Director of Residences Placement
for Discerning Principals
What Is a Director of Residences?
For principals whose life spans multiple homes and needs one person overseeing all of them, the director of residences is the role that makes that possible. This is the most senior private household position below the chief of staff, responsible for the full operational portfolio across every property a principal owns.
A director of residences does not manage a single home. They manage the system of homes, the estate managers and house managers who run each one, the standards and protocols that should be consistent across all of them, and the continuity of experience when the principal moves between them. The role requires executive-level thinking, the ability to oversee people who are themselves overseeing people, and the kind of judgment that allows them to act on the principal’s behalf without needing to surface every decision.
MHM places directors of residences for UHNW principals, family offices, and private household enterprises in Chicago and South Florida, and with select clients nationwide.
Director of Residences, Director of Properties, Estate Manager: What Is the Difference?
The titles are often used interchangeably, and in some households they describe the same person doing essentially the same job. The distinction that matters in practice is scope. An estate manager typically oversees one property, or two properties with a clear primary, and manages the staff and operations of those homes directly. A director of residences oversees multiple properties and the managers who run them, operating at a remove from the day-to-day and focused instead on standards, consistency, and the health of the full portfolio.
Director of Properties is a common alternative title for the same function. Some principals and family offices prefer it because it signals a more asset-management orientation, particularly where the household portfolio is managed alongside a broader real estate or investment operation. For placement purposes, MHM treats both titles as describing the same level of role and searches for candidates with the same profile regardless of how the principal chooses to title the position.
The director of residences is the right hire when there is enough operational complexity across the full property portfolio that an estate manager at each individual property is not sufficient. Someone needs to sit above them, hold the standard across all of them, and be accountable for the consistency of experience the principal has at every home. That is what this role is for.
Director of Residences Responsibilities
Scope varies significantly by portfolio size and the number of properties and staff involved. Responsibilities typically include:
- Oversight of all estate managers, house managers, and senior household staff across every property
- Establishing and enforcing consistent service standards and operating protocols across the portfolio
- Portfolio-wide budget management and financial reporting to the principal or family office
- Capital project oversight, renovation management, and long-term property planning
- Vendor and contractor management across all locations
- Seasonal property openings, closings, and transition coordination
- Household manual creation, review, and standardization across all residences
- Luxury asset management, including fine art, vehicles, and collections
- Security protocol oversight across properties and during principal travel
- Event planning and coordination across multiple venues
- Acting as single point of contact for the principal on all property-related matters
- Liaison between the principal, family office, and the household team at each property
When a Director of Residences Is the Right Hire
The director of residences role belongs to a specific moment in a principal’s life: when the property portfolio has grown to the point where no single estate manager can hold the full picture, and the principal needs one person who can. That person does not run any one home. They run the enterprise of homes.
Principals who benefit most from this role typically have three or more properties with resident or rotating staff at each, travel frequently between locations and expect the same standard at every arrival, have experienced service inconsistency across properties and want one person accountable for closing the gap, or are building out a household infrastructure for the first time and want to do it correctly from the beginning.
The title also overlaps with chief of staff in some households. Where a chief of staff is focused on the principal’s life, priorities, and advisors, a director of residences is focused on the physical portfolio and the people managing it. In some households one person holds both functions. In others the two roles exist separately. The Discovery Call is where MHM works through which structure is right for each principal.
Common Questions About the Director of Residences Role
If you don’t see what you’re looking for, the Discovery Call is the right place to start.