Seeking an experienced and organised live-in domestic couple for a beautiful 11,000 square foot home in Ireland. The usual schedule will be 8am – 7pm, Monday through Friday, however please be flexible to allow for events, dinners, guests, and occasional weekend work. Ideally, one half of the couple will take on the housekeeping and house management duties, while the other half will be an experienced chef, comfortable with farm to table cuisine. The position is likely to start mid to late January or February 2024.
For the house manager/head housekeeper role, please expect all the usual duties including, but not limited to, ensuring the home remains pristine and exudes warmth and refinement, coordinating, training and scheduling the housekeeping team, liaising with the maintenance team and Estate Manager and with vendors and contractors, provisioning and re-stocking the home and keeping an up-to-date inventory, running errands, creating a household manual, managing budgets, organising, sending and receiving deliveries and packages for the household, providing day to day direction for staff and generally being the go-to person for everything relating to the home. The family are in residence for approximately 6 months of the year. When they are in situ, the role will be very much about attending to their needs: looking after guests, friends and extended family and ensuring that the home looks beautiful. For the other 6 months of the year it is possible that the estate will be used for a variety of events. It would therefore be helpful if the candidates has some experience with organising events and is comfortable liaising with the various organisations involved, while caretaking the main home and ensuring that any maintenance is dealt with.
For the chef role, the family are keen to find someone really excited about fresh, healthy farm to table food. The estate used to have a walled kitchen garden and the principals would love to re-instate this – so a passion for produce and quality ingredients, as well as for developing and tending the kitchen garden, is essential. When the family are present the role will involve cooking for them, their guests, friends and extended family. Expect to prepare breakfast, lunch and a 3-course dinner, as well as afternoon tea and to ensure a fully stocked fridge for snacks. For the other 6 months of the year it is expected that the estate will be used for a variety of events, some of which will need catering for, so prior experience cooking for events, or even being involved with pop-up dinners, would be preferred.
The ideal candidates are warm and positive, happy to provide excellent service and have 'pitch-in' attitudes. Attention to detail, initiative and the ability to self-direct are also essential traits. An adventurous and innovative chef would be preferred, someone who really understands the importance of quality ingredients and who is happy to be hands-on with growing, preparing and cooking is key. One or both candidates will need to be confident drivers, and accommodation is a separate bedroom with en-suite.
If you are interested in the role and legal to work in Ireland, please apply to ZI215.