Monaco is a small market with a high concentration of exactly the roles Oplu recruits. Principals resident in the Principality run their lives from a small, trusted team: a personal or lifestyle assistant, a housekeeper or two, a chef, a driver, often a household assistant, and increasingly a family office of two to five people in Monaco or across the border in Nice and Sophia Antipolis. We have run searches in Monaco for several years and the Principality is one of our most consistent sources of mandates.

Roles we place in Monaco and on the Riviera

Around the principal. Personal Assistant and lifestyle PA roles are the Monaco brief we see most. They combine diary and travel management with concierge work, property matters and the social calendar, and they often travel with the principal between Monaco, London, Gstaad and the yacht. Private PA, Lifestyle Manager and Family Assistant roles follow the same pattern. Chief of Staff searches are rarer but growing as Monaco family offices become more structured.

The household. Live-out Housekeepers, Private Chefs and household assistants for apartments in Monte-Carlo and Fontvieille, and Estate Managers and Domestic Couples for villas in Cap Ferrat, Cap d'Antibes, Cannes and the hills behind the coast. Many Riviera properties are used for part of the year, so couples and seasonal arrangements are common.

The office. Monaco family offices hire Family Office Assistants, Executive Assistants and finance and operations staff, often bilingual in English and French and sometimes in Italian or Russian.

How Oplu works in Monaco

Monaco is small enough that discretion is the whole job. Candidates and principals know each other by sight, and a search that is visible is a search that has failed. We approach candidates individually, we do not advertise senior Monaco roles, and we hold the principal's identity until the shortlist meeting.

The candidate pool is international. Monaco PAs and household staff come from France, Italy, the UK, Eastern Europe and the Philippines, and a good proportion live across the border in Beausoleil, Menton or Nice and commute. Language is usually the first filter: fluent French is needed for most household and administrative roles, English for anything facing the principal's international affairs. We test both before shortlist.

Antonia Edwards leads household and PA searches on the Riviera; Fırat Bay leads family office mandates. Interviews are often arranged around a principal's time in Monaco, which may be short, so we prepare a complete shortlist rather than a trickle of candidates.

Compensation in Monaco

Monaco salaries for PAs and household staff are higher than in France and comparable with London once housing is taken into account, because candidates who live in the Principality face its rents and candidates who commute expect to be compensated for it. Thirteenth-month payments, meal allowances and transport are standard parts of a package. Ranges are set out in the Private Staff Salary Guide and the Family Office Salary Guide; we benchmark each brief against current Monaco searches.

Employment notes for Monaco and France

Employment in Monaco runs under Monegasque law, which is separate from French law. Foreign nationals need a work permit for private employment, and employers must follow the applicable hiring formalities and statutory priority rules. These can affect start dates for both resident and non-resident candidates. Employers arrange registration and social contributions through the Caisses Sociales de Monaco. For adults employed directly by a private household at a French villa, the collective agreement for household employees normally sets a 40-hour full-time week, with overtime and rest rules. CESU or a payroll provider can support the domestic employment formalities. Where a principal has both a Monaco apartment and a French villa, which entity employs each member of staff is a decision to make before offer, not after.

Working with Oplu in Monaco

The first conversation is confidential, with a Managing Director, in Monaco or by video. We scope the role, the languages, the travel pattern and the compensation before the search opens.

Questions we are asked about hiring in Monaco

Does the candidate need to live in Monaco? No. Many PAs and household staff live in Beausoleil, Menton or Nice and commute. What matters is availability to the principal's schedule, which we define before the search.

How does the Monaco work permit affect timing? For a hire requiring authorisation, we allow 3 to 6 weeks between offer and start for planning. The hiring formalities, statutory priority rules and approvals can affect timing. We factor the permit route into the shortlist.

Can you find staff who will travel with us? Yes. Travelling PAs, nannies and household staff who move with a principal between Monaco, London and the yacht are a specialism, and we state the travel load in the brief so candidates self-select.

We need someone who speaks three languages. Is that realistic? English and French together are standard on the Riviera; a third language, usually Italian or Russian, narrows the pool and may add a few weeks. We say so at the outset rather than promise a candidate who does not exist.