Executive Office Partner-Continuity across your calendar, correspondence, and commitments

An embedded operational extension maintaining continuity across your calendar, correspondence, meetings, stakeholders and commitments. Your executive office runs whether or not you are looking at it.

Best suited for: C-suite leaders and founders who need ongoing control over calendar, inbox, travel, stakeholders and priority follow-through.

Capacity: 25 hours per month (approximately 6.25 hours per week), reserved exclusively for your organisation.

Investment:

South Africa R9,500 per month

United Kingdom £680 per month

Europe €800 per month

International US$920 per month

Key capabilities and scope:

Comprehensive calendar architecture and priority inbox triage

Complex travel logistics, itineraries and expense tracking

Executive correspondence, stakeholder liaison and follow-through

Action-item registers and deadline enforcement

Weekly priority alignment reviews and meeting preparation

Built on: four C-suite principals supported simultaneously at a JSE-listed REIT. 100% scheduling accuracy across multi-site executive calendars. Improved executive support response times by 40% through escalation redesign.

Our Services:

Structured around responsibility and outcomes, not hours of administration. Each engagement is built around a defined domain of your operations: your executive office, board cycle, travel programme, and operating systems. You are not buying a task list. You are handing over ownership of something that currently sits on your desk.

Choose the engagement that matches your current need, or speak with me about a tailored scope.

Vertus holds a maximum of three retained partnerships at any time.

Executive Office Partner — Continuity across your calendar, correspondence and commitment

An embedded operational extension maintaining continuity across your calendar, correspondence, meetings, stakeholders and commitments. Your executive office runs whether or not you are looking at it.

Best suited for: C-suite leaders and founders who need ongoing control over calendar, inbox, travel, stakeholders and priority follow-through.

Capacity: 25 hours per month (approximately 6.25 hours per week), reserved exclusively for your organisation.

Investment:

South Africa R9,500 per month

United Kingdom £680 per month

Europe €800 per month

International US$920 per month

Key capabilities and scope:

- Comprehensive calendar architecture and priority inbox triage

- Complex travel logistics, itineraries and expense tracking

- Executive correspondence, stakeholder liaison and follow-through

- Action-item registers and deadline enforcement

- Weekly priority alignment reviews and meeting preparation

Built on: four C-suite principals supported simultaneously at a JSE-listed REIT. 100% scheduling accuracy across multi-site executive calendars. Executive support response times improved by 40% through escalation redesign.

Strategic Executive Operations Lead — Structure between leadership strategy and daily execution

Senior-level operational management bridging the gap between high-level executive strategy and daily team execution. The systems, rhythms and documentation that let decisions actually reach the people who deliver them.

Best suited for: growing teams needing operational structure, SOP development, project tracking and board preparation.

Capacity: 40 hours per month (approximately 10 hours per week), reserved exclusively for your organisation.

Investment:

South Africa R14,800 per month

United Kingdom £1,150 per month

Europe €1,350 per month

International US$1,550 per month

Key capabilities and scope:

- Everything in the Executive Office Partner engagement, plus:

- Executive office operating rhythm design and workflow architecture

- Standard Operating Procedure development and process mapping

- Cross-functional project tracking and team accountability

- Executive reporting consolidation and governance preparation

- Weekly strategy implementation check-ins and operational oversight

Built on: meeting rhythms designed and run for a distributed organisation across four regions. KPI dashboards built spanning finance and fundraising performance for senior management decision-making. Policy and SOP libraries developed across four jurisdictions.

Fractional Operations Director — Embedded operational leadership for organisations in growth or transition

Deep integration for organisations undergoing growth, regional expansion or operational restructuring. Operational leadership without the cost, notice period or permanence of an executive hire.

Best suited for: multi-department or regional leadership requiring an embedded operational lead to drive cross-functional execution.

Capacity: 60 hours per month (approximately 15 hours per week), reserved exclusively for your organisation.

Investment:

South Africa R21,600 per month

United Kingdom £1,680 per month

Europe €1,950 per month

International US$2,250 per month

Key capabilities and scope:

- Everything in the 25- and 40-hour engagements, plus:

- Multi-department operational oversight and team coordination

- High-stakes stakeholder management across regional operations

- Multi-committee board pack curation and governance administration

- Operational audit setup and vendor lifecycle management

- Risk register development and monitoring cadence

Built on: senior management team membership at a pan-African organisation, owning people, governance, risk and operational capability across Southern Africa, East Africa, West Africa and the United Kingdom. Full HRIS implementation with payroll and pension integration delivered across four jurisdictions with zero regulatory defects.

Global Travel & Event Management — International itineraries, board delegations and conferences, delivered

Executives lose eight to twelve hours per international trip to logistics they should never be touching. Organisations lose two or three senior people for six weeks to every annual event. Vertus takes both, outright.

Best suited for: executives and boards who travel internationally, and organisations running conferences, board events, results announcements or funder visits.

GLOBAL TRAVEL DESK — 25 hours per month

South Africa R8,750 | United Kingdom £880 | Europe €1,020 | International US$1,150

- Multi-jurisdiction itinerary design and meeting sequencing

- Visa applications, requirement tracking and appointment coordination

- Immunisation and health requirement documentation

- Foreign exchange and travel cash arrangement

- Policy-compliant flights, hotels, transfers and lounge access

- Executive protocol: seat preferences, dietary requirements, arrival buffers

- Board and delegation travel with group manifests and arrival sequencing

- Inbound VIP ground transport and security logistics for visiting directors

- Live disruption management across time zones

- Post-trip expense reconciliation within five business days

Standard: complete itinerary pack issued seven days before departure. A live contact line on every travel day.

EVENT & CONFERENCE MANAGEMENT — project fee

From R10,500 | £1,260 | €1,470 | US$1,650

- Annual employee conferences, end-to-end

- Awards and recognition ceremonies

- Board dinners and director hosting

- Investor and results announcements including webinar production, registration and printed materials

- Strategy offsites and planning workshops

- Programme, cohort and training gatherings

- Hybrid and virtual event production

Standard: event brief and budget signed off in week one. Three quotes per supplier category. Run-sheet issued seven days out. Reconciliation and outcomes report within ten days.

TRAVEL PROGRAMME SETUP — project fee

From R14,000 | £1,680 | €1,960 | US$2,200

- Travel policy drafted and approved

- Preferred supplier panel negotiated

- Booking platform selection and implementation

- Approval workflow design and expense system integration

- Traveller onboarding and training

- Savings baseline and reporting dashboard

Built on: R3.5 million in annual executive travel spend administered with full visa, policy and expense compliance. A 15% year-on-year reduction in travel cost negotiated through vendor relationship development. A 30% reduction in travel expense discrepancies delivered through platform implementation. Itineraries delivered across San Francisco, New York, London, Paris, Warsaw, Braunschweig, Munich, Berlin, New Delhi, São Paulo and Bucharest. Ground transport and security logistics coordinated for supervisory board members travelling from Germany.

Board & Governance Partner — Board packs, statutory calendars and minutes, run to audit standard

Boards rarely fail because of strategy. They fail because a pack went out late, an action never closed, or a filing deadline moved and nobody noticed. None of that is a strategy problem. All of it is solvable.

Confidential, professional governance administration for board chairs, executive committees and non-profit trusts.

STANDARD BOARD RETAINER

South Africa R12,500 | United Kingdom £850 | Europe €1,000 | International US$1,150 per month

Single-board or committee meeting cycle, plus monthly oversight.

MULTI-COMMITTEE RETAINER

South Africa R22,500 | United Kingdom £1,450 | Europe €1,700 | International US$1,950 per month

Full board plus two sub-committees (Audit, Remuneration, Risk).

GOVERNANCE ADVISORY AUDIT

South Africa R750 | United Kingdom £50 | Europe €55 | International US$65 per hour

Board pack audit, charter alignment and board portal setup.

Core governance deliverables:

- Annual governance calendar mapping and committee meeting logistics

- Secure board pack collation, quality control and distribution

- Virtual minute-taking, governance records and director follow-ups

- Action register tracking with a named owner and due date on every item

- Non-executive director liaison and availability coordination

- Company secretarial firm liaison and statutory filing deadline tracking

- New director induction pack preparation

Our standard: board packs delivered no later than seven days before every meeting. Draft minutes within 72 hours. Statutory reminders at 30, 14, 7 and 2 days.

Built on: governance administration across four jurisdictions, Southern Africa, East Africa, West Africa and the United Kingdom — with zero missed statutory deadlines. The Diligent board management platform was implemented from vendor selection through configuration, document migration and director training. Board pack and statutory calendar ownership at a JSE-listed REIT and a Southern African healthcare group. BoardLink and BoardPAC administration.

Scope: Vertus provides governance administration and company secretarial support. We do not provide legal advice, statutory sign-off or audit opinion, and we do not act as appointed company secretary.

Executive Operations Intensive — Your operating systems rebuilt in a single day

Establish, organise and optimise your executive operating systems in a one-day implementation sprint, without committing to a monthly retainer. The fastest way to find out what working together looks like.

Investment:

South Africa R4,800 | United Kingdom £335 | Europe €390 | International US$450

What is included (8-hour sprint):

- Pre-sprint audit: discovery questionnaire, workflow assessment and priority scoping

- Inbox and calendar architecture: triage rules, diary management systems and focus-time blocks

- Digital workspace organisation: Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 filing structures

- Executive task dashboards: priority tracking boards in Asana, ClickUp, Trello or Notion

- Governance and meeting kits: agendas, minute-taking protocols and board templates

- Post-sprint support: documentation, video walkthrough and seven days of follow-up

The full fee is credited against any retainer commenced within 30 days.

Built on: cloud document management, HRIS, board portal and travel platform implementations delivered across four organisations, from requirements through configuration, migration, testing and staff training.

Pricing Note

Regional pricing reflects local market rates. All fees are quoted in your currency and fixed for six months from the contract date.

Retainer hours represent guaranteed, reserved capacity dedicated exclusively to your organisation. Unused hours do not roll over.

Retainers operate on an initial three-month commitment, converting to month-to-month with 30 days' written notice thereafter.

A 10% discount applies to six-month agreements. Invoiced in advance on the 25th, due on the 1st. Registered non-profit and public benefit organisations: 10% reduction across all engagements.

More Than Administrative Support

Your executive office should create capacity, not consume it.

When you are personally managing calendars, chasing outstanding actions, organising meetings, following up with stakeholders and keeping operational details moving, the leadership work gets pushed to whatever time is left. Usually the evening. Usually not enough of it.

Vertus takes ownership of that layer entirely, not as a task service waiting for instructions, but as an operational partner who maintains visibility across your commitments and brings things back to you only when they need you.

What that produces:

Organisation | Clear calendars, priorities, documentation and workflows.

Coordination | Consistent communication across meetings, stakeholders and commitments.

Accountability | Actions are tracked, followed up and brought back to your attention.

Continuity | Your executive office remains consistent even when priorities change.

Discretion | Sensitive executive, client and organisational information handled with professionalism and confidentiality.

Execution | Plans and decisions translated into organised next steps.

Twenty-five years of this work across six industries and four continents, in JSE-listed, multinational and mission-driven organisations. Four jurisdictions governed simultaneously with zero missed statutory deadlines. Implemented an HRIS across four countries with zero regulatory defects. R3.5 million in annual executive travel spend administered, and 15% negotiated out of it.

Not someone who watched that work happen. Someone who owned it.

If you need

Ongoing executive calendar, inbox & travel control
Executive operations, SOPs & team coordination
Embedded operational leadership & regional oversight
Confidential board pack, minute & committee support
A focused 1-day systems setup or operational reset

Recommended service

Executive Office Partner (25 hrs/mo)
Strategic Executive Operations Lead (40 hrs/mo)
Fractional Operations Director (60 hrs/mo)
Board & Governance Partner
Executive VIP Day (Operations Intensive)

Why Vertus?

Professional support without the overhead of a full-time executive office.

Traditional administrative support solves individual tasks. Vertus is designed to provide something broader: continuity across your executive office and operations.

We work alongside you to understand your priorities, working preferences, stakeholders, and business rhythms. The result is support that becomes more effective over time—not another layer of administration for you to manage.

High-Trust Discretion: We handle sensitive information, executive correspondence, financial/board priorities, and stakeholder relationships with absolute confidentiality.
Proactive Coordination: We do not simply wait for the next task. We maintain visibility across actions, deadlines, and strategic priorities.
Structured Systems: We create practical workflows, documentation, and routines that make your business easier to manage.
Guaranteed Capacity: To ensure quality, we cap client capacity at 3 retained partnerships at any time.
Executive-Level Perspective: Our work is designed around the needs of senior leaders, backed by two decades of C-suite operational experience.

How It Works

01 — Discovery

We begin with a 30-minute operational alignment call to evaluate your current business friction, required capacity, and support goals.

02 — Scope & Proposal

We define the appropriate retainer tier, primary responsibilities, communication windows, and key deliverables in a formal service proposal.

03 — Agreement & Terms

We execute a mutual Service Agreement and Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) to protect your business confidentiality.

Engagement Terms: Retainers operate on an initial 3-month commitment (moving to 30-day notice thereafter). A 10% discount applies to 6-month agreements.
Invoicing: Retainers are billed in advance on the 25th of each month, due on the 1st.

04 — Onboarding & System Setup

We complete access handovers (email, calendar, workspace), establish working preferences, set up task dashboards, and define your weekly operating rhythm.

05 — Execution & Ongoing Partnership

Vertus integrates seamlessly into your executive office, taking ownership of coordination, stakeholder follow-through, and operational momentum.

06 — Review & Optimise

We conduct regular operational check-ins to evaluate capacity usage, refine workflows, and adapt our support as your business priorities evolve.

Key Commercial Parameters

Commercial Engagement Standards

Reserved Capacity Policy: Monthly retainer hours represent guaranteed, reserved capacity dedicated exclusively to your organisation. Unused hours do not roll over to subsequent billing cycles.
Notice Period: A standard 30-day written notice is required for retainer modifications or cancellation following the initial 3-month commitment term.
Confidentiality: All client engagements are governed by a strict NDA and POPIA-compliant data-handling practices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Vertus a virtual assistant service?

Vertus goes beyond traditional, task-based administrative assistance. While we manage executive communications and diaries, our core focus is strategic executive operations, process architecture, and board governance. We act as an embedded operational partner to CEOs, founders, and boards—translating leadership priorities into structured, accountable execution.

How do I know which package I need?

During our 30-minute Executive Support Consultation, we evaluate your leadership bottlenecks, meeting cadence, and operational requirements:

Executive Office Partner (25 hrs/mo): Ideal for leaders needing calendar, inbox, travel, and stakeholder control.
Strategic Executive Operations Lead (40 hrs/mo): Best for growing teams requiring SOP development, project tracking, and board preparation.
Fractional Operations Director (60 hrs/mo): Designed for multi-department leadership requiring deep cross-functional oversight.

Can I request support outside my package?

Yes. Additional hours or specialised out-of-scope deliverables can be added at an agreed hourly rate or quoted as a separate project. If your ongoing operational requirements increase, we can upgrade your retainer tier, provided capacity is available within our 3-client roster limit .

Can international clients work with Vertus?

Yes. Vertus partners with executives, non-profits, and growing businesses across South Africa, the UK, Europe, and North America. International engagements are invoiced in USD, EUR, or GBP, with convenient payment processing via direct transfer or credit card.

Is there a minimum commitment?

Yes. Monthly retainers operate on an initial 3-month commitment. This ensures sufficient time to onboard, integrate with your team, establish operating rhythms, and deliver measurable operational clarity. Following the initial term, agreements convert to a month-to-month structure with a 30-day notice period. A 10% discount is available for 6-month commitments.

Is there an onboarding fee?

No. We do not charge a separate onboarding fee for monthly retainer clients. Initial system access, preference alignment, and workflow setups are fully included as part of your Month 1 engagement.

Do you provide one-off project support?

Yes. For leaders who need to establish systems without committing to an immediate monthly retainer, we offer the Executive VIP Day (Operations Intensive)—a 1-day implementation sprint to overhaul your workspace, inbox, calendars, and task workflows. We also offer standalone Board Governance Audits.

Ready to Reclaim Your Executive Capacity?

Stop managing administrative friction. Start scaling with senior operational leadership.

Whether you require C-suite calendar control, board governance administration, or a complete operational reset, Vertus brings structure, discretion, and momentum behind the scenes.

To maintain high-touch service quality, Vertus caps client partnerships at a maximum of 3 active retainers at any given time.

Let’s discuss your operational priorities.

Book Your Executive Support Consultation

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