KO741 - Lead Nanny - Chicago, IL

British American Household Staffing•Chicago, IL

1d•$150,000 - $180,000•Onsite

About The Position

A private family in Chicago is seeking an experienced, polished, and highly capable Lead Nanny/Childcare Team Lead to help oversee the care and day-to-day operation of a busy household with five children, all aged five and under. This is a highly hands-on leadership position. The Lead Nanny will spend approximately 60% of her time providing direct childcare and 40% focused on leadership, communication, administration, and team development. This will be a Monday through Friday role about 45 hours per week. For the first 30-90 days, the Lead Nanny should expect much longer hours, shifts, and coverage while learning the home, roles, and family life.

Requirements

Extensive professional childcare experience.
Proven experience working in a high-demand private household.
Experience working as part of a multi-caregiver team.
Demonstrated leadership or team-coordination experience.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Strong organizational and administrative skills.
Ability to develop and implement household systems and procedures.
Professional references demonstrating reliability, judgment, discretion, and professionalism.
Willingness to be highly hands-on during the initial 30–90-day period.
Ability to work in Chicago or relocate to Chicago.

Nice To Haves

Significant professional nanny experience, ideally in complex private households.
Demonstrated experience leading or coordinating a childcare team.
Experience caring for multiple young children simultaneously.
Strong organizational and administrative abilities.
A proven history of creating or implementing systems, SOPs, handbooks, onboarding programs, or training processes.
Excellent communication skills.
Strong emotional intelligence and interpersonal judgment.
The confidence to lead without being controlling.
The humility to observe and learn before making changes.
The ability to receive and implement feedback without defensiveness.
Strong discretion and professionalism.
Excellent judgment and initiative.
A calm, solutions-oriented approach under pressure.
The ability to work effectively within a clearly defined family hierarchy.
Previous Lead Nanny, Nanny Manager, Household Manager, or similar leadership experience.
Experience with five or more young children or similarly complex childcare environments.
Experience managing or mentoring other caregivers.
Experience working with high-profile, UHNW, or otherwise highly structured private households.
Formal childcare, education, child development, or related training.
Understanding that being a Lead Nanny requires a distinct combination of excellent childcare, leadership, communication, operational thinking, and emotional intelligence.

Responsibilities

Providing warm, attentive, developmentally appropriate care for the children.
Managing daily routines, transitions, activities, meals, naps, outings, and bedtime as needed.
Supporting the children's emotional, social, and developmental needs.
Maintaining consistency across caregivers and throughout the children's routines.
Modeling the standards and behaviors expected of the broader childcare team.
Stepping into hands-on coverage wherever the household requires it.
Building genuine relationships with each child while maintaining appropriate boundaries and structure.
Receiving and understanding direction from the parents.
Translating parental expectations into clear, actionable guidance for the team.
Communicating updates, concerns, and relevant observations to the parents.
Helping filter emotion or noise from situations and keeping communication productive.
Ensuring that agreed-upon expectations are consistently carried through.
Facilitating effective communication between caregivers.
Identifying gaps, inconsistencies, or recurring issues before they become larger problems.
Helping onboard and train new caregivers.
Providing appropriate day-to-day leadership without creating an unnecessarily hierarchical or authoritarian environment.
Building credibility and trust with both the family and the team.
Comfortably clarifying expectations with parents when something is unclear or additional context is needed.
Developing and maintaining SOPs and household procedures.
Developing and maintaining checklists and daily/weekly workflows.
Developing and maintaining childcare policies and protocols.
Developing and maintaining nanny handbooks.
Developing and maintaining onboarding programs.
Developing and maintaining training materials.
Developing and maintaining child-specific routines and reference materials.
Developing and maintaining communication protocols.
Developing and maintaining scheduling and coverage systems.
Developing and maintaining household/team documentation.
Developing and maintaining standards for consistency across caregivers.
Observing first, understanding the household, building relationships and trust, and then making informed recommendations.