About the role

We’re an early-stage fashion e-commerce company (apparel, footwear, accessories) looking for a high-initiative Research & Operations Assistant who can take projects from brief to completion with minimal hand-holding. You’ll own grant/trust research and applications, vendor and professional sourcing (e.g., fashion counsel, 3PL/warehousing), light ops setup, and occasional personal admin. You should be tech-savvy, AI-literate, and fast, using AI tools to accelerate research and drafting.

What you’ll do

Grants, trusts & proposals (core | ~40%)

Identify aligned grants/trusts for a fashion/e-commerce startup; build a tracker with criteria, deadlines, and status.
Draft application materials using founder-provided inputs; manage end-to-end submissions and follow-ups.
Maintain a repository of reusable answers, documents, and templates.

Legal & professional sourcing (core | ~20%)

Research fashion/brand attorneys for contracts, IP, and vendor agreements; compile ranked shortlists with fees, scope, and reviews.
Book consultations, manage calendars, and prep decision matrices/notes.

Ops & vendor research (core | ~25%)

Compare US warehousing/3PL options: rates (storage, pick/pack, inbound/outbound), SLAs, integrations, and startup friendliness.
Build clean comparison sheets (Excel/Sheets) with assumptions, total landed cost, and recommendations.
Document processes and keep folders tidy in Google Drive.

Personal admin (occasional | ~15%)

Research tax strategists/CPAs; compile vetted lists and schedule consults.
Light scheduling and follow-ups as needed.

What success looks like (90-day outcomes)

A live, prioritized grant/trust pipeline with 6–10 active submissions and a repeatable application pack.
Shortlists for fashion counsel and 3PL with clear pros/cons and a recommended next step.
Founder has a reliable weekly cadence (agenda, decisions needed, deadlines) with nothing slipping through the cracks.
SOPs and trackers organized in shared folders; updates visible at a glance

Must-have qualifications

2–4+ years in research/operations, VA, chief-of-staff lite, or similar role for a startup or SMB.
AI-first research & drafting (e.g., prompting strategies to rapidly surface options, synthesize, and produce first drafts).
Strong Excel/Google Sheets: lookups, filters, pivot-level comfort, cost comparison models.
Excellent written English; concise, structured notes and summaries.
Calendar management and meeting scheduling across time zones.
Proactive ownership: can interpret criteria, ask clarifying questions early, and deliver v1 without hand-holding.
Comfortable working under an NDA and handling sensitive documents.

Nice-to-have

Exposure to fashion/e-commerce ecosystems (3PLs, marketplaces, brand/legal basics).
Experience drafting grant or RFP applications.
Familiarity with Google Workspace, Notion, and Calendly (or equivalents).

Tools you’ll use

Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Drive), Calendly (or similar)
AI research/drafting tools (your choice)
Basic project tracking (Notion/Sheets)

Why Join Assist World?

100% REMOTE
$50 birthday bonus
$200 testimonial bonus
$300 tenure bonus every 6 months
$500 entry monthly raffle

NO TRACKER. NO PROBLEM!

Research & Operations Assistant — Fashion E-commerce Startup

Job Type