Operations Manager, Private Office

Job description

About the opportunity

A private single-family office in Singapore is looking for an Operations Manager to be the Principal's right hand.

Operations Manager is the formal title. In practice this is the standards, service and management layer of a private office — roughly 90% personal, family and household, and 10% governance. The role exists to reduce the Principal's cognitive load: it owns how things are planned, managed and delivered, so the Principal is freed to be present and to focus where it matters most.

It combines calm management, a high service and aesthetic standard, and reliable execution. This is a warm, casual, values-led environment — substance over show. The scope is broad and deliberately evolving, and will grow with trust.

How the role works: this position directs — standards, service, aesthetics, quality and management. A House Manager does — operations and execution. A Senior Admin Associate administers — trackers, payments, documentation and bookings. You will work through the team; you will not absorb the doing.

Reports to: The Principal

Location: Singapore, with remote coordination of a household and team in Bangalore. Low travel.

Employment: Full-time and exclusive

What you'll do

Household & lifestyle

•  Hold the standard for how the home runs, is hosted and presented — delivered through the House Manager and staff. Notice and close gaps before they are flagged.

•  Maintain the household calendar as a single source of truth, and plan events, hosting and occasions well ahead of time rather than reactively.

•  Own the service and guest-experience standard, from a casual family meal to a larger gathering — preferences, dietary needs, seating, run-of-show, and notes carried across occasions.

•  Set the aesthetic direction of the home and events — table settings, florals, seasonal refresh, ambience — reading and channelling the Principal's taste and directing florists, stylists and vendors to deliver it.

•  Govern household vendors, contracts and quality; set the standards for staff, maintenance, supplies, inventory and pet care.

Family

•  School liaison and academic tracking for two children; university preparation for the elder when the time comes; tutoring, enrichment, activities and transport logistics.

•  Family wellness and health — appointments, follow-ups, records, specialists, routines.

•  Coordinate remotely with the family's second home and resident team in Bangalore across household matters, staff, family caregiving and related operational matters.

•  Family calendar, traditions, celebrations and gifting — brought to the Principal as thought-through options to choose from.

Personal & lifestyle

•  Support the Principal's calendar and time — protecting focus, preparation and structure.

•  Personal and family travel end to end: flights, accommodation, ground, itineraries and bespoke experiences, kept in sync with a counterpart team.

•  Proactively research and maintain a living record of the Principal's and the children's likes, preferences and interests — across dining, travel, gifting, home, wardrobe, wellness and activities — and anticipate from it, so the office knows what the family likes without being told each time.

•  Gifting and purchases, boutique and quality-led; personal shopping, returns, wardrobe, subscriptions and memberships; support for the Principal's personal and creative projects.

•  Discreet handling of private and sensitive matters — well beyond finance — held with absolute confidentiality, including within the office team, on a need-to-know basis at the Principal's discretion.

•  Decision support: take the Principal's half-formed ideas and return framed options to choose from; unblock the decisions that tend to get stuck.

Governance & projects (10%)

•  Governance support for the Principal's charitable foundation — board preparation, action tracking, trustee correspondence and meeting logistics. Strategic and governance in nature, not operational.

•  A deliberate catch-all for any project or initiative the Principal starts or explores — across interests, home, philanthropy, wellness or new areas — brought into structure, researched and moved forward.

How the role operates

•  Management & standards through others — direct and coach the House Manager to deliver the service and management standard (functional lead; the reporting line is reviewed at three and six months). Lift and coach the team; do not replace them.

•  Communication & synthesis — be the single, synthesised point of update: headline first, structured, decision-ready. Options, not problems. Comprehension over relay.

•  Systems & durability — build and document durable trackers and workflows so the office is systematic and less dependent on any one person.

•  Prioritisation & coordination — structure priorities across every area and coordinate cleanly with the House Manager, the Senior Admin Associate, the Bangalore team and a counterpart office.

What we're looking for

Strategic depth can build over the first three to six months. The priority is fit and capability across the whole.

•  Background — private office or family office, executive or household management, high-end hospitality, or comparable high-trust environment, with real depth in at least one. Financial or operational acumen is an asset.

•  Anticipation & initiative — you see needs before they are voiced and get ahead of things.

•  Judgment, synthesis & clear communication — you know what to decide, what to bring and what to escalate.

•  Discretion & trustworthiness — absolute confidentiality across all matters.

•  Taste & an eye — you read and channel someone else's preferences rather than imposing your own.

•  Systems thinking & ownership — you build durability, not dependence, and you own outcomes — the wins and the misses alike.

•  Coaching, warmth & steadiness — you get the best from a team and you are a settling presence, especially under pressure.

•  Adaptability & cultural sensitivity — across a broad, evolving, cross-cultural environment spanning Singapore and India.

The values we hold

•  Trust and confidentiality — the foundation of the role

•  Accountability — ownership over apology: what will I do differently, not just sorry

•  Integrity and alignment — consistency between word and behaviour

•  Respect and care — for the family, the team and everyone the office touches; people over things

•  Structured leadership, not micromanagement — clarity of ownership; calm, not control

•  Substance over show

Terms & working rhythm

•  Full-time and exclusive: any existing consulting or client commitments are wound down, with any residual commitment disclosed in advance.

•  Flexibility is supported — for example, mornings on-site through mid-afternoon on agreed days, resuming in the evening — bounded by being present when the Principal's commitments require it (evenings, events, weekends) and in emergencies.

•  Singapore-based; low travel.

•  A runway to trust: expectations build over three and six months, and are reviewed at both points.

•  Success is measured simply — by the Principal's cognitive load going down.

All applications are treated in the strictest confidence. [Please apply through LinkedIn or email your cover photo or resume to [Confidential Information]