A growing demand for discreet and highly organised private assistants serving the ultra-wealthy is driving salaries up to as much as Dh75,000 a month, experts told The National.
The need for these professionals, often responsible for managing daily life and organising luxury holidays, is increasing as the UAE continues to attract more millionaires to its shores.
Not to be confused with executive assistants, who operate in the corporate sphere and rarely do personal work, private assistants ensure that life runs without a hitch. Now, newer iterations of private assistants, known as lifestyle managers or chiefs of staff, are commanding top wages for organising the personal lives of the wealthy.
While there are downsides to these roles, particularly the lack of time off, the high earning potential is attractive to many job hunters, said Tracey Irwin, founder of Irwin & Dow, a recruitment firm that specialises in business support and secretarial staff.
However, it’s very difficult to get into without prior experience. “We see a lot of young candidates trying to come over,” Ms Irwin said. “You have to be tenacious, and you have to really understand that you're not going to walk straight into that position … You're up against the huge competition there is in Dubai for this space.”
Supporting 'the principal'
The private personal assistant typically supports an individual, often referred to as 'the principal', and manages their day-to-day activities. The assistant may also be called a “lifestyle manager” and could be one of many hired by a single person.
“They do everything including organising the kids, the nannies, the drivers, the household, the luxury shopping,” said Ms Irwin.
“The principal’s wife might be on the wait list for a handbag, for example, and she’ll get the call from wherever in the world, and the assistant will go and get it. But then they could be driving the kids to school because the driver’s ill, or the nanny’s gone AWOL, or they’ll do the research for holidays and so on.”
For a small family, private assistants involved in household and staff management, as well as renovations, can command a salary between Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 a month, said Ms Irwin.
For larger families, particularly those with multiple properties internationally, yachts or even private jets, salaries can reach about Dh40,000 a month.
Sarah White works as a lifestyle manager in Dubai, offering part-time services to busy people who do not want or need someone full-time. She provides support to individuals and small businesses, as well as property management and travel planning services, at a rate of up to Dh250 per hour.
“No day is the same and no request is too small, or too out of reach,” Ms White told The National. “You must be prepared for anything and always provide a client discretion, honesty, flexibility and reliability.”
Ms White, who has signed non-disclosure agreements forbidding her from naming any of her clients, says she must be a “gatekeeper”.
“It’s essential to keep all aspects of your client’s life private and all information confidential. This could include property access, protecting a client's whereabouts when requested, not sharing more information than is strictly needed to get a task completed, and remaining professional in your own, personal social situations.”
Calls night and day
You also must be prepared to work night and day, said Ms White. “Life does not operate 9am to 5pm. You must be flexible to work early mornings, evenings, weekends, public holidays, Christmas Day and on your vacation to ensure your client's needs are met and their life runs smoothly.”
According to Ms White, it's not unusual for personal private assistants to 'road test' companies to see how fast they can provide services in an emergency, such as a driver or masseuse. They then apologise for cancelling and keep a record of which company was able to accommodate the urgent request, ready for when a real one occurs.
Going the extra mile to provide a feeling of luxury is also essential. “Making sure that you have hired a driver that will have the preferred brand of water on board, placed in the correct cup holder, with the bottle label facing the right way, is an example of the level of detail you need to be paying attention to,” she said.
A role now emerging in the UAE is the “chief of staff”, who takes on even more responsibility, said Ms Irwin. “They will probably oversee the private personal assistant and also liaise with the investment team. They might sit in on corporate meetings with the principal, but at the same time they might be overseeing a renovation of a property.”
While the role is newer in the UAE, it has historically been very prevalent in the UK, explained Ms Irwin. “We have a lot of aristocratic and old money in the UK, and big family offices, so those types of roles have always been there, but now we’re seeing … [wealthy] people coming in from India, Hong Kong, Singapore and so on.”
A record 6,700 millionaires are expected to call the UAE home by the end of this year, according to a recent survey by international investment migration advisory firm Henley & Partners, which named the country the world's top wealth magnet for a third year in a row.
The country is poised to attract nearly twice as many millionaires as its nearest rival, the US, which is forecast to open its doors to 3,800 millionaires by the end of 2024.
“Dubai has created a huge safe haven for these people. So, you get the roles that come with them,” said Ms Irwin.
The largest salary for a chief of staff that Ms Irwin has placed was Dh75,000 a month, but on average it’s about Dh50,000 and starts at Dh40,000. In Saudi Arabia, particularly for larger families, salaries can reach the equivalent of just under Dh120,000 a month, she added.
“They are career professionals,” she said. “You can’t use the term chief of staff lightly. They are literally the right hand. They know absolutely everything about the family, the business, where the money is.”
Holding it all together
One former chief of staff, who wished to remain anonymous for privacy reasons as she has worked at the governmental level in the UK and UAE, said experience within diplomacy, media and luxury lifestyle can be of huge benefit for anyone looking to land this kind of role.
“You’re the point of contact for the principal. You’re the conduit for messages or requests or queries from other members of staff,” she said.
“When people get to that stage, at that really high level, they are the head of their own business, and their business life and personal life just merge completely … and everything crosses through you.
“You can delegate that – there's someone responsible for each area – but ultimately, as the overseer, you're responsible for keeping them updated on everything. It might be a flood in an apartment in Paris or a really important conference that they have to go to, so you're covering everything right across the board and keeping them abreast of their own lives.”
Amid the flurry of CVs and eager applicants Ms Irwin sees daily, she said a common pitfall when screening candidates for a job is that they forget they are providing a service, not living the lifestyle of their clients.
“You are providing the service. You are not living that life. Yes, you might get to go on the jet, you might be on the yacht, you might travel with the family, but, fundamentally, you are the person who keeps it all together and makes it work.”
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Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
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