A head housekeeper runs a team of housekeeping staff in a private home or estate. Where a housekeeper does the cleaning themselves, a head housekeeper is responsible for the standard the team works to. They train, schedule, and quality-check, and still do the most sensitive cleaning themselves.
The role only exists in households with two or more housekeepers on the team. If you’re hiring for a single-housekeeper household, you want a housekeeper, not a head housekeeper. You can find our more here about what to look for when you hire a housekeeper on our main housekeeper recruitment page.
Example of a head housekeeper job description
This is an example brief for a full-time head housekeeper running a team of four in a Connecticut country estate, with regular trips to a Manhattan apartment. It’s a typical setup for the role. It has a main home with a smaller second property, and a head housekeeper who reports to a house manager.
About the household
A private family is hiring a head housekeeper for their main residence in Connecticut, with regular travel to their Manhattan apartment. The Connecticut property is a 12,000 sq ft country home with significant art and antiques, formal dining and entertaining spaces, and an outdoor pool and pool house. The Manhattan apartment is smaller, but the family uses it a lot during the week.
The head housekeeper will manage a team of four: two full-time housekeepers and a laundress at the Connecticut house, plus one housekeeper in the Manhattan apartment. They’ll report to the house manager and work closely with the chef during events.
What the head housekeeper will do themselves
The head housekeeper handles the most sensitive cleaning personally. That means the principals’ bedrooms, dressing rooms, and bathrooms; the rooms with significant art or antique furniture; and any deep cleaning before guests or events. They also take on wardrobe care for the principals, unless that sits with a valet or laundress.
What the head housekeeper will manage
The team handles everything else, working to standards the head housekeeper sets and quality-checks daily. This includes:
- Daily and deep cleaning across all areas of the residence
- Laundry, ironing, and linen rotation
- Bedroom turn-down, guest room preparation, and bathroom restocking
- Pantry stock, cleaning supply ordering, and coordination with external vendors (window cleaners, carpet cleaners, deep-clean specialists)
- Pre- and post-event cleaning around the family’s entertaining schedule
- Coordinating with the Manhattan housekeeper on standards and any travel between properties
Scheduling and supervision
The head housekeeper handles the team’s rota, time off, and cover during absences. They run a short morning briefing each day and walk the house before they leave to check standards. They handle the team’s training and bring new staff up to speed when they join.
Reporting and budgets
The head housekeeper reports to the house manager and gives a weekly update on the team, the property, and any issues. They manage the cleaning supply and consumables budget, and flag larger expenses (specialist cleaning, equipment replacement, art restoration) up to the house manager for approval.
What the household is looking for
This role needs someone who’s run a household team before, not just someone with long housekeeping experience. The two are different jobs. A great housekeeper isn’t automatically a great head housekeeper, and the family is hiring just as much for team leadership as for cleaning.
The household is looking for:
- 8+ years of housekeeping experience, with at least 3 years running a team of three or more in a private household
- Verifiable references from previous principals or house managers, with at least one that speaks to team leadership
- Strong knowledge of cleaning protocols for delicate surfaces, art, and antiques
- Experience with luxury laundry and fabric care for formal and everyday wardrobes
- Comfortable running rotas, training the team, and having difficult conversations when standards slip
- Absolute discretion, and the judgment to know what to handle quietly and what to take to the house manager
- Fluent English; Spanish a plus, since most of the existing team are Spanish-speaking
Work conditions
- Full-time, live-out (live-in available if preferred, with a separate cottage on the Connecticut property)
- Six days per week, with one day off in rotation
- Regular travel between Connecticut and Manhattan, with travel time paid
- Health insurance and paid holiday
- Salary based on experience
How is a head housekeeper different from other roles?
A note on what makes a head housekeeper different from a senior housekeeper, and why it matters at the brief stage.
Morgan Richez, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, says, “The head housekeeper gets initiative. If she needs a product, she’ll buy two, so when she finishes one she’s got one ready to go. She doesn’t wait for the order. It’s all about rotation, organisation, and anticipating. That’s what makes a head housekeeper.”
The day-to-day cleaning skills carry over from the housekeeper role, but the initiative, the anticipation, and the ability to run a rota for two or three other housekeepers are where the head housekeeper steps up. When you’re writing the brief, mention those skills as heavily as the cleaning skills. Head housekeeper placements that fail usually fail because of this, not because of the technical work.
Hiring a head housekeeper
If you’re hiring for this role, two things matter more than anything else in the brief, which are, how many staff the head housekeeper will manage, and who they report to. Those two details change the role more than property size, salary, or location.
Morgan & Mallet places head housekeepers in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Paris, Geneva, and Dubai. To talk through a brief or start a search, get in touch with one of our offices or call us on +1 (646) 965-2308 to talk to a recruitment consultant.
Looking for a position as a head housekeeper? Browse current jobs available on the Morgan & Mallet job board.
This job description was reviewed by Morgan Richez, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet.