Blackbird is looking for an Executive Assistant to amplify the output of Blackbird partners Samantha Wong (Auckland based) and Nick Crocker (Melbourne based) and support the Aotearoa team.

The most precious resource is time and your mission is to ensure our time is focussed on the most impactful projects. We are looking for someone who is hyper-efficient, detail-obsessed and proactive. You will be a super organiser but also someone with a hospitality mindset and an appreciation for creating an exceptional customer experience for the founders and community we serve.

This Executive Assistant role will work with Sam, Nick and team Aotearoa to reach new heights of productivity and team engagement.

Some examples of the work you will be doing are:

• Productivity: Work with each partner on optimising their systems for prioritisation and goal-tracking, ensuring they are consistently allocating their time and energy to the highest-leverage areas. You should be familiar with different productivity approaches and the software tools or systems to implement them.

• Inbox Management: Help Sam and Nick stay on top of their inbox every day by prioritising what’s important, what isn’t and pre-drafting responses for review/sending as appropriate.

• Calendar Control: Leverage Sam and Nick’s time to ensure they are each focussing on achieving key goals and manage their calendars to see where time can be better spent on higher-impact tasks.

• Being the Partners’ Shadow: Help Sam be a great leader to team Aotearoa and Nick be a great leader to the Investments Team by helping maintain good team meeting hygiene, helping with expense management, budget and leave approvals.

• Office Management: You will be responsible for the management of the Auckland office. This will include ensuring common spaces are maintained and fully stocked, and managing the relationships with external contractors, vendors and other key stakeholders. Note: We already have this covered for the Blackbird office in Sydney and Melbourne.

  Team Aotearoa is steadily growing and one of your first objectives will be to find an exciting new office space for the team to occupy.

• Travel: Co-ordinating Sam and Nick’s international and domestic flights and accommodation. Coordinate the travel arrangements for Blackbirds bi-annual Aotearoa Road Show which sees the team on a two week adventure up and down the country hosting speaker and founder events.

• Events: Be the Aotearoa point of contact for company-wide events and assist in the execution of Aotearoa-based events and wellness initiatives.

Position Requirements

We care less about your experience, and are looking more for the following superpowers:

• Initiative - When you see a problem, do you find satisfaction in building solutions? We are looking for someone who has drive, is naturally curious and proactive. Your fellow Blackbirds have founded side hustle businesses, spear-headed festivals and events, and even taken up carpentry as a hobby. What projects have you taken on for the fun of it or out of sheer curiosity?

• Communication - You will have great communication skills, both written and verbal. You will be sensitive to your audience and have the ability to cater your language accordingly. This means ensuring everyone feels respected and valued in every interaction, even when saying ’no’.

• Organised - You will be great at your own personal task management and have a strong ability to organise others. On average, Sam has over 15 hrs worth of meetings a week. How can you help tame this and ensure she has enough time each week to accomplish her top priorities?

• Hyper-efficient - At Blackbird, we call this ‘Batko-like behaviour’, named after Startmate CEO Michael Batko, our shining beacon of efficiency. You know all the latest productivity tools and exercise good judgment in which tools to use. You can also read more about Michael’s systems of efficiency and processes here.

• Ownership Mentality - No job is too small. Like all of us at Blackbird, you're happy to roll up your sleeves and do the task at hand. Whether that be watering the plants or providing feedback on an investment decision, we all have our part to play.

While applicants with professional EA experience are highly desired, we are prioritising core skills and being genuinely curious about the business of venture capital and startups. The core skills required - being organised, a good writer, humble, resourceful, taking initiative and empathetic - could have been gained in roles such as hospitality, event management, film & TV production, journalism etc.

This role is full-time, based in Auckland with the flexibility to work from home.

Where could this take you?

Blackbird’s ambition grows every year. In early 2020, we were 12 employees and today we have 53 employees and are adding many new roles this year. Within Blackbird there will be many opportunities to develop your career. However, we are looking for someone who is willing to commit to at least 18 months in this role.

Blackbird is also a launchpad for a career in startups more generally. You will have a unique birds-eye lens and strong relationships with key players in the Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand ecosystem from which to plot your next move.

Working at Blackbird

We believe that building a diverse and inclusive team is critical to Blackbird’s success. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, or marital, veteran, or disability status. We use Applied to ensure every applicant gets an equal chance of success.

We offer:

• Flexible working: Whether it’s working from home or leaving early to pick up the kids from daycare or school.

• Generous parental leave: We know family comes first and we are proud to offer generous parental leave - 16 weeks for primary carer and 6 weeks for a secondary carer, subject to a 12 month minimum tenure. This includes a continuation of super payments while on unpaid parental leave and a supportive return-to-work policy.

• Learning & Development Budget: Our team is hungry to continuously learn and you’ll receive a budget to spend on whatever you’d like to learn - from coding courses to meditation.

• Unplugged weekends: We work hard without letting work get in the way of life. We’ve implemented no Slack or emails on weekends, so you can switch off and enjoy yourself.

• A share of Blackbird’s success: We think it is important to share successes with the whole team. All Blackbird employees receive carry in our funds and are owners in the management company.

Blackbird is a Pledge 1% member —  we pledge 1% of our time, equity and profits to help not-for-profit causes in our community. Through Pledge 1%, we established the Blackbird Foundation to supercharge the creative capabilities of young people.

About Blackbird

Blackbird is Australia's biggest venture capital fund whose mission is to supercharge Australia and New Zealand’s most ambitious founders. We do this by raising venture capital funds, investing into the best startup companies and helping them succeed. We have a portfolio valued at over $10B, including some of the most successful Australian startups such as Canva, Zoox, Safety Culture and CultureAmp.

We are inspired by investment firms such as Berkshire Hathaway and Bridgewater Associates. Like the companies we back, we want to build a business that lasts for decades and produces excellent returns for our investors. Most of all, we want to support our region’s most talented founders build category-defining technology companies.

We’ve written a lot about what we love at Blackbird, so check out our blog if you want some more information about us. In particular, you should read about our mission and values, our master plan, and what we look for in founders.