Head of Housekeeping jobs

The Head of Housekeeping onboard a yacht is responsible for both the care and maintenance of the interior of the yacht, checking and maintaining inventories, and provisioning relevant interior supplies. 

Supported by a team of like-minded housekeepers, the Head of Housekeeping is required to manage and create daily schedules for their team to ensure the smooth running of the yacht's interior as well as, fundamentally, the cleanliness of the vessel. This role generally requires at least two years of experience in a housekeeping-specific role.

What does a Head of Housekeeping do? | Head of Housekeeping Job Description

As the Head of Housekeeping, daily tasks include management of the interior and housekeeping team, as well as cleaning duties and stock control. This role also requires keeping interior defects and maintenance list, and as reporting any safety hazards so that they can be resolved instantly. 

Other duties of the Head of Housekeeping include recruitment, sanitation procedure checks, purchasing any relevant stock when needed, and liaising with other departments.

The responsibilities of a Head of Housekeeping include:

• Care and maintenance of the interior to the highest level

• Managing the Interior Department team

• Setting cleaning schedules

• Stock control and purchasing 

• Performing a variety of cleaning activities including vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, dusting and polishing

• Maintaining, and caring for valuable interior items and surfaces, such as artwork, silks, china, crystal, linens, fine woodwork, and marble

• Preparing rooms for guests

• Wardrobe management

• Packing/unpacking for guests and owner

• Maintaining cleanliness of all linens

• Laundry and ironing

• Care for plants

• Notifying superiors on any damages, deficits and disturbances

• Issuing and keeping track of all crew uniforms

Soft and hard skills required to be a Head of Housekeeping

A successful Head of Housekeeping will have extensive knowledge of cleaning and laundry products, in addition to understanding the rules of proper care of a variety of surfaces, fabrics and materials (i.e. silk, wool, leather, suede, wood, porcelain, marble). They will also be skilled in plant care and flower arrangements.

In regards to their soft skills, they must be responsible, hard-working, trustworthy, detail-oriented, flexible, honest, and reliable.

The skills of a successful yacht Head of Housekeeping include:

• Cleaning skills

• Excellent knowledge of cleaning appliances and cleaning products

• A keen eye for detail

• Ability to work diligently and independently 

• Great organisational skills

• Laundry skills

• Good understanding of different fabrics and materials and how to care for them

• Plant care knowledge

• Great time management skills

• Ability to work quickly without compromising quality

• Physical flexibility and strength

• Ability to work with little supervision and maintain a high level of performance 

Mandatory certificates needed to work on board a yacht 

All crew members regardless of position and seniority need to have a valid STCW Basic Safety Training certificate, along with a recognised Seafarers medical certificate, the most popular being the ENG1 which is issued by an MCA (Maritime and Coastguard Agency) professional medic. 

Without these two certificates, it is not possible for crew to work on board a yacht and a Recruiter will not be able to assist you in finding work onboard a yacht.  For more information about mandatory certificates please visit our Mandatory Certificates Guide.

Are you ready to secure a Head of Housekeeping position on board a yacht?

Become a member of YPI CREW and connect with our recruiters so they can guide you through your job search. 

Each of our recruiters is specialised in crew placement for a particular department and they will do their best to get you an interview on board a yacht. They will also advise you on how to best present your experience and skills and prepare for a yacht job interview.