We at Au Pair Extraordinaire are dedicated to finding you the perfect au pair who is inspired to grow, love and develop your children to lead extraordinary lives. One who is congruent with your family’s personality, values and approach to raising your children. We place au pairs with families across Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, including Johannesburg, Sandton, Pretoria, the East and West Rand, Cape Town, the Cape Winelands, Somerset West and Durban.

Our screening process is known to be one of the most thorough in the industry. Every represented candidate undergoes careful CV screening, a structured interview, detailed reference checks and our Child Care Competency Test. A criminal background check is completed during the final placement phase. Families may also request optional additional checks, including premium social media screening, a TransUnion credit check, driver’s licence verification and ID verification. We take special care to match candidates with each family’s individual requirements, personality and values.

We know how important this decision is for your family, your happiness and your child’s future. Thus, we spend more than any other organisation time filtering our applicants, separating the diamonds from the rough, so that you can rest assured your au pair is an Au Pair Extraordinaire!

To prove how seriously we take our job, below you will find a simplified overview of our bespoke, unique candidate selection process. When it comes to your family, we can never be too detailed, so only about 5% of applicants will ever become a part of ours.

As proof of how powerful our process is, ±85% of our client families will hire an au pair from the first selection candidate we have chosen for them.

Filtering:

We screen hundreds of CVs daily, looking for solid, well-rounded backgrounds, at least 1 year of au pairing experience.

On average, only 1 in 10 applicants move to the next phase

Interviews:

In the second phase, we interview the candidate, using structured questions created by a psychologist

Here we look to get a firmer grip on their underlying motives, abilities, passions and suitability for different learning dynamics.

Roughly half of applicants at this stage get our stamp of approval

Reference checks:

We mine all past employment. A single bad reference is enough to cut representation

The strict adherence to the above process means that every applicant has not only been vetted and cleared as an exceptional candidate, but we know each of them well enough to match them perfectly with the right family.

Final Checks:

Upon offering a candidate a position, we move into the final phase of our screening process. This includes a Criminal Background Check. Our families have the option to include a Premium Social Media Check with a comprehensive report, TransUnion Credit Check, Drivers Licence Verification, and ID Verification.

Competency Testing:

We go beyond personality to evaluate the real-world abilities of our candidates with our custom-built Child Care Competency Test, ensuring each au pair meets our high standards of child care excellence.

Matching au pairs with families is incredibly rewarding, but it is also a meticulous and precise process. Because we are so confident in our matchmaking, we offer a replacement guarantee of up to six months, depending on the length of the placement. And if, for some reason, the match isn’t quite on point during the applicable guarantee period, we’ll prioritise finding you a new match at no additional placement fee.

As leaders in the industry, we offer this guarantee to all our clients with pride, knowing this is hands down the best guarantee ever offered.

With absolute confidence, we know this offering will bring even more peace of mind and security to the thousands of families we have served to date.

We have placed over 5000 au pairs with a 98% success rate, so one thing we know for sure is that our candidates are a cut above the rest. We are so sure about this that we are willing to guarantee it.

An au pair’s salary / hourly rate will depend on many factors, including his or her age, previous childcare experience and childcare courses completed, as well as the number of hours worked each week. Au pairs usually look for set monthly salaries, it can be very difficult to find an au pair who is happy to get paid per hour.

The below serves as a rough guide for monthly au pair salaries. We will recommend an offered salary based on your requirements, as well as the area in which you live. Please note that you as the employer will be responsible for paying your au pair’s salary directly. * The below salaries are excluding petrol. These are starting salaries, it is recommended to offer slightly higher to secure high quality candidates. 

Important to Note:

Low-Hour Roles (< 15 hrs/week)

• While you can post a 10–15 hr/week role at the lower end of these ranges, you’ll almost always attract fewer or lower-experienced candidates – because many au pairs prefer more hours or higher pay to make it worthwhile.
• Slots between 12:00 and 18:00 are in highest demand. Even if it’s “only” 10 hrs/week, expect to pay toward the mid-range of the table to secure experienced candidates.

Morning School Runs

• If you need a morning school drop off expect to add an additional R2000pm

Senior/Highly Qualified Au Pairs, Executive Au Pairs and Governesses

• If you require degree-qualified/highly experienced (with at least 3+ years’ experience) candidates, add another R2 000 – R5 000 on top of these ranges.

Permanent placement fees are once-off and payable before the candidate starts work.

7–11 months
15% of the gross salary for the contract term
Minimum placement fee: R4 000 + VAT

4–6 months
20% of the gross salary for the contract term
Minimum placement fee: R3 500 + VAT

2–3 months
25% of the gross salary for the contract term
Minimum placement fee: R3 000 + VAT

1 month or less
25% of the gross salary for the contract term
Minimum placement fee: R2 500 + VAT

Each family will have different expectations of an au pair. Below are common duties, although your personal requirements can be discussed with your au pair:

• providing nurturance, care, stimulation and companionship for your children
• fetching your children from school
• transporting your children to extra murals, therapies, doctor’s appointments etc.
• supervising and assisting with homework
• liaising with teachers, coaches and therapists on your behalf
• arranging and supervising play dates
• purchasing necessities for, and assisting with, projects and assignments
• running errands for you
• grocery shopping on your behalf
• engaging in intellectually stimulating play and activities with your children
• preparation of meals for your children
• babysitting and weekend work by prior arrangement

Interviewing au pair candidates to care for your children can feel daunting. Bear in mind that we have already interviewed the candidates personally, carefully reviewed their childcare experience and checked their employment references. We select only high-calibre candidates whom we believe could meet your family’s requirements. A criminal background check is completed during the final placement phase, and families may request optional additional checks such as driver’s licence verification, ID verification, credit checks and premium social media screening.

However, you will still need to meet with a selection of candidates to make your decision. Trust your instinct. You will know who will be right for your child. And if you call the candidate back for a second interview, include your child if possible. After all, he / she will be the one spending time with the au pair and should be involved in the decision-making process (within reason of course!). Try not to interview too many au pair candidates – three is usually sufficient.

Before you begin your series of interviews, ask yourself the following questions:

• Will my child respond better to a soft and gentle person with flexible boundaries, or a firm person with more rigid boundaries?
• Will I need my au pair to assist with babysitting, weekend work, or overnight stays? If so, be sure to ask the candidates in their interviews if they are willing to do this.
• What salary am I prepared to offer?
• If I go away on holiday with my family, will I still pay the au pair their salary or a retainer for the time we are away (bearing in mind that the au pair will still have expenses that he / she will need to pay while you are away)?
• Does your child have scholastic or psychological difficulties that the au pair should have specific training or experience in?
• Would you be comfortable hiring an au pair from a different race or religion?
• Will the au pair fall within the tax bracket, and if so, what will the implication of this be on their salary?

In the actual interviews, ask questions around the following:

• Previous experience with children, especially around your child’s age group
• The reasons for leaving previous employer(s)
• Religious and moral beliefs and his / her value system and how these can potentially fit in with your family’s
• Previous experience with educational or psychological special needs, if applicable
• Hobbies and interests. If your child is sporty, be sure you decide to hire an au pair who shares this interest.
• If you expect the au pair to cook meals for your child or for your family, ensure that the au pair is capable of doing so
• The au pair must be able to swim
• Childcare or first aid courses that the candidate has completed
• Strengths (academic, sports, hobbies, crafts etc.)
• Limitations
• If the au pair will be required to assist with homework, be sure that they are competent to do so
• If the au pair will be required to entertain your child during holidays or over weekends, ask the candidate to provide examples of fun / creative suggestions
• Find out if the candidate smokes or drinks
• Expectations around salary
• Expectations around paid leave, paid sick leave, paid compassionate leave and maternity leave
• Discuss hypothetical scenarios to see how a candidate will handle different situations e.g. a hijacking, if your child is injured, stealing, lying, questions about sex, etc.
• Find out how the candidate will discipline your child when needed (e.g. if your child is having a tantrum) e.g. time out, taking away of privileges.

Much of the communication in an interview is non-verbal. A candidate should arrive for the interview on time, well-groomed and appropriately dressed. Although some visible anxiety is perfectly normal, an excessively anxious person is unlikely to have a positive effect on your child. The candidate you choose should have a friendly disposition, demonstrate responsibility, show empathy and have a genuine love for children!

Tell us about your family’s needs, and we’ll help you take the next step.