The rise of the Female Butler

In this guest blog from Greycoat Lumleys, we find out that there has never been a better time to hire a female Butler.

In recent years this highly trusted manservant role is just as likely to be female as it is male, with even Buckingham Palace announcing as far back as 2004 that it was actively recruiting females for the position for the first time.

Highly prized, female Butlers are able to fill many exciting opportunities often with an employer who feels more comfortable with a female in charge of their household or with the many middle eastern clients who for cultural reasons prefer a female Butler.

Depending on the size of the household and principals requirements, your role and responsibilities as Butler may vary. In a large fully staffed household for example, you may be one of many Butlers or staff members where you will each have specific duties to undertake as part of the wider team. In contrast to smaller residences where you may be the sole Butler and may be required to take on a wider variety of tasks, which would normally be assumed by a House Manager, Valet or Personal Assistant such as household budgeting and ordering, assisting with personal care and booking of travel and restaurants.

Day-to-day duties may include:

• organising parties and events

• performing light housekeeping duties

• table setting and serving food and drinks

• liaising with the Chef to print menu’s for the table

• chauffeur duties and running errands

• looking after guests

• wine cellar management

• creating and maintaining inventories of wine, cutlery etc

• re-ordering of items associated with service. Ie. petit fours, speciality tea’s

• flower presentation and design

• care of specialist items such as silver and crystal ware

• valeting such as clothing and shoe care

Ultimately, apart from managing the standard duties of a Butler the primary role is to ensure that everything is running smoothly so that the employer doesn’t need to think about a thing.

So, what skills, attributes and qualifications are required?

• the ability to anticipate other people’s needs

• to be presentable & professional

• to have high levels of integrity

• excellent communication, organisational and management skills (if managing a team of Butlers/service staff)

• an ability to multi-task

• to be service oriented with a genuine desire to serve others

• to be calm under pressure

• to have excellent attention to detail

• to be trustworthy

• to be reliable

• to be discreet

• to be proactive and anticipatory

• an understanding of social etiquette and forms of address

There are no specific qualifications needed to become a Butler, however to maximise earning potential it is possible to seek formal Butler training, otherwise a qualification or relevant experience in any skills that are relevant will improve your employment chances.

Being able to speak a second language will also be helpful as will a full, clean driving licence.

For more information about the role of a Female Butler, you can visit Greycoat Lumleys to find out more.