

Estate Manager Explained

So, you might have a clear idea of the duties of housekeeper, nanny or gardener on a private estate, but the Estate Manager might seem a bit of an enigma?  What do they do? Where do their responsibilities start and end? 

Here at Villa Recruit we advertise the latest Estate Manager roles but also recruit and place Estate Managers in private households all over the world, so we thought we’d give you a little overview of the “Estate Manager” and their typical duties.

An Estate Manager is someone hired to work on an estate, typically a large house with additional buildings and several hundred acres of land.  Since estates tend to be larger and more complicated to run and manage than just the household, Estate Managers need a very specific set of skills and experience.

An Estate Managers’ duties obviously depend on a number of factors; the employer’s requirements, the household, how the estate is run for business, whether the estate has livestock or agricultural land.  Typically the estate manager is in charge of the upkeep, day-to-day management, staffing (from farm workers to bookkeepers) but crucially the profitable running of the estate, budgeting and forecasting.  The role could include; administrative duties, planning events (from weddings to corporate shoots) and other activities connected with land management rather than the main house. Saying that there are estate owners who prefer their estate managers to be responsible for the household staff IE: nannies, housekeepers, chefs and butlers.

With a diverse skillset and a “can-do” attitude, they’ll be responsible for overseeing maintenance, agricultural activities and supervising staff one minute, then liaising with third parties such as vets, farriery staff, regulatory bodies such as DEFRA and RPA the next.

The Estate Manager’s Skillset

  • Project Management
  • Budget Management
  • Detailed knowledge of farming industry
  • Working the land – potentially an agricultural qualification

Because the Estate Manager is crucial to the successful running of any employer’s estate, it’s a highly skilled and therefore highly respected position. 

Taking on such a role could mean getting enough industry experience to progress from overseeing a couple of hundred-acre local estate to thousands of acres of international land with multi-million-pound turnovers.

If you’re interested in a role in Estate Management take a look at our jobs listings today.

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