At Château de Puy Vidal, retreats are immersive, week-long artistic experiences.

Each stay unfolds like a carefully composed production — shaped through atmosphere, rhythm, and hundreds of practical details behind the scenes.

This role is primarily hands-on and operational.

It centers on preparing spaces, staging environments, and ensuring the smooth logistical flow of retreat weeks and transition periods between stays.

The person in this position helps transform the château day by day — moving furniture, setting up studios and salons, preparing evening events, coordinating practical readiness of guest areas, and supporting the material life of the house.

It is a physical, practical, and highly varied role suited to someone who enjoys working concretely, taking initiative, and contributing to a shared creative environment.

Core Responsibilities

Event and space preparation (main focus of the role)

• Setting up and dismantling activity spaces (art studio, aperitif locations, salons, outdoor areas)

• Moving interior and exterior furniture

• Installing simple decorative elements, ambient lighting, and event staging materials

• Preparing evening activities such as cinema nights, bonfires, projections, and themed gatherings

• Resetting and restoring spaces after each event

Property readiness between retreats

• Assisting with the reorganisation and preparation of the château between guest stays

• Coordinating practical preparation with the housekeeping team

• Supporting outdoor upkeep tasks (terraces, pool area, garden furniture)

• Helping prepare materials and layout for upcoming artistic workshops

Logistics and inventory

• Monitoring and restocking operational supplies (candles, linens, guest amenities, beverages, snacks)

• Carrying out local purchasing runs for logistical needs

• Managing the full preparation, packing, and shipment of participants’ artworks once dry

Presence during retreat weeks

• Active participation in daily logistical setup

• Evening presence for installations and site closure

• Contributing to the overall flow and practical harmony of the retreat experience

Working rhythm

This is a seasonal operational role running approximately from April to November.
Retreat weeks are intensive periods requiring evening and occasional weekend presence.

Between retreats, working hours are more regular and typically scheduled during weekdays.

Across the season, the role combines:

• physically active staging work

• autonomous practical organisation

• collaboration with a small, international team
  For the right person, this position may evolve into a broader retreat operations role in future seasons.

Compensation

This is a seasonal fixed-term contract (CDD) running approximately from April through late November.

Working hours vary across the season depending on retreat activity.

On average, the role represents roughly 30–40 hours per week over the duration of the contract, with:

• more intensive weeks during retreats, including evening and weekend work

• more regular weekday schedules between retreats, focused on preparation and logistical resets

The indicative hourly wage is €16–18 gross per hour, depending on experience and profile.

Across the full season, the total workload typically represents approximately 1,200–1,400 hours.

Please note that housing is not provided for this position, and candidates should be able to live locally or arrange accommodation in the surrounding area.

Location & Lifestyle

Candidates considering relocation should be aware that the château is located in a very rural part of southwestern France, surrounded primarily by farmland and small villages.

The nearest village, La Rochefoucauld, offers a large supermarket complex, essential services, a handful of shops and restaurants and a historic Chateau that is open as a museum. The nearest city, Angoulême, is approximately 18 minutes away. It offers more essential services, a covered food market, shops, cafés, a good variety of restaurants and several arts festivals across the year, however it remains a small and largely French-speaking city with a limited international community.

High-speed train connections make it easy to reach Bordeaux (about 30 minutes) and Paris (around 2 hours). However, daily life in the area is quiet and nature-oriented.

This role is best suited to someone who enjoys tranquility, open landscapes, and a slower rural rhythm, and who feels comfortable living in an environment that is peaceful rather than highly urban or international outside of the retreat context. 

Who thrives in this role

This position suits someone who:

• enjoys practical, physical, and varied work

• is comfortable working both independently and within a team

• appreciates artistic environments and cultural hospitality

• brings reliability, initiative, and attention to detail

• can communicate in working English within an international household environment

• holds a valid driver’s licence and is comfortable driving locally
  Above all, it is ideal for someone who takes satisfaction in helping create environments where others can focus, create, and experience meaningful moments.

Why this role is special

Working at the château means helping bring to life the environments in which our guests create, reflect, and transform.

Each retreat week begins with quiet rooms, open gardens, and simple materials- and through thoughtful preparation, lighting, décor, and spatial rhythm, these spaces are gradually shaped into warm, atmospheric settings for artistic work and shared experiences.

Behind the scenes, the work is grounded, physical, and detail-oriented. Yet it offers the rare satisfaction of seeing a place change day by day through your hands- from a sunlit studio prepared for painting, to a candle-lit salon ready for evening gatherings.

There is also a particular joy in being part of a small, committed team working together to make meaningful moments happen. During retreat weeks, the pace can be intense, but many people find themselves quietly swept up in the shared momentum- the sense of collaborating to create something beautiful, ephemeral, and deeply human.

For those who thrive in practical, creative environments, this role offers the chance to help shape a temporary world of care, atmosphere, and inspiration that guests will carry with them long after they leave.