Estate & Grounds Manager

Posted by Full Throttle Media on behalf of a private property owner. FTM is managing this search; the successful candidate will be employed directly by the property's ownership.

A private property in Middle Tennessee is hiring an Estate & Grounds Manager — the person who will own the standard of its grounds and land.

This will suit someone currently running grounds at a high-end club or community, managing a private estate, or leading estate-maintenance accounts, who wants one property to take full ownership of.

Full autonomy. This is a self-directed role with limited day-to-day on-site supervision. You will not be handed a task list every week. You walk the property, see what needs to be done, build your own work plan, and execute it. You meet weekly with a designated representative and send a brief weekly photo report, with priorities set periodically by ownership.

A true 40-hour week. We plan the work around a 40-hour week, and storm or weekend response is handled by adjusting that week's schedule, not by piling on overtime.

One property, one standard. The grounds include a barn, ponds, seasonal creeks, gravel roads, fencing, outbuildings, pasture, and wooded ground. Not a production farm and no livestock operation — a private property maintained to an estate standard. Core areas such as the barn compound, entrances, and road frontage should look show-ready at all times.

A late-model equipment fleet you operate and maintain yourself: tractors and implements (rotary cutter, box blade, grapple), skid steer, compact excavator, mowers, and UTV.

Room to grow. As the property's needs grow, this position will build and lead a small grounds crew. We are hiring the person we intend to grow with.

• 5+ years with primary responsibility for a large private property (or multiple properties), a high-end club or community grounds operation, or an estate-maintenance operation, maintained to an exacting standard for discerning owners
• Proficient operator across the full equipment range: tractors and implements (rotary cutter, box blade, grapple), skid steers, and compact excavators, with extensive chainsaw and pole saw experience including safe felling, limbing, and bucking
• Hands-on maintainer: routine service and basic repairs on the equipment you run, and handy with basic construction and building upkeep. Welding and small-engine repair a plus
• Self-starter who plans and manages your own work without supervision, with experience directing helpers, vendors, or a small crew
• Professional communicator comfortable working directly with property ownership: clear weekly reporting, responsive, discreet
• Comfortable supervising outside vendors and contractors, including the licensed custom applicator who performs broadcast herbicide work (in-house work is limited to spot-spraying; applicator certification a plus)
• Willing to perform routine visual checks of gates, fencing, and property conditions and report unusual activity or damage. This is an observe-and-report duty, not a security-guard or confrontation role
• Evidence of your standard of work: photos of properties you maintain or maintained (a few good phone photos are perfect), or project summaries and maintenance records where photos are not possible
• Two professional references at the finalist stage who directly observed your work — an owner, estate or property manager, superintendent, or senior long-term vendor. We will not contact your current employer without your written permission, and only at the final stage
• Valid driver’s licence with a driving record acceptable under our vehicle-insurance standards. Job-related background, motor vehicle record, and drug screening are conducted after a conditional offer
• Able to reliably report to the job location for scheduled work. No on-site housing and no relocation assistance is provided

Full-time, 40 hours per week, generally Monday through Friday daylight hours with seasonal schedule flexibility. $28–$36 per hour depending on experience ($58,000–$75,000 per year), paid as an hourly, non-exempt position. Annual discretionary bonus. Paid time off and paid holidays.

We consider qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, military status, or any other legally protected status. Reasonable accommodations are available during the application process and on the job. Essential functions include regularly working outdoors in all weather, walking and working on uneven terrain, mounting and operating equipment, and bending, kneeling, climbing, lifting, and carrying consistent with grounds work, with or without reasonable accommodation.