The Office Manager will provide efficient, professional administrative support to our Estate Management Office, ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of front-office and back-office functions, and to serve as the assistant responsible for producing and distributing the estate’s weekly resident newsletter.
The role is the welcoming face of the estate office - receiving and looking after guests and visitors. It supports the Estate Manager in communications, record-keeping, meeting administration, and general office coordination.
Key Responsibilities:
Guest Reception & Front-of-House Hospitality
- Receive guests, owners, prospective purchasers, Trustees, and service providers into the estate office, ensuring every visitor is welcomed warmly and professionally.
- Look after guests during their visit: offer refreshments, ensure they are comfortable, keep them informed of any waiting time, and host them appropriately until their meeting or matter is attended to.
- Prepare meeting rooms and reception areas ahead of visits - seating, refreshments, presentation materials - and ensure the office always presents a neat, professional first impression.
- Manage the visitor register and access sign-in procedures in line with estate security protocols.
- Handle sensitive or difficult visitor interactions with tact, and escalate to the Estate Manager where appropriate.
Oversight of the Receptionist Role
- Oversee the day-to-day performance of the estate receptionist, ensuring calls, visitors, and front-desk queries are handled to the required standard.
- Plan front-desk coverage, including leave, lunch relief, and absence cover, ensuring the reception desk is never unattended during office hours.
- Act as the first escalation point for front-desk issues before matters are referred to the Estate Manager.
General Office Administration
- Manage the estate office reception function: attend to walk-in residents, telephone calls, and the general estate email inbox, resolving or routing queries promptly and courteously.
- Maintain accurate owner and resident records, contact databases, access registers, and filing systems (electronic and hard copy) in line with POPIA requirements.
- Prepare correspondence, notices, circulars, and standard letters on behalf of the Estate Manager and Trustees/Directors.
- Support meeting administration: compile agendas and packs, book venues, record and distribute minutes, and track action items for Trustee/Board and committee meetings.
- Process purchase orders, capture invoices, follow up on supplier queries, and assist with basic levy and account queries in liaison with the managing agent’s finance team.
- Administer clearance certificates, tenant registrations, moving bookings, facility bookings, and access-control applications (owners, tenants, contractors, and domestic staff).
- Log, track, and follow up on maintenance requests and complaints on the estate’s ticketing system, and report on turnaround times.
- Maintain office supplies, equipment, and service contracts for the estate office.
Communications & Weekly Newsletter
- Produce and distribute the estate’s weekly newsletter to all owners and residents, on a fixed publication day, without fail.
- Gather content each week from the Estate Manager, security provider, maintenance team, committees, and community contributors; verify accuracy before publication.
- Write, edit, and proofread newsletter articles in clear, friendly, professional English, ensuring a consistent tone aligned to the estate’s brand and communication policy.
- Design and lay out the newsletter including photographs, notices, and event material.
- Distribute via the approved channels (email/bulk-mail platform, estate app, WhatsApp broadcast, notice boards) and maintain accurate distribution lists.
- Track readership/engagement statistics and report monthly to the Estate Manager, recommending improvements.
- Maintain an annual content calendar (seasonal notices, AGM reminders, security awareness, water/electricity advisories, community events).
- Support ad hoc communications: urgent notices, outage alerts, AGM and Special General Meeting notices, and event promotion.
Qualifications & Experience
- Grade 12 (Matric); a certificate or diploma in Office Administration, Communications, or similar will be an advantage.
- Minimum 3–5 years’ administrative experience, preferably within a residential estate, HOA, body corporate, property management, or hospitality environment.
- Demonstrable experience producing newsletters, bulletins, or similar recurring communications.
- Proficient in MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) and comfortable learning estate management and bulk-communication platforms.
- Working knowledge of design/distribution tools.
- Familiarity with HOA/body corporate governance (conduct rules, AGMs, CSOS processes) an advantage.
Application Question(s):
- Where do you reside? / What is your current location?
- What is your current cost to company?
- What are your salary expectations?
- Do you have your own vehicle or do you rely on public transport?
Education:
- High School (matric) (Required)
Experience:
- administration within property management or hospitality: 3 years (Required)
Work Location: In person
