Personal / Executive Assistant

Personal Assistant to Founder

Co-Dough Bakery | Newport, Rhode Island

About Co-Dough

Co-Dough is a fast-growing bakery based in Newport, Rhode Island with ambitious plans for expansion. We're building a company designed to grow far beyond a single location, and we're looking for a highly organized, proactive Personal Assistant to work directly alongside the Founder & Owner during that growth.

As Co-Dough expands, the Founder's time and attention are increasingly important. This role exists to protect both — taking ownership of the administrative, organizational, and personal details that can pull her away from leading the company.

The Role

This is a true Personal Assistant role combining business, executive, and personal support.

The Founder's days move quickly between operations, hiring, meetings, vendors, partnerships, expansion opportunities, team decisions, emails, appointments, and personal responsibilities. Your job is to bring structure to those moving pieces and make sure the details are handled.

You won't just be given a list of tasks every morning. You'll be expected to understand priorities, keep track of open items, anticipate what needs to happen next, and follow things through to completion.

The goal of this position is to allow the Founder to spend more of her time on the work that only she can do — leading the company, developing the brand, making key decisions, building the team, and driving Co-Dough's growth.

As the company grows, there is significant opportunity for this role to grow alongside it.

Responsibilities

• Manage the Founder's professional and personal calendars

• Schedule, coordinate, and confirm meetings, interviews, appointments, and calls

• Help organize and manage multiple email inboxes

• Identify what requires the Founder's attention versus what can be handled independently

• Draft routine emails, responses, confirmations, and follow-ups

• Keep track of unanswered messages and outstanding requests

• Maintain an organized system for priorities, deadlines, follow-ups, and open items

• Make sure commitments and action items don't fall through the cracks

• Follow up with employees, candidates, vendors, and business contacts when needed

• Coordinate interview scheduling and other hiring-related logistics

• Organize information and materials ahead of important meetings

• Communicate with vendors, service providers, and other contacts on the Founder's behalf

• Coordinate personal appointments and commitments

• Run personal and business errands

• Handle pickups, drop-offs, purchases, returns, and other day-to-day logistics

• Coordinate deliveries, appointments, vendors, and services

• Organize documents, receipts, files, and important information

• Prepare basic documents, spreadsheets, summaries, and meeting materials

• Assist with research and special projects

• Help with light household organization and personal tasks when needed

• Assist with puppy care, appointments, transportation, or other needs when necessary

• Handle confidential personal, employee, financial, and business information with complete discretion

Protecting the Founder's Time

One of the most important parts of this position is understanding that not everything needs the Founder's attention.

You'll help create a system around her time by determining:

• What needs her attention today

• What can be handled without her

• What can wait

• Who needs a response

• What we're waiting on

• What requires follow-up

• What needs to happen before an upcoming meeting or deadline

• What has actually been completed

The goal isn't simply to keep a calendar organized. It's to reduce unnecessary distractions and make sure the Founder's attention stays focused on the highest-priority areas of the business.

Follow-Through

We're looking for someone who closes loops.

If an email needs a response, an appointment needs to be scheduled, a vendor owes us information, someone needs to be followed up with, or a document needs to be completed, you keep track of it until it's actually done.

The Founder should not have to remember to remind you.

When you're given something to handle, the expectation is that you take ownership of it, figure out the next steps, communicate when necessary, and bring it back when a decision or approval is actually needed.

What We're Looking For

You might be a great fit if you:

• Are exceptionally organized

• Naturally anticipate what needs to happen next

• Have excellent follow-through

• Take ownership without needing constant direction

• Can turn a quick text, email, or conversation into clear next steps

• Know how to prioritize when everything feels important

• Are comfortable respectfully reminding and following up with the Founder

• Don't get overwhelmed when priorities change

• Can manage multiple unrelated responsibilities simultaneously

• Notice details other people miss

• Enjoy creating systems and organization

• Know when to solve something yourself and when to escalate it

• Communicate clearly and concisely

• Are comfortable interacting with employees, candidates, vendors, executives, and business partners

• Are extremely trustworthy and discreet

• Are resourceful and willing to figure things out

• Understand that great support often happens behind the scenes

Most importantly, we're looking for someone who genuinely enjoys making another person more effective.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience as a Personal Assistant, Executive Assistant, Administrative Assistant, or similar support role preferred

• Experience supporting a founder, entrepreneur, executive, or small business owner strongly preferred

• Must live within reasonable driving distance of Newport, Rhode Island

• Reliable transportation and a valid driver's license

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Strong judgment and ability to work independently

• Comfortable with Google Workspace, calendars, spreadsheets, email, and technology

• Comfortable around dogs

• Able to maintain complete confidentiality

Schedule

• Full-time position

• Primarily in-person in the Newport, Rhode Island area

• Flexibility based on the Founder's schedule is important

• Some weekend availability may be required

• Occasional early morning or evening availability may be needed

• This role requires someone who is comfortable with a fast-moving schedule and can adapt as priorities change

Compensation

Competitive compensation based on experience.

This position has the opportunity to grow significantly in responsibility and scope as Co-Dough expands. We're looking for someone who is excited about joining at an early stage and growing alongside the Founder and company.