We have an amazing opportunity for a highly experienced, hardworking and talented Domestic Couple to support a HNW family in their 9-bedroom country estate in Devon. Working as a Couple, you will hit the ground running to maintain the upkeep of this large country house and grounds with swimming pool and tennis court to exacting standards. The property is used primarily as a weekend and holiday home by a lovely family from London, and their two energetic dogs. Overseeing all functions of the housekeeping, laundry, ironing, service and grounds maintenance, the ideal Couple will have proven experience working in a similar role.

Daily duties for the Housekeeper/Laundress will include dusting, vacuuming, cleaning, laundry and ironing, as well as some light family style cooking and food preparation, on the occasions that the family’s chef is not in residence. A part-time cleaner is employed and comes in twice a week, so the Housekeeper will have a brilliant eye for detail and good managerial skills in order to supervise and guide the cleaner where needed but must be able to take instructions from the principals and adapt to their ways of doing things. Occasional childminding of two teenagers will be required, possibly overnight.

The Groundsman/Caretaker will be responsible for dealing with any minor defects in and around the property, assisting with gardening and swimming pool maintenance, as well as lending a hand with other exterior duties, as directed by the Head Gardener. The Groundsman should also be a confident driver with proven experience driving luxury vehicles such as Bentleys and Range Rovers and will undertake driving duties for the family as required. Tech-savvy, responsible and reliable, the Couple will be responsible for the security of the property and will have a duty phone to which any alarms will ring through, so it’s essential that the Couple are both good communicators with practical, ‘can-do’ attitudes.

Accommodation is provided in a private 2-bedroom apartment on site, and the family are happy to consider Couples with pets for this role, as long as the pets get on well with their dogs. A 45-hour week with flexibility required when the family are in residence, the Couple will work from Thursday to Monday and have their days off together on a Tuesday and Wednesday. As this is a rural location, it is preferred that the Housekeeper is also a driver, though this is not essential. The family are generally in residence for about a third of the year (spread out visits over weekends and school holidays).

DUTIES TO INCLUDE:
• Management of all household laundry, including clothing, fine fabrics, linens etc.
• Ironing, pressing, folding and appropriately hanging/storing all items
• Daily cleaning of the property
• Making beds, changing bed linen
• Ensure the highest standards of cleanliness are maintained throughout the household
• Provisioning and taking stock of all household items
• Flower arranging
• Polishing antiques, marble and silverware
• Occasional light cooking, when required
• General cleaning and upkeep of the grounds, gardening and assisting with pool cleaning and tennis court maintenance
• Sweeping and keeping the exterior areas neat and tidy
• Taking care of any minor defects and repairs in and around the house
• Cleaning and maintaining luxury vehicles, and driving for the principals
• Monitoring the duty phone and dealing quickly and responsibly with any issues that arise
• Pet care – walking, feeding, cleaning
• Ad-hoc errand running

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA:
• Previous experience in a Couples role supporting a HNW family
• Very high attention to detail
• Team players with positive, ‘can-do’ attitudes
• Excellent communication skills
• Good standard of written and spoken English
• Trustworthy and handles confidential information appropriately
• Able to prioritise and multitask effectively
• Full, clean driving license(s)
• Right to work within the UK
• Excellent checkable references