Ten years ago, almost no private family had a Chief of Staff. Today it is the role principals ask us about most. As private wealth has grown more complex — multiple residences, an investment office, philanthropy, a family business, staff across several countries — the household has quietly become an organisation. And organisations need someone to run them.
Here is the working version of what a Chief of Staff actually is, when a family genuinely needs one, and how the role differs from the senior titles it is often confused with.
The one-line answer
A Chief of Staff is the principal's most senior operational hire — the person who turns intentions into outcomes across the whole of a principal's private life. Where a House Manager runs a residence and an Estate Manager runs property and land, a Chief of Staff runs the operation: people, projects, properties, travel, finances-adjacent administration, and the relationships with the family's professional advisers.
If the principal's life were a company, the Chief of Staff would be its COO.
What the role actually covers
No two Chief of Staff roles are identical — they are shaped around the principal — but most include some combination of:
- Leadership of the household and office team. Hiring, managing and developing senior staff; setting standards; resolving the things that never reach the principal.
- Project delivery. A new residence, a renovation, a yacht, a relocation, an event — the Chief of Staff owns the plan and the people delivering it.
- Coordination with advisers. Acting as the single point of contact between the family and its lawyers, accountants, family office, security and property managers.
- Travel and logistics at the highest level. Multi-jurisdiction movements, private aviation, advance planning, and contingency.
- Discretion and judgement. The defining quality. A Chief of Staff is trusted with the calendar, the confidences and the keys — and is expected to act without being asked.
When do you actually need one?
Most principals over-reach on the title before they need it. A useful test: you probably need a Chief of Staff when two or more of these are true.
- You have staff across more than one residence or country and no one coordinates them.
- You have a PA and a House Manager who are both, in effect, waiting for instructions.
- Decisions stall because everything routes through you.
- You are running a significant project (build, relocation, new home) on top of everything else.
- Your professional advisers have no single private-side counterpart to deal with.
If only one is true, the right hire is more likely a senior House Manager or an Executive Assistant — and that is usually cheaper and faster to fill.
How it differs from the roles it's confused with
- House Manager — runs one residence to a formal standard. Reports into a Chief of Staff where both exist.
- Estate Manager — runs property, grounds, and often commercial estate activity. Property-centric rather than person-centric.
- Executive / Private Assistant — manages the principal's time and correspondence. Supports rather than leads; a Chief of Staff often has the EA reporting to them.
- Family Office Manager — runs the administrative and financial operations of a formal family office. Overlaps with, but is narrower than, a Chief of Staff.
What it costs
Chief of Staff is a senior, retained search and the package reflects it. In the UK we are currently placing in the region of £90,000 to £180,000+, with the upper end (and beyond) for principals with international operations, large teams, or a quasi-family-office remit. Total package — accommodation, travel, bonus, notice — matters as much as base for a role at this level.
For full benchmarks across every private role, see our salary guide, and register for the annual Irving Scott Salary Report.
Hiring one well
The failure mode is hiring for a CV. At this level, competence is assumed; what separates candidates is judgement, temperament and the ability to operate with discretion when the brief is simply "handle it." Every candidate we present for a Chief of Staff search is met in person by a senior consultant, referenced against original sources, and — where the principal requires it — sourced under a fully confidential search.
If you are thinking about your first Chief of Staff, the best place to start is a conversation, not a job specification. Talk to us about how your household actually runs, and we will help you scope the right hire — see also our family office staffing overview.