A beautiful large Estate near Godalming, Surrey, GU8, are looking for an experienced Live-in Head of House/Senior Housekeeper to join their team. You should have a full driving licence for this role.
Package Offered
- £50,000 - £75,000 gross per year
- Accommodation of a two-bedroom private house on the Estate
- Discretionary bonus
- Healthcare
- Pension
Family Background
A beautiful Estate near Godalming, Surrey, GU8, with a large mansion house and various other properties, set in a stunning location with landscaped grounds and lakes. The main mansion and Estate are undergoing significant refurbishment and construction work. Currently, the only staff member is the Estate Manager. They are looking for someone to come into a managerial but hands-on role as a Head of House/Senior Housekeeper. You will start your position towards the end of the project to help get the house ready for the family and assist the Estate Manager with hiring the rest of your team. This is a prime and rare opportunity to be involved with the Estate's commissioning and handover process from the principal contractor to the family. Eventually, you will be in charge of the housekeeping team, but your role will still be very hands-on - this is not a sole office role. The family do have dogs, so you must be happy around animals.
Duties
You will be responsible for ensuring the delivery of all aspects of day-to-day housekeeping and hospitality in the house and associated guest accommodation. You will be hands-on and hardworking and directly manage junior house staff to ensure all needs are met to the highest standards. You will liaise very closely with the Estate Manager, and there will be an apparent and detailed list of expectations, responsibilities and standards.
- Report into and work closely with Estate Manager
- Oversee the smooth running of the Mansion House, Family areas and all other non-staff Estate properties
- Day to day management of under house staff
- Hands-on as well as managerial
- Handling in house hospitality
- Ensuring stocks and supplies are carefully managed
- Keeping records
- Reporting/handling of maintenance issues
- Laundry
- Cleaning
- Cooking when required
- Serving when required
- Looking after the needs of family and guests
- Running errands
- Assist with ad-hoc tasks as directed
Location/Accommodation
This role is near Godalming, Surrey, GU8 and is a live-in role. Accommodation of a Two bedroom, newly refurbished private house on the Estate will be provided, and the client is happy for you to bring partners, children and pets. Although please bear in mind the largest house they can provide is two bedrooms.
Days/Hours
- Usual days will be Monday - Friday
- A 5-day working week, but days and hours may vary when the family are in residence or through busy periods
- Core hours will be 8am - 5:30pm, but again, hours may vary when the family are in residence
- You should be flexible and happy to do overtime as required
Languages
You must speak an excellent level of English to be able to communicate with the family and staff.
Special Skills
You should be experienced in the running of a large country house and have excellent knowledge of dealing with private families and their needs. You should understand high end hospitality and should have a calm and organised approach to your work and management of staff. High levels of integrity are a must.
Start Date
The Estate Manager is interviewing now. We are recruiting safely with the COVID-19 government guidelines.