Stream 3 • Private PA
Built for households, family offices, and UHNW principal support. Two levels, fictional principals, realistic demands. The skills an interview cannot surface.
Why Private PA is its own stream
An Executive Assistant supports a principal's business operations. A Private PA supports their life. The remit is broader and the stakes are more personal. A Private PA coordinates contractors and estate managers, liaises with house staff, manages family travel that includes minors, handles medical appointments, steers gift-giving protocol, and buffers the principal from a hundred small demands a day that would never reach a corporate inbox.
The judgment calls are different too. When a family matter collides with a business meeting, the Private PA decides who moves. When a staff dispute risks escalating, they draft the message. When a supplier tries to name-drop the principal to win other work, they shut it down.
Our EA assessments do not test for this. The Private PA stream does.
The two levels
Private PA Level 1 Coming soon
"Hartley Household" scenario
Single-principal household support. Diary, travel, family logistics, supplier coordination, personal errands, and the delicate art of buffering a busy principal from noise.
Private PA Level 2 Coming soon • UHNW calibre
"Cartwright Family Office" scenario
Family office principal support. Multi-generational family coordination, trust and estate liaison, private aviation, security protocol, and handling sensitive matters across principals, spouses, and adult children.
Not sure which level fits the household? Email us with context and the team will recommend.
In development · register your interest and we’ll send your booking link the week Private PA opens · indicative pricing shown, confirmed at launch
For principals & family offices
Interviews cannot test the hundred small judgments a Private PA makes before breakfast. This assessment can. Each candidate receives a fictional principal and a realistic day. You receive a written report scored against a published rubric, reviewed by a named expert, in 48 hours.
For candidates
Private PA roles are won as much on character as on capability. TCS Certified gives you an independent report showing both: and a certificate you can share with future principals and their hiring teams. Candidate-owned, candidate-controlled.
Commonly asked
Different principal, different remit, different pressure points. The Private PA scenario puts the candidate in a household or family office rather than a corporate environment. The modules test sensitivity, discretion, and personal-matter handling that a corporate EA scenario would not reach.
Yes, if the role genuinely spans both contexts. Some hybrid principals need a single assistant across personal and business life. Email us and we will advise whether a dual assessment adds value or whether one scenario covers the ground.
Not yet, but it will be particularly valuable here. Private PA tenure tends to be long and the working relationship unusually close. TCS Match, in development, will layer personality and working-style compatibility data onto the Core Standard report. Register your interest to be told when it opens.
Our assessments test the judgment and execution side of the role. Rota, live-in arrangements, and reference checks are best handled by the commissioning party alongside the report. The team can recommend trusted household recruiters for the staffing element.
Tell us about the household or office and the shortlist. Briefing form back the same working day. First report in 48 hours.