Mother’s Help/Family Assistant

We are looking for a warm, highly organised and proactive Family PA / House Manager to support a busy, creative household in Islington.

The household consists of a self-employed musician and two boys, aged 11 and 15. This is a varied role combining household management, family and personal administration, cooking and practical support, and care of two older children.

It is not a traditional role: the family has a long-standing cleaner who handles the main cleaning. Rather, we are looking for someone who can take genuine ownership of the day-to-day running of the household and family life, noticing what needs doing, keeping things organised and following tasks through without requiring constant direction.

Both children are neurodivergent, so a calm, emotionally intelligent and flexible approach is important.

Hours: The role is 40 hours per week, Monday–Friday, with a flexible working pattern discussed and agreed in advance wherever possible. This allows the working week to reflect the rhythms of family life while remaining within the contracted 40 hours. For example, a typical week might look like: Monday, Tuesday and Friday 10am–6pm; Wednesday and Thursday 1–9pm.

Additional hours beyond the contracted 40 hours will be paid separately. 

 Household Management

• Take day-to-day ownership of the smooth running of the household.
• Keep household systems, supplies and practical arrangements organised.
• Coordinate cleaner and other household help where necessary.
• Liaise with tradespeople, maintenance providers and other household services.
• Organise repairs, appointments and access to the house.
• Keep track of household supplies and replenish them as required.
• Manage online orders, deliveries and returns.
• Help keep cupboards, children’s belongings and household storage organised.
• General household organisation and light daily resets; a long-standing cleaner handles regular cleaning.
• Manage the family’s laundry, including washing, drying and folding.

Family & Personal Administration

Take ownership of the family’s day-to-day administration, including:

• Children’s diaries, school dates, activities and appointments.
• School correspondence, forms and practical arrangements.
• Keeping important family information and documents organised.
• Keep track of and arrange payment of household and family bills, such as medical insurance and school clubs.
• Organising and filing receipts.
• Research products, services and family needs, presenting a small number of well-considered options where decisions are required.
• Medical, dental and other family appointments.
• Prescriptions and routine health administration.
• Personal and family bookings and reservations.
• Family holiday research, bookings, itineraries and practical preparation.
• Clothing, uniform and children’s practical requirements.
• Organising gifts and flowers 
• Support with entertaining guests at occasional dinners and annual parties 

Food & Cooking

Food is an important part of the role.

Responsibilities will include:

• Planning simple, delicious and healthy family meals.
• Grocery planning and ordering/shopping.
• Preparing family meals and children’s snacks.
• Batch cooking and preparing food ahead where useful.
• Keeping track of staple ingredients and household food supplies.
• Leaving the kitchen reasonably organised after cooking.

We are not looking for a professional chef, but the successful candidate should genuinely enjoy cooking and be confident preparing good everyday family food.

Children

The boys are 11 and 15, so this is not an intensive traditional nanny position. However, the successful candidate should genuinely enjoy older children and teenagers, and be comfortable combining practical independence with warmth and engagement.

Responsibilities may include:

• School pick-up for the younger child.
• Helping the children transition through afternoon/evening routines.
• Helping the children keep track of homework and school deadlines, prepare for the following day and manage age-appropriate home responsibilities.
• Providing a calm, reliable adult presence at home.
• Evening care on later working days.

Experience with, or a good understanding of, neurodivergent children and teenagers would be particularly welcome. Patience, clarity, flexibility and an ability not to escalate difficult moments are important.

Babysitting & Overnight Care

Some evening childcare would be incorporated into the normal 40-hour working week through later starts and finishes, as detailed above.

There will also be occasions when additional babysitting outside the contracted hours is required, which will be paid separately.

The parent travels for work, so occasional overnight care is an important part of the role. This will also be compensated separately and usually booked well in advance. 

Continuity is particularly valuable to the family, so we hope to find someone who can become a trusted and familiar adult for the children rather than relying heavily on different babysitters when the parent is working.

The Person

We are looking for someone who is:

• Warm, calm and genuinely comfortable with older children and teenagers.
• Exceptionally organised, proactive and reliable, with the confidence to take ownership rather than wait for instructions.
• Practical, resourceful and able to exercise good judgement.
• A capable everyday cook and digitally confident with family administration.
• Discreet, trustworthy and an excellent communicator.
• Flexible enough for the working pattern described above, including occasional additional childcare and overnight care.

Previous experience might be as a Family PA, House Manager, Nanny/PA or Family Assistant. We are particularly interested in someone looking to build a long-term relationship with the family, and who would be comfortable becoming one of the family’s primary trusted adults when the parent is away.

REF: S&W#3667418