A family office manager runs the administrative side of a wealthy family’s life. They oversee properties, staff, finances, travel, vendors, and contracts, keeping everything on track.
The role covers a wide scope and changes through the day. One moment they handle an issue at a property. Next, they confirm travel plans or check staff across locations.
Morgan Richez, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet International, has placed staff into family offices across Europe, the US, and the Gulf for over a decade. “A family office isn’t one client with one need. They manage multiple properties, so the requests keep coming: different roles, different locations, different timing.”
If you’re putting together a brief for this role, this page gives you a working draft to start from. For an overall view of the position, see our hire a family office manager page. It covers what the role involves, how the search runs, and how to set the brief.
Example of a family office manager job description
This is a sample brief for a London-based family with two residences and a small in-house team. You should adjust scope, team size, and contract terms to match your setup. Always check local employment rules before posting a live role.
A private family with homes in Belgravia and Surrey is hiring a family office manager to oversee administration, finances, and staff across both properties. The role suits someone with at least three years in a similar position, strong financial control, and the ability to keep several priorities moving without daily direction.
Key responsibilities
- Manage the principal’s calendar and inbox across time zones.
- Process invoices, track budgets, and prepare monthly reports.
- Supervise housekeepers, drivers, nannies, and other staff.
- Source and manage vendors, contractors, and service providers.
- Plan and track property maintenance across both homes.
- Handle staff contracts, payroll admin, and HR records.
- Liaise with accountants, lawyers, and external advisors.
- Arrange travel, including flights, transport, and stays.
- Maintain inventories for art, wine, and household assets.
- Track insurance, NDAs, and key documents.
- Support projects such as moves, renovations, and events.
Qualifications
- Three to five years in a similar role across a family office, estate, or senior PA position.
- Experience in HR, payroll, or accounting is useful.
- Strong with spreadsheets, documents, and office systems.
- Good judgment on what to escalate and what to handle directly.
- Calm under pressure and discreet with private information.
- Flexible with hours during travel or busy periods.
- Eligible to work in the UK; a driver’s license is preferred.
Conditions
- Competitive salary with annual review and bonus.
- Live-out, full-time role, around 40 hours a week with flexibility.
- 25 days holiday plus public holidays.
- Pension and private health cover.
- Confidentiality agreement required at start.
What makes a family office manager placement succeed?
The biggest mismatch Morgan & Mallet sees comes from candidates who are strong household managers but have never worked inside a structured family office, where the skills may overlap but the environment operates in a very different way.
Family offices run on established systems, with set processes, approval chains, document templates, and sign-off steps, and the manager is expected to work within that structure rather than reshape it.
According to Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, “The head of the family office will explain the process, all the protocol. They want whoever they bring in to follow exactly the same steps they do themselves,” and that expectation applies from the first day.
The position in the hierarchy also matters, as a family office manager sits between the director and the household staff, which only works when the person understands what to escalate, what to handle independently, and what to pass down.
Most placements that fail trace back to this point, where the manager either bypasses the director or becomes stuck waiting for direction instead of moving things forward.
The hires that last tend to come from candidates who have already worked in structured operations and know how to build trust while working within them.
Using this job description
Treat this template as a foundation for your job brief. Adjust it to fit your circumstances. The biggest factors shaping the role are how many properties the family owns, how large the existing team is, who currently handles payroll, and how much financial authority you want the candidate to carry.
Morgan & Mallet places family office managers across New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Geneva, and Dubai. To talk through your search or refine the brief, you can contact our offices or call +1 (646) 965-2308.
If you’re looking for a family office manager position, current openings are listed on the Morgan & Mallet job board.
Hire a Family Office Manager