Running a large home takes an army of people, and every army needs a strong leader — enter the Household Manager.

The Household Manager must be a jack of all trades, from a budgeting wiz, a project management expert to playing the armchair psychologist in dealing with multiple staff. The Household manager must be adaptable, even-keeled and, most importantly, trustworthy.

The household manager’s primary goal is to take the day-to-day tasks off the hands of the principle, essentially freeing them up to take care of their own priorities.

The job title is a general one, allowing the needs of the principle to set the parameters for the household manager. Essentially household managers act as the operations center of the house, the coordinate projects, plan events and jump in to help to make sure everything runs smoothly.

In today’s homes with the myriad of appointments, social events and school requirements having a household manager to help a family manage it all gives the family more time to enjoy the things they love to do without worrying about missing an appointment or running to pick up the dry cleaning or making a last minute dash to pick up hors-d’oeuvres that you forgot about for the party — the household manager sweats all the little details so you don’t have to.

In larger homes the household manager would typically take on these responsibilities:

• Managing the household calendar and schedules
• Paying household bills and managing the budget
• Scheduling and supervising household repairs and maintenance
• Supervising and coordinating household staff
• Event planning

In smaller homes, household managers may incorporate tasks such as:

• Shopping, cooking and meal preparation
• Household cleaning
• Laundry, linens and closet management
• Managing household finances

 In a word — size.

Estate managers take on a much higher level of responsibility from managing several properties, providing careful financial oversight, instituting and implementing real policy. This is an executive level position that may even require an MBA.

Estates requiring this level of management usually have significant features such as stables, golf courses, and vineyards. These principles may own private aircraft, yachts and multiple homes all over the globe. The estate manager will need to manage a larger staff, in more than one location at a time.