Founder's Associate - Tokyo, JP

Become the operational anchor and second brain to CIC's Founder and Executive Chair. You will protect Tim's time, preserve context, close loops, and help turn a remarkable range of relationships, ideas, and commitments into action.

Responsibilities

Executive operations. Take end-to-end ownership of Tim's calendar and inbox—triaging, prioritizing, drafting and sending routine responses—and recommend what to accept, decline, delegate, shorten, combine, move or cancel; International travel. Plan complex, multi-country travel end to end, spot disruptions early, and redesign plans calmly when circumstances change; Continuity and decision support. Maintain a trusted system for commitments, decisions, priorities, and follow-ups; prepare concise briefings; research unfamiliar topics; and bring recommendations, not just information; Relationship stewardship. Help Tim stay meaningfully connected to senior colleagues, entrepreneurs, government leaders, diplomats, and partners around the world, including thoughtful outreach before trips; Podcast and media operations. Support Tim's podcast, Where Innovation Happens, including guest research, scheduling, publishing, subtitles, descriptions, clips, social promotion, and basic performance tracking; AI-forward ways of working. Use AI aggressively and thoughtfully: building durable institutional memory, automating routine work, improving research and communication, and continually redesigning inefficient processes

Requirements

Exceptional, instinctive attention to detail—especially dates, time zones, addresses, documents, reservations, and follow-ups; Outstanding intelligence, learning speed, judgment, and common sense; An anticipatory mindset: you notice problems before they become problems and opportunities before they disappear; Ownership, integrity, discretion, and calm resourcefulness; Comfort with direct feedback, high autonomy, and respectful, evidence-based pushback; Polished written and spoken English and confidence communicating with everyone from junior colleagues to heads of government; An analytical, curious mind and genuine interest in AI and technology as tools for improving work; Existing authorization to work in Japan and the ability to work primarily from CIC Tokyo

Nice to have

experience with international travel; executive support; cross-cultural work; podcast or digital media; another widely spoken language; strong visual/editorial taste

Benefits

Commuting / Transportation allowance; Massage session once a month; Allocated budget for training; Retirement allowance after successfully passing the probation period