Estate Manager (2026)

Position Overview

A private ultra-high-net-worth household in Atherton, California is seeking an experienced Estate Manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of a high-end private residence. The Estate Manager is a salaried exempt management employee responsible for directing and overseeing the operations of the estate and associated properties.

Key Responsibilities

• Estate Operations
• Oversee daily operations of a high-end private estate in Atherton.
• Ensure the property is maintained to an exceptional standard at all times.
• Manage household readiness, maintenance schedules, service quality, and operational priorities.
• Identify issues early and resolve them proactively before they require principal involvement.
• Maintain a structured system for property operations, follow-ups, issue tracking, and closure.
• Staff Management
• Direct, supervise, and evaluate household staff and onsite service personnel.
• Set clear expectations, workflows, standards, and accountability.
• Monitor staff performance, service quality, punctuality, professionalism, and execution.
• Support training, corrective follow-up, and continuous improvement of household operations.
• Reduce repeated mistakes and low-level operational issues through structured management systems.
• Vendor Management
• Manage vendors and service providers, including maintenance, landscaping, pool, HVAC, security, repairs, specialty contractors, and other estate-related vendors.
• Cook up vendor schedules, access, service quality, follow-up, and issue resolution.
• Ensure vendors meet household standards and complete work properly and on time.
• Maintain vendor records, service history, and recurring maintenance schedules.
• SOP, Systems & Quality Control
• Build, improve, and enforce SOPs, checklists, inspection routines, communication protocols, and escalation standards.
• Create practical systems that improve consistency, reduce mistakes, and make daily operations easier to manage.
• Conduct regular quality checks and ensure issues are documented, assigned, followed up, and closed.
• Help create a household operation that is structured, reliable, and not dependent on principals’ daily involvement.
• Project Management
• Manage estate-related projects, repairs, upgrades, maintenance tasks, and operational improvements.
• Track timelines, owners, vendors, costs, risks, and completion status.
• Ensure projects are completed properly, efficiently, and with minimal disruption to the household.
• Communication & Reporting
• Provide concise, organized, and solution-oriented updates to management and principals when needed.
• Exercise discretion in determining when and how to escalate household issues.
• Escalate appropriately with clear options and recommendations.
• Maintain discretion and professionalism in all communication.
• Protect the privacy, confidentiality, and preferences of the household.
• Emergency Response
• The Estate Manager serves as the primary operational decision-maker during emergencies and is expected to:
• Assess risks
• Direct response efforts
• Coordinate vendors
• Protect principals and assets
• Implement contingency plans
• Document actions and outcomes

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• 7+ years of experience managing large, high-end private residences, private estates, UHNW households, family office residences, or comparable luxury residential environments.
• Proven experience managing household staff, vendors, maintenance, service standards, and daily estate operations.
• Strong project management and people management skills.
• Proven ability to build or operate SOPs, checklists, quality control systems, vendor logs, staff schedules, trackers, and escalation protocols.
• Flexibility for a 24/7 on-call lifestyle, adapting to the dynamic needs of the estate.
• Exceptional communication skills in English, both written and verbal.
• Tech-savvy, including Google Workspace / G-Suite, iPhone, MacBook, shared calendars, trackers, task management tools, and practical AI tools.
• Strong analytical, learning, communication, prioritization, multitasking, and problem-solving skills.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, proactive, and able to anticipate issues before they escalate.
• Strict adherence to confidentiality and privacy.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in UHNW private households, luxury residences, family office residences, or similar high-standard private environments.
• Experience managing large estates, multiple residences, vacation homes, or multi-state household operations.
• Experience stabilizing household operations, improving service quality, and reducing operational friction.
• Experience building household systems from the ground up.
• Prior experience in Atherton, the San Francisco Bay Area, or similar UHNW markets is a plus.