Role overview

Qualifications

Proven experience in an Operations, Compliance, Risk Administration, or advanced Technical Administration role within a structured corporate environment.
Practical experience managing complex administrative workflows that require cross-functional approvals.
Exceptional, proven stakeholder management skills, with comfort communicating alongside legal counsel, finance teams, and technical program owners.
Advanced proficiency in Google Workspace tools, specifically Docs, Slides, and Google Sheets for data interrogation and executive reporting.

Responsibilities

Act as the primary operational liaison for internal and external legal reviews, track contract lifecycles, and collate necessary documentation.
Navigate and track the approval process for accessing internal and external datasets and coordinate usage agreements.
Manage the end-to-end purchase order (PO) lifecycle for team expenses, software licences, and data access.
Support technical and product teams with structured data entry and competitive landscape tracking.

Key facts

Remote from: Africa
Full time
Operations Coordinator
English

Hard skills

Operations Architecture Compliance Management Risk Management Data Integrity Google Workspace Open Source Intelligence Project Collaboration

Other skills

Analytical Thinking
Detail Oriented
Communication
Problem Solving
Collaboration

About the company

SmartPA

Professional Services

❝Outsource your admin, grow your business❞SmartPA ultimately:🗹 Increase efficiency🗹 Drive productivity🗹 Maximise profitsTraditional business models and working practices have changed in recent years. Driven by pressures of the global economy, cost, efficiency goals, and personal work/life balance incentives.Consumer habits have also evolved, and businesses need to serve their customers when, where, and how they want. Hire a Virtual Assistant and never miss out on that important customer again.As an agile outsourcing service provider over a decade of experience, SmartPA integrates seamlessly into our clients’ processes, systems, and culture. We become an extension of their team helping to drive efficiencies and generate competitive advantage.Our mission is to deliver sustained improvement – every step of the way.We train and mentor our resource pool so we can be relied on to make a continuous positive impact on business operations. With the widest range of administrative skills backed up by a global support community, together we are unstoppable.➤ Smart Service Customer experience is at the core of what we do. This means we take pride in ensuring that our service packages are tailored to the specific needs of our clients.➤ Virtual PA ServicesSupporting businesses with diary & email management, transcription, typing, document production and more. Specialist Virtual PA services include EA, HR & Employment, Bookkeeping and Supplier Management, CRM management, social media, and marketing support.➤ Call AnsweringNo more missed calls, missed sales, or missed opportunities. Our professionally trained team can help you with appointment booking, overflow and message taking.➤ EnterpriseWe’ve learned and perfected how best to provide agile, flexible, and scalable virtual support for clients of all sizes across the globe. Drawing on a virtually limitless global pool of talent, enabling us to support your business 24/7x365 worldwide.

Company details

Company typeSME

IndustryProfessional Services

Company size201 - 500

Links

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Job description

Job Description

The Centre of Excellence (COE) is the driving force behind SmartPA, where strategy comes to life. As part of this dynamic department, you will act as an Operations & Compliance Coordinator, responsible for architecting and maintaining the operational framework, data integrity, and compliance pipelines that keep complex client accounts running flawlessly. This particular role is assigned to one of our dedicated client accounts, meaning you will represent our brand while working very closely with a global tech giant.
In this role, you will serve as the protective and operational backbone for critical business initiatives. By managing the end-to-end lifecycle of legal reviews, dataset approvals, and procurement workflows, you will ensure our processes meet rigorous compliance standards while preventing bottlenecks. You will leverage operational best practices and modern digital tools to scale administrative workflows, fostering a culture of precision and 'Right First-Time' operational performance.

Key Responsibilities and Skills

Legal and compliance coordination: Act as the primary operational liaison for internal and external legal reviews. Track contract lifecycles through complex review stages, collate necessary documentation (such as vendor details, data descriptions, and use-case summaries), and proactively chase responses to ensure deadlines never fall through the cracks.
Dataset lifecycle administration: Navigate and track the approval process for accessing internal and external datasets. Coordinate usage agreements and licences with external providers, maintain a comprehensive dataset inventory (tracking restrictions and owners), and shepherd proposals through privacy and ethics review processes.
Procurement and PO management: Manage the end-to-end purchase order (PO) lifecycle for team expenses, software licences, and data access. Collect vendor quotes, draft and submit requests through internal workflow tools, monitor the approval chain, and coordinate financial receipting and invoice routing.
Research and data support: Support technical and product teams with structured data entry, formatting tasks, and competitive landscape tracking to keep key data repositories and market intelligence trackers completely up to date.
Stakeholder collaboration: Work closely alongside program managers, internal legal counsel, and dataset providers to bridge communication gaps, formalise operational responsibilities, and ensure seamless cross-functional alignment.

Skills

You possess an unwavering, "microscope" eye for detail—nothing escapes your notice when reviewing contracts, data tracking sheets, or compliance records. You are a systematic, analytical, and thorough thinker who is passionate about risk mitigation and maintaining data integrity. A natural and confident "chaser," you navigate the natural friction of tracking cross-functional approvals with a diplomatic, solution-focused, and professional approach when collaborating with diverse stakeholders, legal teams, and external vendors.

Experience

Your experience is key, but your forward-thinking attitude is what sets you apart.

Essential:
- Proven experience in an Operations, Compliance, Risk Administration, or advanced Technical Administration role within a structured corporate environment.
- Practical experience managing complex administrative workflows that require cross-functional approvals (e.g., tracking legal contracts, procurement lifecycles, or data governance).
- Exceptional, proven stakeholder management skills, with comfort communicating alongside legal counsel, finance teams, and technical program owners.
- Experience building and maintaining tracking tools, compliance logs, or databases to monitor task dependencies and contract timelines.
- Advanced proficiency in Google Workspace tools, specifically Docs, Slides, and Google Sheets for data interrogation and executive reporting.
- An exceptional, proven eye for detail and a highly methodical approach to managing documentation and compliance guardrails.
Desirable:
- Experience working alongside technical, data science, or research engineering teams.
- Familiarity with contract lifecycle management (CLM) platforms or procurement software (e.g., Ironclad).
- Practical experience or a high aptitude for leveraging AI platforms and LLMs (such as Gemini) to streamline routine tracking or data cleaning tasks.

Schedule

Monday - Friday
Aligned to UK working hours: 09:00 to 17:30 (UK Time)

10:00 to 18:30 (SAST) from 29 March – 25 October (UK British Summer Time)
11:00 to 19:30 (SAST) from 26 October – 28 March (UK Greenwich Mean Time)

Job Type

Full-time, Permanent
(37.5 hours per week)

What's in it for you?

At SmartPA, we believe in rewarding talent and supporting your growth:

Competitive Salaries
Department Incentives
33 Days Holiday Because rest fuels greatness
Employee Assistance Programme