Estate Manager (2026)

excellenceservices; Atherton (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid vacation

Holidays

Sick days

Discretionary year-end bonus up to 20%

Job summary

Excellenceservices in Atherton, California seeks an experienced Estate Manager to oversee day-to-day operations of a high-end private residence. The role is salaried exempt, directing estate operations, staff, and projects to the highest standards.

Candidates should have 7+ years managing UHNW homes, strong SOPs, and exceptional discretion. A 24/7 on-call availability, English fluency, and proficiency with Google Workspace and Apple devices are expected.

Qualifications

• 7+ years managing large, high-end private residences.
• Proven experience supervising staff, vendors, and estate operations.
• Strong project and people management skills.
• Ability to build SOPs, checklists, and quality-control systems.
• Willingness for 24/7 on-call lifestyle.
• Excellent English communication, written and verbal.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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.
• Manage vendors and service providers, including maintenance, landscaping, pool, HVAC, security, repairs, specialty contractors, and other estate-related vendors.
• Coordinate 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Provide concise, organized, and solution-oriented updates to management and principals when needed.
• Exercise discretion in determining when and how to elevate 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.
• Assess risks, direct response efforts, coordinate vendors, protect principals and assets, and document actions during emergencies.

Skills

Project management

Staff management

Vendor management

Attention to detail

Discretion & confidentiality

English proficiency

Education

Bachelor’s degree preferred

Tools

Google Workspace / G-Suite

MacBook

iPhone

Shared calendars

AI tools

Job description

Location

Atherton, CA, 94027 (On-site)

Job Type

Full-Time

Availability

Typically 9 am - 5:30 pm M-F. As a salaried exempt position, the role is based on responsibilities and results, with reasonable availability for on-call support as needed to fulfill management duties.

Compensation

• $180,000 - up to $300,000/year (DOE)
• Discretionary year-end bonus (up to 20%)
• Health insurance
• Paid vacation, holidays, sick days

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.
• Coordinate 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 elevate 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.
• Technologically proficient, 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 accelerate.
• Strict adherence to confidentiality and privacy.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States and able to pass extensive background checks.
• Ready for pre-employment health screenings, including physical, psychological exams, and drug tests; annual flu vaccination required.
• Valid driver's license with a clean record; reliable transportation for daily commute to Atherton, CA.
• Seeking a long-term commitment.

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.