All roles/Interior/Head Butler
Interior
Head Butler
The Head Butler leads personal service to the owner and principal guests on large yachts, running the butler team and making sure every request, preference and detail is handled before anyone has to ask.
- Department
- Interior
- Reports to
- Interior Manager
- Yacht size
- 80m+
- Contract
- Permanent or rotation
- Starting pay
- €6,500 per month
What the job is
You are the owner's closest point of contact in the interior. On a large private or charter yacht you run a small team of butlers and service crew, assign each guest a dedicated person, and keep the preference sheets that record how every principal takes their coffee, which newspapers they read and which suite temperature they like. When the owner wants something at 02:00, the call comes to you or your duty butler.
Most of the work is formal service and personal care. You plan and lead lunches and dinners with the Head Chef and Head of Service, set tables to a precise standard, decant wine, and serve in silver or plated style depending on the owner. You also unpack and pack for principals, look after wardrobes with the laundry team, arrange valet duties, and handle private correspondence, gifts and shore bookings with discretion.
You sit beneath the Interior Manager and alongside the Head of Service and Head of Housekeeping. On owner trips the hours are long and the standard is set by people who live in five star homes, so calm judgement matters as much as technique. You train new butlers, write service procedures, manage silver, crystal and linen inventories, and protect the privacy of the family on board and ashore.
What makes a good one
- Formal silver and plated service
- Anticipating owner preferences
- Wine and spirits knowledge
- Leading and training a butler team
- Absolute discretion
A day in the life
- 06:30Briefing with the night duty butler on anything the principals asked for overnight. Check the owner's breakfast order and the day's programme from the Interior Manager.
- 07:30Serve breakfast on the owner's private deck. Lay out newspapers printed from the digital editions and refresh flowers with the florist.
- 09:00Unpack for two guests who arrived by helicopter late last night. Press clothes with the laundry team and note new preferences on the guest sheets.
- 11:00Meet the Head Chef and Sommelier to agree lunch for twelve and the evening's wine pairings. Brief the butlers on table plan and service order.
- 13:00Lead formal lunch on the upper deck, overseeing pace of service and clearing. Handle a last minute request for a beach picnic tomorrow with the Bosun.
- 15:30Quiet window to polish silver, check crystal stock and update the service manual. Coach a new butler on wine decanting.
- 18:00Prepare the owner's suite for the evening, lay out clothes as requested and confirm the shoreside restaurant car and security with the Purser.
- 20:30Run aperitifs and dinner service on the aft deck with the full butler team, then manage digestifs and cigars on the sundeck.
- 23:30Turndown check of principal suites, hand over to the night duty butler with a list of standing requests, and finish the day's log.
Pay by country
Monthly salary for an experienced Head Butler on yachts of 80m and above, usually paid in EUR or USD whatever the flag. Charter tips can add a further month's salary or more per season on busy charter yachts.
- France and Monaco
- €6,500 – 9,000
- Spain
- €6,500 – 9,000
- Italy
- €6,500 – 9,000
- United Kingdom
- £5,600 – 7,800
- USA (Florida)
- US$7,000 – 10,000
- Caribbean
- US$7,000 – 10,000
- UAE
- AED 26,000 – 36,000
- Australia
- A$11,000 – 15,500
- New Zealand
- NZ$12,000 – 17,000
Required
- STCW Basic Safety Training
- ENG1 medical
- PDSD (Proficiency in Designated Security Duties)
- Food Safety Level 2
Recommended
- Professional butler school diploma
- WSET Level 3 Award in Wines
- PYA GUEST interior courses
- Medical First Aid
- Sommelier qualification
Visas
- Schengen visa
- US B1/B2 or C1/D
- Australian MCV
Where it leads
Head Butler jobs open now
Questions crew ask
Do I need hotel or private household butler experience to become a Head Butler on a yacht?
Most Head Butlers have several years in five star hotels, private estates or as a yacht butler before stepping up. Captains want proof you have served high net worth principals and led a team, alongside your STCW and ENG1.
How is a Head Butler different from a Chief Stewardess?
A Chief Stewardess runs the whole interior on smaller yachts. A Head Butler focuses on personal service to the owner and principal guests on larger yachts, working under the Interior Manager alongside heads of housekeeping and service.
Is the role more common on private or charter yachts?
It is most common on large private yachts with a formal owner, though big charter yachts use Head Butlers too. On charter you also benefit from tips, while private yachts often offer rotation and steadier hours outside owner trips.