A head housekeeper runs the inside of a private home. They oversee cleaning, manage staff schedules, and keep supplies stocked. If a room doesn’t meet the household’s standards, they find out why.
Head housekeeper salaries range from $90,000 to $150,000 in the US, according to Morgan & Mallet International’s 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report. Morgan & Mallet (householdstaff.agency) has over 200,000 candidates in its database and places head housekeepers through eight offices worldwide.
It’s one level above a housekeeper and a step below a house manager. We usually recommend bringing one in when there are several housekeepers to supervise and the home needs someone keeping it all organized. Visit our main housekeeper recruitment page for more information if you are looking to bring one into your home.
What Does a Head Housekeeper Do?
Day to day, the job is part caring for materials, part staff training. What that means depends on the property.
We test every housekeeper candidate on their knowledge of products in a 90-minute interview. Do they know which cleaner to use on which surface? For a head housekeeper, the test will go further. They need to train others and spot mistakes before they happen.
Scheduling happens all the time. Rooms get assigned, duties split, and everything reshuffled when plans change on short notice. In a busy household, something always changes.
A big part of the job is making sure everyone works together. Housekeepers, nannies, and other staff all have their own priorities. Someone has to make sure they don’t step on each other.
Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, learned this while working as a nanny alongside housekeeping staff.
“I’d say to the housekeeper, the little one had an accident in her bed, would you mind changing it for me while I take her to painting class?” she says. “And the next day, I’d say, don’t clean the kitchen, I’m going to cook for the little ones, I’ll clean up myself afterwards. You need to think cooperatively, otherwise you’re going to have a lot of conflicts.”
Supplies are part of it too. Cleaning products, toiletries, linens. The head housekeeper checks what’s running low and orders before anything runs out.
Most head housekeepers write the household manual. It lists daily routines, cleaning methods, and care instructions for delicate finishes and fabrics. Staff use it to stay consistent and to train new team members.
What Makes a Good Head Housekeeper?
Discretion comes up every time we talk about head housekeepers. A head housekeeper works in the family’s private spaces every day. They see personal belongings, know the schedule, and move through rooms guests never enter.
Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, tests for this in every interview. She asks questions that are too personal on purpose, just to see what the candidate does.
“I purposely overstep the line,” she says. “The butler of the previous president in France, I asked him questions like this, and twice, very gently, he told me, ‘I’m really sorry, Madame Mallet, I can’t answer you because that’s a privacy matter.’ And he said it very nicely, politely. That’s really important. If someone says ‘that’s not your business,’ that’s rude. But he handled it with grace.”
A head housekeeper needs that. They decide which staff members can be trusted in the principal’s private rooms. They set the standard for the whole team.
Employers expect someone who knows how to care for Carrara marble, gilded surfaces, oil paintings, sterling silver. A head housekeeper has to teach all of that to others.
Rachel Dixon, a recruiter at Morgan & Mallet, talks about this during onboarding calls with employers: “Treat the hire as a senior operator. Walk through routines. Explain preferences. Introduce vendors properly. Clarify authority and communication norms. When onboarding is weak, households misread confusion as failure.”
The head housekeeper also coordinates with the butler, chef, nanny, and personal assistant. Each has different priorities. That takes time to get right.
What Training Do You Need to Become a Head Housekeeper?
Most head housekeepers start in entry-level cleaning roles and work their way up. There’s no single qualification for the job. Experience, good references, and a track record of managing people matter most.
Morgan & Mallet runs a housekeeping training course in France. Other programs include:
- British Butler Institute, London
- The International Institute of Modern Butlers (online)
- Bespoke Bureau, London
- The French Butler School, Paris
- Professional Domestic Institute, Ohio
- Magnums Butlers International (worldwide)
- Australian Butler School, Melbourne
- South African Butler Academy, Cape Town
A second language helps. English and French are the most common mix for European placements. In the Middle East, some employers prefer staff who don’t speak the family’s language for privacy reasons.
First aid training and food safety certificates help if kitchen work is part of the role. The National Environmental Health Association and local Red Cross chapters both run courses worth looking into. Many homes with more than one property now use household management software to keep things coordinated.
Getting to this level takes years of managing people and learning how luxury homes actually work. A training course can speed that up, but the job itself is where most people learn.
What Are the Working Conditions for a Head Housekeeper?
This is a private home. The homeowner notices details a hotel guest never would.
Most head housekeepers work 35 to 40 hours a week, but rarely nine to five. Early mornings, late evenings, weekends. It’s physical work. In the US, domestic workers are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, and states like New York and California have their own protections on top of that.
Some roles are live-in, with accommodations on or near the property. You see this more on rural estates or in homes where the family moves between properties.
In the UK, households tend to be more formal, with uniforms and set routines. In the US, recruiters from our New York and Los Angeles offices see a more flexible style and broader duties. 84% of our LA candidates have worked for families worth $30 million or more, based on Morgan & Mallet’s placement data. That shapes what those households expect from a head housekeeper.
In the Middle East, live-in arrangements are standard. Families often move seasonally between Dubai, London, and the South of France, and privacy expectations are strict.
Morgan Richez, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet: “Sometimes a very high-profile client hires staff for the second or third or fourth home. But when they visit, they bring their own team, and the existing staff don’t work. It’s quite common for housekeepers in these houses to never know who the final principal is.”
How Much Does a Head Housekeeper Earn?
Head housekeepers earn more than the housekeepers they supervise. How much more depends on the household. From Morgan & Mallet’s 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report:
| Country | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| USA | $90,000 to $150,000 |
| UAE | AED 156,000 to AED 300,000 |
| UK | £60,000 to £90,000 |
| France | €55,000 to €80,000 |
| Switzerland | CHF 95,000 to CHF 120,000 |
| Monaco | €70,000 to €90,000 |
| Belgium | €60,000 to €80,000 |
Privacy agreements can add 15-20% on top of these figures.
Sample Job Description
Based on roles we fill regularly. Adapt it to your household.
Job title: Head Housekeeper
Location: [City. State whether travel to other properties is required.]
Hours: Full time. Early mornings, evenings, or weekends may be required.
Live-in / live-out: [Specify. If live-in, describe the accommodations.]
Salary: [Range. State whether an NDA premium applies.]
The role:
Manage all housekeeping operations. Set and maintain cleaning standards. Supervise and schedule the housekeeping team. Write and maintain the household manual. Manage inventory. Work with other household staff. Train new team members. For multi-property households: manage property handovers and make sure each property is ready when the family arrives.
Requirements:
- Minimum three years in a private household or luxury hospitality
- Experience supervising housekeeping staff
- Knowledge of cleaning techniques for marble, limestone, antique wood, silver, and fine fabrics
- Experience with fine laundering (silk, cashmere, linen)
- Strong references from former employers
- Clean criminal background check
- [Language, certificate, or property-specific requirements]
We offer:
- [Salary range]
- [Benefits]
- [If live-in: housing details]
- Three-month onboarding with check-ins at ten days, then periodically
Every household is different. If you need help writing a job description, we can do it with you.
For Candidates
We place head housekeepers with private families across eight offices worldwide. If you have experience managing a housekeeping team and strong references from private households, we want to hear from you.
Browse open head housekeeping positions on our job board.
For Employers
Finding a good head housekeeper takes time. We can help you write the brief, search our database of over 200,000 candidates, and manage everything from the first interview to their first day.
Call us on +1 (212) 600-2085 (US) or +44 20 4578 6249 (UK), or email contact@morganmallet.agency. We’ll get back to you within 24 hours.