Butler Job Description Template

Butler putting flowers on table.

Whether you’re seeking a butler to assist guests at a premier hotel or to oversee staff in a private home or multiple households, the following sample job description will help you recruit and vet candidates for this vital role.

The demand for hotel butlers (who often go by the title of “concierge” in the hospitality industry) is projected to grow steadily to keep pace with the rate of growth for luxury travel. Meanwhile, the demand for butlers working in the domestic sector has increased dramatically over the past 30 years to keep pace with a growing number of millionaires and billionaires, according to the International Guild of Professional Butlers.

All of this sustained growth means that if you want to attract the best professionals with this title, you’ll need to recruit wisely, starting with a well-worded job description. Whether you’re crafting a sample butler job description for a staffing agency, or undertaking the hiring process yourself, segmenting your job posting into the five steps described below will get you one step closer to finding the ideal candidate.

Butler putting flowers on table.

Butler

[Intro Paragraph] The first paragraph of your job description should begin with a brief summary of the employer. If you’re hiring a butler in the hospitality industry, you’ll want to describe in a few sentences the name of the company, whether it’s part of a larger organization, and some of the key the benefits of working for that organization. Think of this section as a concise marketing pitch to potential employees.

If you’re crafting a butler job description for a private residence, this paragraph may prove more challenging, particularly if you want to maintain the privacy of the employer (or yourself, if you’re hiring directly). In this case, try to be precise and honest, while focusing on the situation rather than the employer.

Butler Job Responsibilities:

Begin with a summary job description, which could be written as a narrative paragraph or two, or as a series of bulleted descriptors. A summary butler job description for a hotel should begin with one or two sentences outlining the basics of the job, for example, “Seeking a butler to oversee a staff of 24 at a luxury hotel.” This should be followed by a list of responsibilities, such as:

  • Greeting guests and acquainting them with the hotel’s amenities
  • Anticipating guests’ needs and solving their problems
  • Researching dining and entertainment recommendations and making reservations
  • Providing directions and information about local points of interest
  • Hiring and supervising staff
  • Ensuring rooms and common areas meet guest standards

In contrast, residential butlers may be asked to function as both a household manager and private secretary for their employer. If so, they may require additional skills and be responsible for carrying out additional tasks, such as scheduling, correspondence, and making travel arrangements. In addition, a job description for a butler working in a private home might include tasks such as:

  • Hiring and overseeing household staff
  • Managing staff scheduling and payroll
  • Managing budgets, often including renovations and maintenance work
  • Maintaining wine collections
  • Event planning

Butler Qualifications and Skills:

It’s best to think of a butler as a management position, requiring many of the same skills a manager in any field requires. These may include excellent communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills, in addition to some that are unique to the role of butler, such as discretion, meticulous attention to detail, and food and wine pairings.

The level of experience and credentialing that you decide to include in the requirements section of your butler job description will vary depending on the scope of the position and whether you are hiring a butler for the hospitality or residential sector. General butler job requirements may include:

  • Efficient multitasking and organizational skills
  • Prior experience as a butler in either the hospitality or catering/event planning industry or as a domestic butler
  • Strong interpersonal communication skills
  • Attention to detail
  • Discretion
  • Customer service experience
  • Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in hotel management

[Work Hours and Benefits] Benefits vary for butlers in the hospitality and residential arenas, but in either field, highly experienced, skilled butlers can be hard to attract. In addition, location can affect compensation and benefits expectations. Depending on these and other factors, make sure your butler job description discusses benefits that will attract the right candidates.

Typical Benefits in Residential Settings

A typical salary for residential butlers is $50,000 to $150,000 a year, according to the International Guild of Professional Butlers. It’s a wide range, so you’ll want to gauge compensation for your opening by the range of experience you’re looking for, the demand for butlers in your geographic region, and the scale of responsibilities the role will encompass.

Keeping in mind that residential butlers are often on call 24 hours a day, two to three weeks’ vacation to start will likely be required to attract an experienced butler. In addition to free housing, butlers are typically offered use of a car. Generous year-end bonuses are also common.

Typical Benefits for Butlers in the Hospitality Industry

The median wage for a concierge or butler in the U.S. hospitality industry is similar to that of other service sector occupations. In some cases, the concierge will also function as a front-desk manager, in which case they will make slightly more. Many of the top corporate industry employers offer their hotel employees healthcare, 401(k), maternity leave, tuition reimbursement, deeply discounted travel, and performance-contingent bonus structures.

[Call to Action] This is the portion of the job description where you convert jobseekers into candidates by encouraging them to click on an “Apply” button, fill out an application, or send a resume.

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