A butler runs the front-of-house side of a private home. They manage staff, look after guests, handle formal service, and keep the household running day to day. It’s one of the most senior roles in a private household.
This page gives you a full example job description to use as a template when hiring. For everything else, see our guide to hiring a butler, it covers everything you need to know about hiring one and how we can help.
Example of a butler job description
Here’s an example job description for a full-time private butler based in a Manhattan townhouse, with regular travel to a weekend property in the Hamptons. The duties are typical of a US-based butler role. Visa and work permit rules change country to country.
Job description
A high-net-worth family is looking for an experienced butler to run their Manhattan townhouse and coordinate with staff at their weekend property in the Hamptons. The household is made up of two principals and two teenage children. The family entertains often and has house guests regularly.
The butler will be the family’s main point of contact for everything inside the home. They’ll oversee the housekeeper and chef, manage external service providers, and handle formal service for family dinners and guest occasions. The role includes travel between the two properties based on the family’s schedule.
The role is full-time and live-out. A company car comes with the role for travel between the two properties.
Responsibilities
Household management
- Oversee the day-to-day running of the Manhattan residence
- Manage the housekeeper, private chef, and any additional staff
- Coordinate external service providers including cleaners, handymen, florists, and delivery staff
- Handle household administration including invoices, subscriptions, and service contracts
- Keep the home guest-ready
Formal service and entertaining
- Set the table and carry out formal service for family meals and dinner parties
- Manage the wine cellar and pair wines for dinners
- Plan and run events, from small dinners to parties of 50 or more
- Greet and look after house guests, including preparing rooms and handling arrivals and departures
Wardrobe and personal service
- Manage the principals’ wardrobes, including laundry, pressing, and seasonal rotation
- Coordinate with tailors, stylists, and dry cleaners
- Pack and unpack for travel and keep track of what goes with the family
Multi-property coordination
- Travel regularly to the Hamptons property to oversee staff and prepare the house ahead of the family’s arrival
- Coordinate remotely with the weekend property’s caretaker during the week
- Manage the handover of staff and supplies between the two homes
Requirements
Essential experience
- Minimum 7 years in a similar butler role in a private household or luxury hospitality
- Verifiable references from HNW or UHNW private employers
- Strong knowledge of formal service, wine, and table setting
- Experience managing household staff teams of three or more
- Valid US work authorization and a clean driver’s licence
Personal qualities
- Absolute discretion and respect for confidentiality
- Impeccable presentation and strong communication skills
- Comfortable working independently and leading a small team
- Flexible, composed under pressure, and able to anticipate what’s needed
- Fluent English; a second language is a plus
Work conditions
- Full-time, live-out
- Five and a half to six days per week, flexing around entertaining and travel
- Company car provided for travel between Manhattan and the Hamptons
- Salary based on experience
Butler salary at a glance
Butler salaries in the US range from $90,000 to $180,000, and from £50,000 to £100,000+ in the UK, according to Morgan & Mallet’s 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report. The report also shows you salaries for many other countries if you’re interested. You can also see our how much a butler costs page for a detailed breakdown of US butler salaries.
How butler briefs are changing
The traditional butler brief, formal service done by the book, still exists. But it’s no longer the most common request we get.
Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, has been watching this shift for years – “The butler job is going to disappear, I’m really sure, but not now, later. Clients are going to ask for a butler who can also manage the staff. So it’s butler skills, being versatile, adaptable, combined with the ability to manage a team. The butler role will merge with the house manager role.”
In practice, that means more briefs are asking for a butler who can also handle vendor coordination, staff scheduling, basic budgeting, and household admin alongside the formal service work. If your home doesn’t have a separate house manager, this is probably the version of the role you’re writing a brief for, even if you started out wanting a traditional butler.
A useful test before you start writing is to list the things you’d want this person to do that aren’t formal service. If the list is long, you’re hiring for the modern hybrid butler, and the brief should reflect that.
Using this job description
If you’re using this as a starting point for your own hire, the responsibilities and requirements sections are where to make changes. Think about how many staff the butler will manage, whether they’ll travel between properties, how formal the service needs to be, and whether wardrobe and personal assistance sit inside the role or with a separate PA. Those are the details that shape the brief most.
Looking for a butler job?
If you’re an experienced butler looking for your next role, visit our jobs board to see what’s available.
This job description was reviewed by Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet.