Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I'm asking the question because I contacted a nanny agency about part-time care, and they said they could not place anyone for after-school care, but that a lot of people in my position use a nanny-housemanager, with half the day doing nanny duties and half the day doing other duties like errands. In the past we've always just had pure nannies. I think we pay pretty well. I'm kind of surprised there aren't more people jumping up to take jobs where they make $25/hr and the kids are in school half the day.
There is absolutely no way in hell I would put anyone in charge of my finances generally -- can't believe people do this!

This is why I was suggesting you label what you are looking for as a nanny manager or housekeeper with child care responsibilities. A household manager will often take on the house expenses and spending budget. A nanny manager sometimes will keep a child related spending account but a house manager does this for the home and sometimes if they are a Personal Assistant manage the employers account as well. I actually house manage a million dollar estate including the expenses, I have a CC and a joint bank account with my employers. This is a huge responsibility that a house manager keeps account of what they purchase and the checks they write to the vendors.

As explained before a nanny and a house manager are two very different positions

Anonymous wrote:Contact another agency, or list the job yourself. I've had good luck with agencies, but they advertise jobs just like you would (they may know some secret facebook groups and such, but they don't have a huge stable of nannies sitting around that are waiting for jobs). That agency may just not have had many people available at all.

I agree with this, try another agency or if you feel comfortable go online. Agencies often will not take on positions that are part-time mostly because they do not have the nanny data base to cover that. Try an agency that is listed as a domestic placing service, they could also help you put together a position description for you.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I'm asking the question because I contacted a nanny agency about part-time care, and they said they could not place anyone for after-school care, but that a lot of people in my position use a nanny-housemanager, with half the day doing nanny duties and half the day doing other duties like errands. In the past we've always just had pure nannies. I think we pay pretty well. I'm kind of surprised there aren't more people jumping up to take jobs where they make $25/hr and the kids are in school half the day.
There is absolutely no way in hell I would put anyone in charge of my finances generally -- can't believe people do this!

13.13 here. The father in question was sometimes working for 7 days straight in an area without internet, and due to the way that rent and utilities were done, some things could be automated, but not everything. He didn't have a choice, but he also set it up with the bank that I had to do things in certain ways, and I only had access to a portion of the funds at a time. It worked for us, wouldn't work for most people.

Try Metro Parent Relief or the college nanny agency. Both seem to specialize in part-time positions.

Contact another agency, or list the job yourself. I've had good luck with agencies, but they advertise jobs just like you would (they may know some secret facebook groups and such, but they don't have a huge stable of nannies sitting around that are waiting for jobs). That agency may just not have had many people available at all.

Thanks. I'm asking the question because I contacted a nanny agency about part-time care, and they said they could not place anyone for after-school care, but that a lot of people in my position use a nanny-housemanager, with half the day doing nanny duties and half the day doing other duties like errands. In the past we've always just had pure nannies. I think we pay pretty well. I'm kind of surprised there aren't more people jumping up to take jobs where they make $25/hr and the kids are in school half the day.
There is absolutely no way in hell I would put anyone in charge of my finances generally -- can't believe people do this!

I've taken positions as nanny/housekeeper and a position as nanny/house manager, and as PP noted, they are very, very different.

A housekeeper may buy your groceries, pay for dry cleaning, possibly pay landscaping. A house manager can be in change of your full budget for the month, including access to your checking and savings accounts, to make sure that utilities, taxes and everything else is done. A housekeeper will clean your home and organize if things are out of place, supervise someone coming to fix the sink, let the dogs out. A house manager can schedule and pay for someone to come fix the sink without notifying you that it needs to be done, decide that it's time to switch the kids' summer wardrobes for fall/winter, and schedule and take the dog to the vet. A housekeeper will do all the housekeeping, laundry, and as much ironing as you leave time to do, but a house manager will only do as much housekeeping as fits into the schedule.

When I've had positions as housekeeper, the parents seem to assume that elementary-age kids shouldn't pick up their own clothes and put them in the hamper, teens shouldn't be required to bus dishes to the sink. On the other hand, the position that was nanny/house manager was for a father who expected the kids to learn how to take care of their own things and to do some chores, so I had plenty of time to do all of the scheduling and financial duties that he needed done.

I had a housekeeper for a while when my kids were small. She came 20 hours/wk. she was separate from my nanny, but at the time I hired her, kids were 6mos, 2, and 3.5. I think if we hadn't moved, she would have taken on more childcare as the kids got more independent. I agree with po that you want to advertise more for a housekeeper doing some childcare duties. I personally had trouble hiring people with a hisory of nannying or doing elder care, even if their previous positions required housework. We just weren't on the same page.
I could give you a list of what she did, but I don't know how helpful that will be. The best way to start is to sit down and think about what you want her to do, then write out about how long it should take. (Laundry, cooking, running errands, etc). Keep in mind that the more thinking you are asking someone to do, the more it's going to cost (ie. "make sure kids are involved in age appropriate activities" vs "sign James up for soccer at xyz, go to the store and pick up cleats in size n.").
I found this book very helpful: "a housekeeper is cheaper than divorce."

What you are describing is usually titled as a nanny manager, basically a nanny with house manager duties. If you are looking for someone who is going to thoroughly clean your home while kids are at school than you are going to ask for a housekeeper with childcare tasks. This just depends on what is important in your home and what you expect someone to do as their job for you. A house manager as titled does some housekeeping, errand and cooking tasks but the main function is managing your home which includes scheduling and managing vendors, keeping your home organized and clean, a housekeeper often is a separate person. In short a nanny and a house manager are two separate positions.

Am considering hiring someone along this lines now that the kids are all in school. Individual would have approximately 4 hours per day to do "house manager" type duties before the children came home. Does anyone do this? What do you have them do?