Executive Business Partner

This is not a traditional Executive Assistant role.

We are looking for an exceptional Executive Business Partner to work directly with the owner and CEO of Bend-tech Group.

This is a rare role combining:

AI and software trials

Business improvement

Special projects

Commercial research and business cases

Executive support

The role is approximately 70% AI, projects and business improvement / 30% executive support.

We want someone who can take a rough idea, problem or opportunity and run with it — research it, test it, prototype it, analyse it and come back with a clear recommendation.

You will be expected to personally trial new AI tools, software and workflows, identify inefficiencies across the business, build business cases and help determine which ideas are genuinely worth implementing.

This is not a role for someone who simply coordinates projects or waits for instructions.

We are looking for a highly capable, commercially minded operator who can become a genuine extension of the CEO.

Someone who is curious enough to find better ways of doing things, analytical enough to test whether they actually work, and practical enough to separate real business value from hype.

If you are a senior EA or Executive Business Partner who has naturally moved into technology, improvement, systems and special projects, this could be a very unusual opportunity to significantly broaden your role.

The opportunity

Bend-tech Group is a successful, fast-growing Australian industrial business with approximately 125 people across engineering, manufacturing and related businesses.

We intend to grow substantially while becoming faster, smarter and more efficient — without simply adding more people and process as we scale.

AI, automation, technology and continuous improvement will play a major part in achieving that.

We need someone working closely with the CEO who has the time, curiosity and capability to investigate opportunities properly.

Rather than pulling engineers, managers or operational staff away from their day jobs to test every new idea, you will do the initial work.

You will research it.

Trial it.

Prototype it where appropriate.

Work out whether it genuinely works.

Quantify the potential value.

And bring back a clear recommendation.

If the opportunity stacks up, you will help transition it to the relevant manager for implementation.

What you will do

AI, technology & software trials

Actively identify promising AI, automation and software opportunities.

Personally test new tools rather than simply researching them.

Build small prototypes using real Bend-tech workflows where appropriate.

Separate genuine business value from AI hype.

Assess:

• Time savings

• Labour efficiency

• Cost reduction

• Productivity

• Scalability

• Customer response time

• Quality

• Risk

• Implementation difficulty

• Competitive advantage

• ROI

Promising ideas should come back to the CEO as concise recommendations and business cases.

Business improvement

Work across areas including:

• Engineering

• Estimating

• Project management

• Purchasing

• Logistics

• Stock control

• Manufacturing

• Finance

• Sales

• Administration

You don't need to be an expert in each function.

You do need to be able to understand an unfamiliar process quickly, ask intelligent questions and identify unnecessary manual work, duplication, bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement.

You will speak with managers and staff, observe workflows and maintain a pipeline of improvement opportunities across the business.

Special projects

The CEO generates a large number of ideas and opportunities.

Some will start as little more than:

"Can you look into this and work out whether it is worth doing?"

You will be comfortable taking that rough direction and independently turning it into a structured project.

This could involve:

• Technology feasibility studies

• New software

• AI applications

• Automation opportunities

• New systems

• Supplier research

• Operational improvements

• New business concepts

• Strategic research

• Cost-benefit analysis

• Special projects that don't naturally sit within one department

You need to enjoy ambiguity and be capable of creating your own structure.

Executive Business Partner

Approximately 30% of the position will involve supporting the CEO directly.

This includes:

• Inbox management

• Calendar management

• Meeting coordination

• Follow-ups and action tracking

• Research

• Executive briefs

• Preparing information for decisions

• Keeping priorities moving

• Acting as a highly trusted confidential sounding board

Over time, we expect routine administrative work to be increasingly automated, systemised or delegated, allowing more of your time to move toward higher-value improvement work.

You will have significant access to confidential company, financial, strategic and people information.

Absolute discretion and integrity are essential.

How you will work

You will work very closely with the CEO while having considerable autonomy.

For smaller opportunities, you will be able to:

Research → Trial → Prototype → Analyse → Recommend

without needing to involve multiple people or seek approval at every step.

Once an opportunity appears credible, you will engage the relevant manager and test it against operational reality.

For larger projects, you will prepare a concise business case covering:

• The problem

• Proposed solution

• Alternatives considered

• Cost

• Benefits

• Expected ROI

• Risks

• Implementation effort

• Recommended next step

If approved, you will help hand the project to the appropriate manager and remain involved long enough to ensure the concept is transferred correctly.

Successful projects should leave behind clear workflows, documentation or SOPs where appropriate.

Who we're looking for

Your background will most likely be as a high-calibre Senior Executive Assistant or Executive Business Partner who has progressed well beyond traditional administration.

You may have found yourself naturally becoming involved in:

• Improvement projects

• Technology

• Automation

• Business analysis

• Project management

• Systems

• AI

• Special projects

You are probably the person executives give unusual problems to because they know you will work them out.

Experience in a fast-moving owner-led or entrepreneurial SME is strongly preferred.

Manufacturing experience is useful, but not required.

You will be

Curious

You naturally investigate better ways of doing things.

Practical

You don't get excited by technology simply because it is new.

Commercial

You think about ROI, margin, growth, scalability and customer impact.

Analytical

You can compare alternatives and turn incomplete information into a recommendation.

Creative

You regularly see possibilities others haven't considered.

Fast-moving

You favour testing and learning over endless analysis — while adjusting the level of diligence to the risk and cost involved.

Highly organised

You can manage multiple trials and projects with clear scope, milestones, risks, deadlines and next actions.

Independent

You can take a broad objective and work out how to achieve it.

Confident enough to challenge

You will respectfully question assumptions, unnecessary complexity and inefficient processes.

A strong communicator

You can turn complex research into concise executive briefs and decision papers.

AI & technology capability

We do not necessarily need an AI specialist.

We do expect you to already be a capable user of modern AI and productivity tools and to learn new technology exceptionally quickly.

Experience with tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Power Automate, workflow automation platforms, data analysis tools or similar technology would be highly regarded.

You should be comfortable experimenting and building basic workflows or prototypes yourself.

Formal qualifications are not important.

Demonstrated capability is.

Qualifications or certifications in areas such as business analysis, project management, Lean/continuous improvement, automation or AI are a bonus.

Data & commercial analysis

You should be comfortable working with operational and financial information.

You don't need to be a specialist data analyst, but you should be capable of:

• Strong Excel analysis

• Simple financial modelling

• ROI calculations

• Comparing alternatives

• Analysing operational data

• Building useful dashboards or reports where required

Your first 90 days

We would expect you to:

1. Take control of the CEO's executive support requirements and create immediate headspace.

2. Understand the major functions and workflows across Bend-tech.

3. Complete several practical AI/software trials and present recommendations.

4. Identify significant opportunities to remove manual work and improve efficiency.

5. Establish a simple improvement pipeline covering ideas, trials, status, expected benefits and next actions.

6. Develop a repeatable approach for evaluating and business-casing future opportunities.

How success will be measured

Success will not be measured by how busy you are.

It will be measured by the value you create.

This may include:

• CEO time saved

• Staff hours saved

• Valuable AI/software trials completed

• Efficiency opportunities identified

• Improvements adopted

• Reduced manual processing

• Faster customer response

• Improved productivity

• Reduced future headcount requirements

• Quality of business cases and recommendations

• Financial and strategic value created

Culture

Bend-tech is a 35-year-old, third-generation family business.

We are ambitious about where we are going, but we remain grounded in our values:

Humility

Kindness

Commitment

Teamwork

We want someone entrepreneurial and driven who also fits comfortably within that culture.

Someone who is commercially sharp without being corporate.

Someone who can move quickly without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

And someone who genuinely enjoys making businesses work better.

Working arrangements

This is a flexible hybrid role, structured around what works for the right person and the requirements of the position.

Travel is minimal.

Normal business hours apply, although reasonable flexibility is expected occasionally when something genuinely important arises.

This role initially has no direct reports.

As the role grows, there may be an opportunity to add administrative support, allowing the Executive Business Partner to focus increasingly on higher-value projects and business improvement.

Longer term, the position could potentially develop toward Head of Business Improvement / Transformation or Chief of Staff-type responsibilities, depending on the capability and aspirations of the successful person.

Salary & performance

We are flexible on salary for an exceptional candidate.

The package will include:

Competitive base salary + superannuation

plus the opportunity for a meaningful performance-based bonus linked to company performance and measurable business improvement outcomes.

We are more interested in finding the right person than fitting this role into a conventional EA salary band.

Selection process

We are looking for demonstrated ability, not simply a strong CV.

Applicants should provide:

• Their experience supporting a senior owner, CEO, Managing Director or executive

• A specific example of an AI, technology or business-improvement initiative they personally drove

• What they did themselves

• What changed as a result

• The measurable business benefit

Shortlisted applicants will also receive a practical Bend-tech business scenario involving AI/software evaluation, process improvement and commercial analysis.

You will be asked to present your approach and recommendation in a short presentation.

Why Bend-tech?

This is a rare opportunity to work directly with the owner and CEO of a successful and growing industrial group and have a genuine impact on how the business evolves.

You won't be sitting on the sidelines coordinating improvement.

You will be helping discover what Bend-tech should do next.

If you are an exceptional Executive Assistant or Executive Business Partner who has always wanted a broader mandate — combining technology, AI, problem-solving, commercial thinking and business improvement — we would like to hear from you.