It would be a terrible slur to suggest that all Premier League footballers are pampered brats who are incapable of lifting a finger for themselves. On the other hand, consider the duties of Jermain Defoe’s personal assistant.
The Sunderland striker has advertised for a PA who will arrange his lunch, help to feed his family pets, do his shopping, make sure the fridge is stocked and water his plants.
The successful applicant, who will be paid between £50,000 and £60,000 a year — what Defoe earns in a week — will also have to sort out the footballer’s dry cleaning, organise his team of gardeners, choose interior designers and arrange family birthday parties.
On top of that they will need to organise holidays, book theatre outings and other social events, liaise with the cleaners, deal with the household bills and take on responsibility for both his diary and that of his mother, Sandra.
Enough? No, there is more. In fact the advertisement boasts no fewer than 54 areas of responsibility, including helping the footballer to create his own clothing line, creating “a global brand for the Jermain Defoe name”, identifying sponsorship opportunities and producing his own iPhone apps.
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The former Spurs player, who is 32 and has 55 senior caps for England, posted the advertisement on the website SecsintheCity, which lists jobs for personal assistants, secretaries and administration jobs in the UK.
It states that the job will involve working at the footballer’s office Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 5.30pm. Just in case anyone actually thought that the job could be done in a standard 40-hour week, however, the advertisement adds: “There will be out of hours and weekend work depending on manager’s event diary or projects. Must be on call 24/7” — or possibly a bit longer, to get everything done.
The long list of responsibilities for Defoe’s PA includes managing and organising the needs of all his family, including his sister Chonte, stepfather Andre and nephew Chase, and travelling for business meetings in the UK and overseas.
The successful applicant would be expected to work with designers to select his wardrobe for special events. Namechecked stores include Ozwald Boateng, Harrods and ZAP, a designer boutique in Essex.
The advert says: “You will be working for a high-profile individual within the sports industry so the candidate must therefore, by nature, be very flexible, hands-on and be capable multitasking, most importantly you must maintain the highest level of confidentiality in order to assist the manager.
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“On a day to day basis you will be involved in scheduling and highly organizing the managers [sic] and the families [sic] private, social and business calendars, arranging all public appearances, arranging and securing travel arrangements, working on selected business projects and maintaining daily itineraries.
“Must be able to supervise a multi-portfolio of houses managing all household staff and contractors, dealing with all incoming bills and more.”
It is a far cry from Defoe’s upbringing in east London. His father was an alcoholic who left when he was a toddler and later turned to drugs.
A member of staff at Secsinthecity said yesterday that the advert had been taken down by the recruiter. Overwhelmed, no doubt, by the rush of applicants who believe they are ideally qualified for the job.
Opportunity of a lifetime
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Responsibilities Manage diary, admin, deal with calls, emails and post; liaise with sponsors, organise manager on daily basis: lunch etc.
Errands Organise all Jermain’s needs i.e. dry cleaners, gardeners, house refurbishments; select wardrobe for events;organise all the Defoe family’s households; shop for food.
Social events Book all social events, recommend and book restaurants, spa days, family outings.
Family Plan family birthdays; organise family holidays and individual holidays; manage and organise individual family members (Sandra, Andre, Chonte and Chase. Family pets); help to plan calendar events i.e. (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter, Black history month, Christmas, New Year’s etc).
Branding Create a global brand for the Jermain Defoe name; grow his website, Twitter and Facebook; produce his own iPhone apps; gain further recognition with the media.
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Potential projects Grow the Jermain Defoe foundation charity; create his own clothing line/ fragrance; start up sports mentoring company and soccer academy.