A nanny-housekeeper is one household role that combines substantive childcare with clearly defined housekeeping duties. The role works best when the family writes down how much time belongs to each side of the job instead of treating “nanny-housekeeper” as permission to add unlimited tasks.
What does a nanny-housekeeper do?
A nanny-housekeeper has two connected responsibilities: caring for children and completing agreed household duties. The exact mix depends on the family. In some jobs, childcare is the priority and housekeeping is fitted around nursery or school hours. In others, the household workload is more substantial and the childcare requirement is lighter at certain times of day.
The important point is that the balance should be defined before recruitment. If the family needs full-time childcare and full-scale housekeeping at the same time, one person may not be able to do both jobs well.
Typical childcare duties
Depending on the children’s ages and the family’s routine, childcare duties may include:
- supervising children and following the agreed daily routine;
- preparing children’s meals and snacks;
- school or nursery drop-offs and pick-ups where required;
- age-appropriate play, reading and activities;
- children’s laundry, bedrooms and play areas;
- bath and bedtime routines where included in the schedule;
- organising children’s bags, clothing and routine items;
- communicating with parents about the day and any issues that need attention.
Do not assume every candidate has the same newborn, school-age, SEN, driving or first-aid experience. Those points should be checked individually against the actual role.
Typical housekeeping duties
Housekeeping duties may include:
- general cleaning and tidying;
- laundry and ironing;
- changing bed linen;
- kitchen tidying and routine household organisation;
- meal preparation where agreed;
- grocery shopping or household errands where agreed;
- keeping track of routine household supplies.
Families should say whether cleaning is light maintenance or a more substantial housekeeping workload. A large home, frequent entertaining, detailed wardrobe care or extensive cooking can materially change the job.
What should not be left vague?
The following points create the most avoidable disputes when they are not defined:
- Priority when both jobs compete: if a child needs attention while a household task is unfinished, which responsibility comes first?
- Cleaning standard: routine cleaning, deep cleaning and specialist housekeeping are not the same workload.
- Cooking: children’s meals, simple family meals and regular full-family cooking should be distinguished.
- Errands: say which errands are expected and whether driving is required.
- Hours: the duties must fit inside the agreed working time.
- Live-in boundaries: living in the family home does not create unlimited availability.
Use our nanny and housekeeper job description templates to put the role in writing before interviews.
From our placements: a real 70/30 weekly structure
One anonymised West London placement involved two children aged 7 and 4, Monday to Friday 07:30–17:30, around 50 hours a week, with an approximate 70% childcare / 30% housekeeping split.
Before school: breakfast, uniforms, school bags, kitchen tidy and school run. School-hours block: family laundry and ironing, vacuuming and dusting, kitchen cleaning, household organisation and snack or meal preparation. Afternoon: nursery or school collection, activities, homework, children’s dinner, bath where required and parent handover.
Grocery shopping, wardrobe organisation and occasional projects were spread through the week inside the agreed working hours. Evening babysitting was separate by agreement rather than assumed.
This example shows why the split matters. The housekeeping has dedicated blocks; it is not expected to happen on top of continuous childcare. A family with a baby requiring near-continuous care would need a different schedule or separate household support.
Full-time, part-time, live-in or live-out?
A nanny-housekeeper role can be full-time or part-time and may be live-in or live-out. Those labels describe the working arrangement, not the content of the job. A full-time position can still have tightly defined household duties, and a part-time position can become unrealistic if too many tasks are packed into too few hours.
If the role is live-in, see our live-in nanny guidance and remember that accommodation is separate from working time.
When might separate nanny and housekeeper roles be better?
Separate staff may be more practical when the family needs substantial childcare and substantial housekeeping at the same time, when the property creates a heavy housekeeping workload, or when specialist skills are required on both sides of the role.
See our nanny-housekeeper vs separate nanny and housekeeper comparison.
What should you assess in a candidate?
Assess each candidate against the role you have written. Useful evidence includes:
- recent childcare experience with children of similar ages;
- previous housekeeping responsibilities of a comparable scale;
- references that confirm the duties actually performed;
- communication and ability to follow household routines;
- availability for the proposed days and hours;
- driving, cooking or other role-specific skills where required;
- right to work and any employer-side checks required for the job.
Our candidate screening page explains what the agency checks and what remains the family’s responsibility.
From our work: define the split before we match candidates
Our client terms require families to specify the nature of the work they need. For nanny-housekeeper briefs, the useful information is not simply “childcare and housekeeping”. We need to know the children’s ages, working hours, school or nursery pattern, size of the household workload, cooking expectations, live-in or live-out arrangement and any regular driving, evening or travel requirements.
That detail makes the candidate comparison more meaningful and reduces the risk that a role changes significantly after someone starts.
Ready to define your nanny-housekeeper role?
Review our Filipino nanny-housekeeper service and 2026 nanny-housekeeper salary guide, then use the client enquiry form to tell us how you want the childcare and household duties divided.