Principal Support & Private Travel
Support around the principal’s day, journeys, and commitments. Define administration, transport, security, and specialist travel roles with clear responsibilities.
Personal Assistant to Principal
What the role encompasses
A personal assistant manages the principal’s private calendar, correspondence, appointments, purchases, expenses, and travel coordination. The role may involve liaison with household staff, advisers, or a family office, depending on the principal’s working style.
Compensation range
U.S. benchmark · limited NC evidence
- Full-time appointments
- $80,000–$175,000 / year
Private personal support and household liaison. Travel, availability and business responsibilities can require a higher budget.
Range context & sources
Indicative cash pay in USD, reviewed September 2026. The offer should specify hours, overtime treatment, benefits, travel and housing. Placement fees are separate.
The role may be right when
The principal needs a trusted professional to organize private commitments and follow through on practical details.
Chauffeur
What the role encompasses
A private chauffeur provides principal, family, and guest transportation, planning routes and timing while maintaining vehicle readiness. The appointment may include airport transfers, school or event runs, luggage assistance, and coordination with assistants or security teams.
Compensation range
U.S. benchmark · limited NC evidence
- Full-time appointments
- $80,000–$130,000 / year
Private household driving and vehicle readiness. The agreed workweek, waiting time, evening coverage and travel shape the offer.
Range context & sources
Indicative cash pay in USD, reviewed September 2026. The offer should specify hours, overtime treatment, benefits, travel and housing. Placement fees are separate.
The role may be right when
Regular or complex transport needs deserve dedicated professional attention.
Security Professional
What the role encompasses
A household security brief may concern residence access, visitor protocols, protective support, travel coordination, or liaison with an established security provider. Those functions require clear authority, operating procedures, and experience appropriate to the risks and setting.
Compensation range
U.S. specialist-protection benchmark
- Full-time appointments
- $90,000–$150,000 / year
For trained residential or personal protection professionals. Routine access-control coverage differs; risk, credentials, shifts and travel determine the brief.
Range context & sources
Indicative cash pay in USD, reviewed September 2026. The offer should specify hours, overtime treatment, benefits, travel and housing. Placement fees are separate.
The role may be right when
The household has an identified security need that warrants a specific professional brief.
Yacht Crew
What the role encompasses
Private yacht staffing can involve interior service, guest care, housekeeping, provisioning, and coordination with the vessel’s existing crew. The appropriate appointment depends on vessel size, itinerary, service level, and the captain’s operating structure.
Compensation range
International yacht-interior benchmark
- Interior service · established to senior
- $3,500–$7,000 / month
Interior hospitality roles; seniority and vessel size affect pay. Rotation, paid months, accommodation and tips must be agreed separately.
Range context & sources
Indicative cash pay in USD, reviewed September 2026. The offer should specify hours, overtime treatment, benefits, travel and housing. Placement fees are separate.
The role may be right when
You need private-service continuity aboard, with a clearly defined position within the vessel’s operation.
Aviation Crew
What the role encompasses
Private aviation support can include cabin preparation, catering, guest service, and coordination with ground and household teams. The exact role depends on the aircraft, operator, itinerary, and service requirements.
Compensation range
U.S. corporate-cabin advertised examples
- Corporate cabin appointments
- $100,000–$225,000 / year
Cabin service roles, with examples from New Jersey and California. Aircraft, experience, on-call availability and travel shape pay; pilot roles differ.
Range context & sources
Indicative cash pay in USD, reviewed September 2026. The offer should specify hours, overtime treatment, benefits, travel and housing. Placement fees are separate.
The role may be right when
The principal needs consistent private service during air travel within an established aviation operation.
Defining personal assistant to principal responsibilities
Define what can be handled independently and what needs approval. Discuss systems, account access, spending limits, communication channels, and out-of-hours expectations. The relationship works best when priorities are clear and confidential information is shared on a need-to-know basis. This appointment may also be described as a private personal assistant or, where business and executive administration form a substantial part of the remit, an executive personal assistant.
Settle these details first
- Calendar, correspondence, purchases, and travel remit
- Access, approvals, confidentiality, and reporting
- Availability, travel frequency, and competing priorities
Defining chauffeur responsibilities
Describe the vehicle fleet, destinations, passengers, schedule, and expected waiting time. Driving history, appropriate licensing, relevant experience, and a composed service style should be considered alongside discretion. Vehicle care and servicing responsibility should be explicit.
Settle these details first
- Vehicles, passengers, destinations, and driving requirements
- Schedule, waiting periods, and travel
- Vehicle care, servicing, and team coordination
Defining security professional responsibilities
Identify the actual protective work before selecting a title or combining it with driving and household service. Licensing, insurance, training, and the provider’s responsibilities must be checked for the proposed arrangement. Discretion alone is not a substitute for specialist competence.
Settle these details first
- Exact protective duties and existing providers
- Required qualifications, authority, and applicable licensing
- Residence, travel, reporting, and emergency protocols
Defining yacht crew responsibilities
Separate interior hospitality from deck, engineering, and command responsibilities. Describe the actual position, qualifications required by the operator, time aboard, accommodation, rotations, and handovers. A broad request for yacht crew needs this detail before it becomes a credible search.
Settle these details first
- Vessel, itinerary, service function, and reporting to crew leadership
- Operator-required experience and qualifications
- Rotations, accommodation, time aboard, and handovers
Defining aviation crew responsibilities
Cabin service, flight operations, and aircraft maintenance are distinct functions. Define the appointment with the operator, including required training, safety duties, experience, reporting, scheduling, and time away. A general hospitality background does not replace the qualifications required for the actual aviation role.
Settle these details first
- Aircraft operator, role scope, and required qualifications
- Cabin, catering, ground coordination, and safety responsibilities
- Scheduling, travel, availability, and reporting
Private administration, transport, security, and service during travel are connected, but they are not interchangeable. A useful staffing brief separates each responsibility before deciding which can sensibly be combined.
These appointments often work alongside household leaders, a family office, and established travel or security providers. Clear access, reporting lines, and professional boundaries matter as much as availability and discretion.
A more useful brief
Separate service, authority, and specialist requirements
Access and decision rights
Define calendars, correspondence, accounts, purchases, and confidential information the person will handle. Agree spending authority and how requests from different family members are prioritized.
The real travel pattern
Describe destinations, notice, time away, vehicles or vessels, and the team already involved. Include preparation, handovers, accommodation, and off-duty arrangements.
Specialist scope
Security, flight operations, and vessel operations have requirements that depend on the exact work. Identify the responsible operator or provider and verify the applicable qualifications. A service title should not imply technical authority the candidate does not hold.
Privacy, digital access, and continuity
Identify the accounts, devices, records, correspondence, and confidential relationships the employee may access. Establish secure working practices, handover procedures, and appropriate coverage when the principal or employee is traveling or unavailable.
The Founder’s Office
From the right brief to a considered introduction.
Principal support searches begin with access, judgment, and trust. We define the principal’s calendar, correspondence, accounts, purchases, travel, communication preferences, household relationships, and the decisions the appointment may carry independently. Candidates are assessed for comparable experience, verified references, discretion, organization, adaptability, and composed communication. Interviews and practical discussions help determine whether their working style will support the principal without creating unnecessary complexity.
How we assess households and candidates →Compensation & conditions
Plan the whole support appointment
Discuss compensation alongside travel days, irregular or overnight hours, accommodation, expenses, vehicle responsibilities, rotational coverage, operator requirements, and uninterrupted time off. Candidate compensation and employment costs are separate from Silverthorne’s search and placement fees.
Client fees & placement terms →Looking for work? View available positions.
Before you decide
Questions worth asking.
Private households throughout North Carolina.
From Charlotte and Lake Norman to Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill; across the Triad, the Blue Ridge, and the coast. Tell us where the work happens, including travel or additional residences. Location, commuting expectations, and relocation needs belong in the brief from the beginning.
Explore the appointments
The rest of the household.
Explore responsibilities, compare related roles, and clarify the support your home needs.