A private household
Several homes, staff, a smart-home system and CCTV, and a PA or house manager who has quietly become the IT department.
Manny Vara · Household Head of IT, part-time
The household's technology, in safe hands.
I'm part of the household team, about three days a month. I look after the family's technology day to day, keep every supplier doing its job, and keep the family's money, privacy and homes safe.
In most households, technology belongs to nobody. It lands on whoever is nearest, and waits for someone to call.
The house manager or PA picks it up between everything else. The IT company waits to be called, and the installer appears when something breaks. I take it on as part of the team: one person in the household who knows every system, every supplier and everyone's devices, and quietly keeps it all in order.
Think of an estate manager for the family's technology, or the Head of IT in a well-run company. I handle what I can myself and bring in the right expert for the rest, and I answer to the family and no one else.
The role at a glance
A senior member of your household team, part-time.
- The role
- Household Head of IT, through my own company
- Time
- About three days a month, at your homes and office and remotely
- Response
- The same business day, in business hours
- Reports to
- The principal, the estate or house manager, or the Head of Office
- First month
- Settling in: getting to know the homes, the people and every system, then a written picture of where things stand
- Package
- From £6,000 a month plus VAT. No employer NI, pension or holiday cover
- Terms
- A three-month trial period, then 12 months
- Vetting
- DBS checked, references, and an NDA before we meet
- Availability
- A small number of households only
Coming through a household staffing agency? Ask them for my profile, or contact me directly.
Your photograph: a real one, not generated.
About me
I've spent my career where money, security and regulation meet, and I've done this job before, for a company.
- I've run it for real. As co-founder of ekko, a mission-led fintech, I took the company through ISO 27001 certification and a SOC 2 audit with no non-conformities, coordinating auditors, consultants and engineers to get there.
- Banking background. Lloyds Banking Group and Metro Bank, where confidentiality and doing things properly aren't optional.
- Operator, not salesman. I run business operations for a team across the UK, South Africa and the US, so I know what good looks like in practice, not just on paper.
- Practical with AI. I build AI tools and automations myself, so my advice on what's safe and useful comes from using them every day.
- Trusted in governance. I sit on the Advisory Board of De Montfort University.
The households I work in
Busy homes with a lot of technology and nobody who owns it.
A family office
A small team managing serious wealth, with outsourced IT, plenty of suppliers and no technology lead.
The role can stretch to the wider family too: the principal's parents, or grown-up children setting up on their own. I usually join through the agency that places the household's staff, or through the family's own advisers.
Where I sit
Every supplier looks after its own part. I sit in the household, between them all.
Looked after from inside the householdWhere each supplier's work meets the next
- Manny Vara, in the middle of it all
- Office IT company
- Home Wi-Fi, CCTV and AV installer
- Cyber security firm
- Out-of-hours incident firm
- Software and subscriptions
- The family's own devices
It usually goes wrong in small, ordinary ways: a former member of staff who can still open the gate app, an installer who's the only one with the CCTV password, an email asking for an urgent payment that nobody thinks to check.
My duties
Like any good member of staff, I handle what I can and know who to call for the rest.
What I look after
- The family's money. A simple family rule for checking any payment request, the right controls set up with your banks, and extra care around property purchases.
- The family's privacy. How findable your family, homes and routines are, what can be removed, and a fresh check every year.
- The homes. Who controls the Wi-Fi, cameras, alarms, gates and smart-home systems, and that former staff and installers no longer can.
- The team's access. Who can get into what across the office, homes and family devices, what happens when someone joins or leaves, and what goes into AI tools.
- The children and grandparents. Children's devices set up safely, a clear briefing for parents on the risks children face online, and protection for parents and grandparents too.
- The suppliers. Choosing them, checking their contracts and costs, reviewing their work and chasing them when things slip.
- A plan, rehearsed. Who to call for a hacked account, a lost phone or a suspicious payment request, practised once a year with the people who'd have to use it.
- Everyday help. Phones, laptops, accounts, the password manager, printers, Wi-Fi and apps sorted out personally, usually the same business day.
- Keeping you informed. A short note each month and a proper sit-down each quarter, in plain English.
What stays with others
- A 24/7 helpdesk or engineering work. Your IT firm or support provider stays behind me for those.
- Change anything your IT firm or installer is responsible for without them knowing. I log every issue, including the ones I fix, so you always know how well your suppliers are doing.
- Security guarding, investigations or forensics. I work alongside specialist firms and make sure they're the right ones.
- Selling hardware, software or support contracts.
- Taking commissions or referral fees from any supplier, so my advice stays independent.
- 24/7 cover. Out-of-hours emergencies go to the specialist firm you hold an agreement with, which I help you put in place.
Every supplier contracts with you directly and stays responsible for its own work. My job is to make sure that work is the right work, done well.
| Work | Who |
|---|---|
| Everyday help with the family's devices and accounts | Me |
| Oversight, planning, supplier choice and management | Me |
| Payment, privacy, access, AI and joiners-and-leavers rules | Me |
| Office systems, device monitoring, backups and out-of-hours support | Your IT company or support provider |
| Home Wi-Fi, networks, CCTV and AV | Your home technology installer |
| Removing your details from data brokers | A privacy service you hold directly |
| Specialists: security testing, incidents, forensics, engineering | The right expert for the job, found and managed by me; you contract them directly |
| Fixes | Me for the everyday things; otherwise your current suppliers first, or the right firm, found and vetted by me, invoicing you directly |
| Out-of-hours emergencies | A cyber incident firm, on an agreement you hold |
Suppliers wait to be called. I'm part of the routine.
How I join a household
Joining a household team is a careful process, and it should be.
01
An introduction
Usually through the agency that places your staff, or through your own advisers.
02
Meeting you
An NDA first, then a meeting with you or your household lead at the home or office: how the household runs, what's in place and what's on your mind.
03
Settling in
In my first month I get to know the homes, the people and every system: walkthroughs, time with the team and a look at the suppliers. I never need your passwords to do it.
04
Where things stand
A plain-English picture of what's working, what isn't and what I'll put right first, talked through with you in person.
05
Putting things right
The urgent fixes in the first weeks: the everyday ones by me, the rest by your current suppliers, or the right firm if they can't. I check every one.
06
Day to day
Everyday help, the suppliers kept in line, and a steady routine through the year.
What I look at in my first month
Eight areas, one picture.
Using the National Cyber Security Centre's Cyber Essentials scheme as the checklist.
The family's own devices
Phones, laptops and tablets, including the children's.
Accounts and identity
Email, banking and cloud accounts, and where important documents live.
Homes and networks
Wi-Fi, CCTV, alarms, gates, smart-home systems and who controls them.
Suppliers and office IT
What's in place, what it costs and how well it's run.
People and access
Staff, contractors and former staff, what each can still get into, and what goes into AI tools.
Money and payments
How payment requests are checked, and the controls your banks offer.
Privacy and exposure
How findable your family, homes and routines are.
When things go wrong
Backups, recovery and who rings whom.
At the end of the first month you get a plain-English picture of where things stand, the list of fixes and who is doing each one, a family rule for checking payments, a one-page "who to call" plan and a one-page AI policy for the staff.
Every month
Records kept up to date, access checked, suppliers chased, and a short note to you.
Every quarter
A sit-down with you: how each supplier is doing, and what's coming up.
Every year
Budget and policies reviewed, a fresh privacy check, and a "what if" rehearsal with the people who'd need to act.
When things change
A new home, a new member of staff or a leaver, a child heading off to university, or significant travel.
When the household changes
The riskiest times are moments of change, so I plan for them.
Moving or building
A new home
I look after the family's side while the smart home, security and Wi-Fi are specified, installed and handed over, so the family owns every password and admin account at the end.
Larger projects agreed separately
Separating
Untangling
Shared accounts, devices, location sharing and home systems separated carefully and safely, in step with the family lawyer.
Agreed with you when it comes up
Planning ahead
Digital legacy
The people you choose able to reach the accounts that matter if you die or can't act, without passwords in your will. Done alongside your solicitor.
Reviewed each year
Terms
Straightforward, and agreed in writing before I start.
The role
Household Head of IT
About three days a month, covering the main home and one other, starting with a settling-in month.
£6,000 a month
Through my company · no employer NI, pension or holiday cover · three-month trial period, then 12 months
The wider family
Another home or household
A further property, or a further household such as the principal's parents, looked after in the same way.
£750 a month each
Added at any time
Busy months
Extra time
When the household needs more of me, for a house move or a run of new staff, agreed with you before it's used.
£150 an hour
In four-hour blocks
If you'd rather start with a one-off review of the household's technology, or a family office needs help introducing AI, ask me. Anything else, including any specialist I find for you, you buy directly from the supplier, at their price, with nothing added by me. Prices exclude VAT.
Discretion
Discretion is part of the job, and I take it as seriously as everyone else in the household.
An NDA before anything else, and I never name a family I work for.
Least access. Where I need admin access to fix something, it's my own named account, kept in your password manager and removed when I leave. Remote help only when you accept each session. I never hold your master passwords or keep copies of your documents.
Privacy work agreed in advance. You decide who and what is in scope before I look, and my working notes are deleted once the report is done.
Safeguarding. When children are involved, a parent is always present, and I never contact a child directly.
I answer to the family. No partners or preferred suppliers, no commissions, no referral fees, no markup on anyone's work.
Checked. I hold a current DBS certificate, which you're welcome to see.
Insured. [Professional indemnity, cyber and public liability cover: add once in place.]
A small number of households. I work in only a few at a time, so I know each one properly.
A proper handover. If I ever leave, you get a full handover and every bit of my access is removed within five working days.
Questions families ask
Straight answers.
How do you fit in with the rest of the household team?
I work alongside the house manager, PA and the rest of the team, not over them. Most are relieved: technology stops landing on their desk, and they have someone to call.
We already have an IT company. Why would we need you?
They run the systems they're contracted for and wait to be called. I'm in the household: I sort out the everyday things myself, make sure they're doing the right things, and look after everything nobody else owns: the homes, the family's devices, payments and privacy.
Who do you answer to?
The family, usually day to day through the estate or house manager or the Head of Office. I have no partners or preferred suppliers, and I take nothing from anyone.
Are you a security firm?
No. I'm part of the household, not a firm. If you need security specialists, I'll find the right ones and make sure they do the job properly.
Can you fix things yourself?
Yes, the everyday things: phones, laptops, accounts, printers, Wi-Fi and apps. If something belongs to your IT firm or installer, I get them on it the same day and keep a record of how they do.
Do you need our passwords?
Not your master passwords. Where I need admin access to fix something, I use my own named account, kept in your password manager and removed when I leave.
How quickly will you respond?
The same business day, usually by phone or remotely, with visits arranged. For anything that can't wait, your IT firm or support provider is behind me, and your incident firm covers out of hours.
What about evenings and weekends?
I work business hours. In my first month I make sure a specialist firm is on call for emergencies, with a clear plan for who rings whom, practised once a year. I pick up the follow-up the next morning.
Can you help our parents too?
Yes. Older relatives are frequent targets for scams, and I can look after their household in the same way.
Will you speak to our children?
Only with a parent present, and only about keeping their accounts and devices safe. Most of the work is with you, the parents.
Should our staff be using AI?
Probably, and many already are, on personal accounts. The safest approach is to agree which tools are fine and what must never go into them, then set up a proper one for the household.
Who fixes what you find?
The everyday things I fix myself. Anything your IT firm or installer is responsible for goes to them first. If they can't or won't, I find the right firm for the job and get at least two quotes, and they invoice you directly. Either way, I check the fix.
What if we don't take a recommendation?
That's always the family's call. I'll note the decision and the risk in writing, so everyone is clear, and carry on.
What if it isn't working out?
The first three months are a trial period with one month's notice either way. After that it's 12 months with three months' notice, and you always get a full handover.
Getting in touch
Let's meet.
An introductory meeting at your home or office, under an NDA if you prefer. Or ask for my one-page home technology checklist first.
Recruitment consultant? Email me for my profile and agency brief.
Manny Vara
Household Head of IT, part-time · for private households and family offices
Based near Beaconsfield, working across London and the Thames Valley.