Head Housekeeper Burford, England
Job description
EXPERIENCED LIVE-OUT HEAD HOUSEKEEPER FOR LARGE PRIVATE COTSWOLDS ESTATE
Location: Burford, Oxfordshire
Salary: £50,000-£60,000 per annum, negotiable
Contract: Full-Time, Permanent
Status: Live-out
We have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced, hardworking, and talented Head Housekeeper to support an UHNW family in their large country estate in the Cotswolds/West Oxfordshire. The family are looking to appoint an energetic, friendly team player with exceptional organisational and communication skills, ideally coming from a super yachting background.
The role will require someone tech-savvy, able to manage the rotas of the housekeeping team, assisting the PA with some administrative duties, overseeing, and managing household expenditure, liaising with contractors and tradesmen, as well as hands-on housekeeping which will include following specific cleaning procedures, especially for antique and highly valuable objects.
Responsible for and working alongside a team of full-time housekeepers, you will oversee laundry, and wardrobe management, packing and unpacking for the principals, as well as taking responsibility for food ordering. Further duties will include taking receipt of deliveries, inventory management of artwork and furniture, uploading receipts to the accounting system, as well as assisting with service at events hosted at the property.
This is a varied position that will require flexibility and adaptability, so the ideal candidate should have a hardworking ‘can-do’ attitude and a personable, polite, and optimistic disposition. The family are very respectful employers and look after their staff well – they are looking for a long-term commitment from the successful candidate.
Usual working hours are Monday to Friday from 8am-5pm or 9am-6pm, but flexibility will be required, and the role will include working up to two weekends per month, with days off during the week then. The family do have pets, so being pet friendly is a must. A driver is a huge benefit but is not essential.
DUTIES TO INCLUDE:
- General housekeeping to a very high standard alongside the team and ensuring the smooth running of the household
- Handling specific employer requests in regard to cleaning, maintenance, and organisation
- Managing guest arrivals and preparation of guest rooms
- Organising daily tasks, timetables, and rotas for house personnel
- Managing stock and supply operations regarding the cleaning and maintenance of the home, such as liaising and negotiating with suppliers, taking receipt of deliveries
- Overseeing budgets and expenditure (with the support of various teams)
- Household administration, including uploading receipts to the Xero accounting system
- Inventory management of artworks, furniture pieces etc.
- Ordering of food and household items, ensuring the fridge is stocked
- Laundry and ironing of clothing, fine fabrics, linens etc.
- Wardrobe management and packing/unpacking for the principals
- Service and assistance at events, flower arranging
- Deal quickly and responsibly with any issues that arise
- Assisting the PA with general administrative tasks
- Running ad-hoc errands
ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:
- Previous experience in a similar role
- Flexibility in terms of duties and changes of schedules
- Knowledge of Xero accounting system preferred
- Tech-savvy and computer literate
- Team player with a positive, can-do attitude
- Excellent communication skills
- Very high attention to detail
- Good standard of written and spoken English
- Trustworthy and able to handle confidential information appropriately
- Able to prioritise and multitask effectively
- Right to work within the UK
- Excellent checkable references
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: £50,000.00-£60,000.00 per year
Schedule:
- Day shift
- Weekend availability
