Guide
Hiring a household manager
If your household runs on a hundred small decisions a week, this is the role that takes them off your plate. Here's what the job covers, what it costs, and how to write it down.
Which role do you need?
Household manager
Owns home logistics, vendors, errands, and systems.
Family assistant
Blends home logistics with kid driving and light childcare.
Housekeeper
Cleaning and laundry, on a set schedule.
Estate manager
Multiple properties, staff, budgets, and major projects.
Core duties
- Family calendar, appointments, and reminders
- Vendor sourcing, scheduling, and supervision
- Groceries, meal planning support, and restocking supplies
- Errands, returns, dry cleaning, shipping, and mail
- Organization projects and seasonal rotations
- Travel prep, packing lists, and pet or plant care coordination
- Household documentation: manuals, warranties, passwords, and contacts
Pay and structure
Household managers are typically paid hourly for part-time roles and salaried for full-time ones, with rate rising for vendor management, budget authority, multiple properties, and on-call travel support. Reimburse spending through a household card rather than personal funds, and agree on a monthly spend limit that doesn't need approval.
Job description template
Household Manager — [City], [X] hours/week
We're a family of [size] looking for an organized, discreet household manager to keep our home running. You'd own our family calendar, coordinate vendors, handle groceries and errands, and keep our household systems documented.
Schedule: [days and hours], with occasional flexibility around travel.
You'll own: calendar and appointments, vendor scheduling, errands and returns, supply restocking, organization projects, travel prep.
Not part of this role: deep cleaning, primary childcare.
You're a fit if: you follow through without reminders, communicate clearly in writing, and enjoy building systems.
Compensation: [rate], paid [cadence], plus [PTO/holidays]. Background check and references required.
Common questions
- What does a household manager do?
- A household manager runs the operations of a home: scheduling, vendor coordination, errands, groceries, supplies, mail and packages, organization projects, and keeping household systems documented so nothing depends on memory.
- What's the difference between a household manager and a nanny?
- A nanny's primary responsibility is the children. A household manager's primary responsibility is the home and the logistics around it. Some roles blend both, which is usually called a family assistant or house manager/nanny hybrid.
- Is a household manager the same as a housekeeper?
- No. Housekeepers clean. Household managers coordinate — including hiring and supervising the cleaner. Light tidying is common, but deep cleaning is a separate service.
- How many hours does a household manager need?
- Many families start at 10 to 20 hours a week and grow the role once systems are in place. Full-time makes sense for larger homes, multiple properties, or heavy travel schedules.