For a lovely HNW family we are looking for an experienced House Manager (live-in, spouces welcome) to manage their stunning historic property, household and staff. Must have experience in home technology as well as informal family household experience and be a driver. Separate accommodation provided. No weekend work required.

*Role advertised in London but based in Knutsford, Cheshire, UK

The house is a Grade II listed property that was fully modernized incl. home automation recently, rich in original features throughout, spreading over several floors including a leisure level with a pool complex. The property has hardwood floors throughout the living area, and tiled floors in bathrooms.

The property has 6 bedrooms, all en suite and is set in 4 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens with formal lawns, framed by mature trees, shrubs and seasonal planting to provide year round interest; there is a sports area and there are water features, as well as outbuildings and informal meadows which are maintained as a conservation area for wildlife and indigenous species.

The Owners are a British family with three children who use the property as their permanent family home bar travel during some of the school holidays.

Other staff are a housekeeper, a houseman/ maintenance man, a p/t private chef who reports to the Owners and one gardener. Help is provided from contractors (window cleaning, car valeting, extra gardeners, etc.) when required. There are no fur pets. The household and grounds are run Energy Efficient and Eco-Friendly. The household is run relaxed and informal and the role reports directly to the Principals. It is a newly created role.

The overall duty of the House Manager is to manage a team well (without the need of a strict hierarchical structure) so it provides the family with a consistently clean, tidy and welcoming family home that is kept to high standards and they can enjoy. The role should evolve with the needs of the family over time.

The duties of the House Manager:

• Managing and leading the team on a daily basis incl. scheduling, team meetings etc.
• Recruiting and training of staff, if needed
• Liaising with Principals on the family´s needs and schedules and organizing the team/ work accordingly and with flexibility
• Overseeing all housekeeping/ laundry duties
• Overseeing maintenance duties of the property (external and internal decorations)
• Scheduling and assisting with deep cleaning
• Managing stocks of household items
• Ensuring all plant working (pool heating, pumps, and filters, main house boiler) and equipment (motorised gates and garage doors, plus home automation and security) is regularly inspected and maintained
• Overseeing the resolving of any issues or scheduling of contractors
• Managing contractors or agency workers
• Creating and keeping up to date a household manual
• Receiving and handling deliveries
• Overseeing projects (e.g. items to be renewed)
• Assisting with decorating property seasonally (Christmas)
• Managing invoicing of suppliers and other household admin
• Overseeing the garden design and its maintenance
• Running errands incl. occasional driving e.g. taking cars for MOT/ service, obtaining supplies, etc)

Requirements for the House Manager:

• A min. of 3-5 years` experience of managing a private family home of a similar size
• Must be legal to work in the UK (UK passport, Pre or Settled Status)
• Fluency in English
• Clean driver license
• Excellent household and staff management skills, able to nurture a team (relaxed but efficient)
• Excellent software and digital communication skills (Google Docs, Trello etc.)
• Ideally knowledgeable and experienced in modernized older properties (Grade II listed) with original features and materials
• Knowledge of the local area is highly beneficial
• Strong communication and organizational skills are paramount
• An acute eye for detail with a focus on the family´s needs and flexible approach
• Ideally longevity in past roles as this is a long term role
• Written references from past private families
• A recent DBS checks (to be obtained if not current)

The Principals are seeking a House Manager who is passionate about a historic building and its upkeep as well as providing a smooth, unobtrusive, friendly, and warm service in a relaxed atmosphere for the family to benefit from.

The family is looking for a House Manager who fits in well and nurtures all employee so they work well together as a team. While the Owners are very private, good communications with the entire team are important to the family and feedback from employees and the house manager is much encouraged and welcome. The aim is a harmonious friendly yet professional working environment with defined boundaries and mutual respect. Some flexibility in being able to share work within the team is key, particularly when staff is absent. This is very much a hands on role and the family also engages in everyday household duties.

This role requires strong sensitivity towards the family´s needs (e.g. lower visibility of staff during school holidays if family spent more time at the house) which may change at short notice, so focus has to change on another area of the property.

The role does NOT require weekend work and there is little flexibility needed outside the core working hours.

Accommodation: Accommodation for a short paid trial will be provided [Airbnb/ hotel locally] as well as transport. Once the role starts, initial accommodation is a local rented property. The Owner will then buy a two-three bedroom furnished property for the house manager (and spouse) to live in locally.

Hours: Mon - Fri, 8am - 4pm (core working hours with occasional flexibility, time in lieu given). No weekend work required. 1 hr for lunch with lunch supplies provided.

Salary: £60000 - 90000 gross/ year depending on experience plus 25 days holidays (plus bank hols) and self-contained accommodation (utilities paid), a staff car can be provided if required.

To start: as soon as possible

To apply please send a short cover letter outlining your relevant experience.