Special Executive Assistant

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Pennington Partners is an award-winning multi-family office managing over $4 billion in assets for ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, and multi-generational families. We deliver integrated wealth management across investment advisory, tax planning, estate structuring, and family office services — with a relentless focus on bespoke, institutional-quality advice. 

Our culture is vibrant, intelligent, and relentlessly driven. We are an ensemble of exceptional professionals with diverse, multi-disciplinary backgrounds, who value independent judgement, integrity, and fresh thinking. While the firm continues to gain scale and institutional structure, we remain deeply committed to our entrepreneurial roots—valuing agility, creativity, and unwavering client focus.  

This is a high-impact, high-visibility role at a firm that is in active growth mode. The person who fills it will operate at the intersection of the firm’s most sophisticated client work and its most ambitious business-building initiatives. 

ABOUT THE POSITION

We are seeking an exceptional recent graduate with the raw ability, work ethic, and intellectual curiosity to thrive at the highest level of private wealth advisory. This dual-mandate role is intentionally designed to be generalist in scope and specialist in quality: you will work directly alongside the CEO on business-building and strategic initiatives, and alongside our Head of Income Tax and Estate Planning on some of the most sophisticated planning work in the country. 

We are not looking for someone with ten years of experience. We are looking for someone who has the talent and drive to build it here, faster than anywhere else. You will be taught the substance, given real responsibility from day one, and expected to grow quickly. If you want to start your career on the floor of a world-class multi-family office, not in a training program, this is the opportunity. This position will be based in our Houston office.

SPECIAL NOTE: Please send a resume and a brief note describing why this role interests you and what you would bring to it to chad.lilly@penningtonptrs.com. Applications without a personal note will not be reviewed. 

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES

CEO Office & Growth Projects (with Brian Gaister) 

• Drive special projects across business development, client acquisition, marketing, and firm strategy — from early-stage thinking through execution 
• Support prospect research, outreach strategy, and the development of high-quality pitch materials and proposals for UHNW prospects 
• Help build and refine systems and processes that support the firm’s growth, including CRM workflows, client segmentation, and gatekeeper strategies 
• Assist in the production of executive communications, presentations, thought leadership, and internal reporting for senior leadership 
• Serve as a trusted operational partner to the CEO on time-sensitive deliverables, research, and strategic analysis 
• Participate in high-level internal and external meetings, capturing action items and ensuring follow-through 

Tax & Estate Planning Support (with Michael Rubenstein) 

• Help manage workflow across active engagements, keeping complex multi-party projects on track and ensuring deadlines are met 

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE 

Background & Education 

• Bachelor’s degree from a top-tier undergraduate program required — we are targeting exceptional recent graduates or May/June 2025 candidates 
• Academic record that demonstrates genuine intellectual horsepower; finance, economics, accounting, mathematics, or pre-law coursework is a plus but not required 
• Internship or academic project experience in finance, law, consulting, or a similarly rigorous environment is valued 
• No prior professional experience in tax or estate planning is expected — we will teach the substance; you bring the talent 

Skills & Capabilities 

• Exceptional research, writing, and analytical skills — you can distill complex material into clear, actionable output 
• Strong financial modeling and quantitative fluency — comfortable building and interpreting models in Excel and other tools 
• High professional polish — your written and verbal communication is crisp, client-ready, and inspires confidence 
• Operationally sharp — you thrive in a fast-moving environment, can manage competing priorities without dropping threads, and solve problems before they surface 
• Technologically adept — comfortable with modern productivity tools; familiarity with AI tools and workflows is a real differentiator 

Character 

• Low ego, high ambition — you want to do great work and grow fast, not just put in hours 
• Discreet and trustworthy — you understand the sensitivity of client information and act accordingly at all times 
• Intellectually curious — you read widely, think across domains, and bring ideas without being asked 
• Ownership mentality — when you take something on, it gets done, and done well 

WHY THIS ROLE

Most people who want to work in private wealth spend years in a bank training program before they see a real client. Here, you start on day one working alongside the CEO and one of the most sophisticated tax and estate planning practitioners in the country, on behalf of ultra-high-net-worth families with genuinely complex situations. You will see deals, planning strategies, and business decisions that most people in this industry never encounter. 

The learning curve is steep by design. The right person will compress a decade of professional growth into the first few years of their career. We invest seriously in people who invest in us. 

WHAT YOU’LL GET

We offer competitive and comprehensive benefits to help you prioritize your wellness and your career development. Working with a company that leverages our Core Values: Developing One’s Greatest Potential, Thinking Big, Client Obsession, Tikkun Olam (Repair Our World).

• Salary - Competitive compensation (base salary + target bonus) 
• Benefits - Robust benefits package with a choice of PPO Health Insurance Plans covering medical, dental, vision, disability, and group term life insurance. Optional HSA Plan, with a $600 employer contribution. 401K Plan with employer match, commuter parking benefit, cell phone reimbursement.
• Health & Wellness – $100/month stipend to use on the choice of fitness, meditation classes, meal kits, CSA, and more. Oura Ring welcome gift and one-year subscription to the Oura Ring app, and Pennington welcome swag! Worldwide emergency travel assistance coverage.
• Paid Time Off - 15 days PTO, sick leave, bereavement leave, 11 federal holidays and 3 floating holidays. Paid maternity and paternity leave for biological and adoptive parents, plus the option to work from home after paid leave ends to extend time with your growing family, and a $4,000 childcare stipend to help you transition back to work. 

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

It is the policy of Pennington Partners to ensure equal employment opportunity (EEO) for all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation, or related conditions), national origin or ancestry, age, disability, veteran status, uniformed servicemember status, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a parent, genetic information (including testing and characteristics), or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. It is Pennington Partner’s policy to comply with applicable laws concerning the employment of persons with disabilities, including reasonable accommodation for applicants and employees with disabilities.