Document processes and keep folders tidy in Google Drive.
Personal admin (occasional | ~15%)
● Research tax strategists/CPAs; compile vetted lists and schedule consults.
● Light scheduling and follow-ups as needed.
What success looks like (90-day outcomes)
- A live, prioritized grant/trust pipeline with 6–10 active submissions and a repeatable application pack.
- Shortlists for fashion counsel and 3PL with clear pros/cons and a recommended next step.
- Founder has a reliable weekly cadence (agenda, decisions needed, deadlines) with nothing slipping through the cracks.
- SOPs and trackers organized in shared folders; updates visible at a glance
Must-have qualifications
- 2–4+ years in research/operations, VA, chief-of-staff lite, or similar role for a startup or SMB.
- AI-first research & drafting (e.g., prompting strategies to rapidly surface options, synthesize, and produce first drafts).
- Strong Excel/Google Sheets: lookups, filters, pivot-level comfort, cost comparison models.
- Excellent written English; concise, structured notes and summaries.
- Calendar management and meeting scheduling across time zones.
- Proactive ownership: can interpret criteria, ask clarifying questions early, and deliver v1 without hand-holding.
- Comfortable working under an NDA and handling sensitive documents.
Nice-to-have
- Exposure to fashion/e-commerce ecosystems (3PLs, marketplaces, brand/legal basics).
- Experience drafting grant or RFP applications.
- Familiarity with Google Workspace, Notion, and Calendly (or equivalents).
Tools you’ll use
- Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Drive), Calendly (or similar)
- AI research/drafting tools (your choice)
- Basic project tracking (Notion/Sheets)
$500 - $700 a month
Part-time (20 hrs/week) with a consistent weekly rhythm.
Daily async updates; 1 quick sync on most days at ~8–9 PM CT if offshore (or daytime CT if US-based).
Responsive during agreed-upon overlap hours
Why Join Assist World?
100% REMOTE
$50 birthday bonus
$200 testimonial bonus
$300 tenure bonus every 6 months
$500 entry monthly raffle
NO TRACKER. NO PROBLEM!
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
