Support Worker

Personal Assistant/Support Worker

Dewsbury

Our reference: NLT/RM/Dewsbury

Location: Dewsbury, West Yorkshire

Post available: part-time Personal Assistant/Support worker. Female applicants only
– as GOQ applies.

Hours: 20 hours per week

Pay rates: £12.00/hour weekdays, £13.00/hour weekends, £13.00/hour bank holidays

Closing date: 12th May 2023

Interview date: To be confirmed.

About the Role

This is an exciting opportunity to join a small team to support and enable our client to live a full and independent life in her own home and the community.

Our client is a 40-year-old woman who suffered a brain injury that also resulted in reduced sight. She has an infectious personality, is fun and does not hold back with her opinions.

Due to ongoing ill health recently, our client has been unable to progress and live her life fully. She therefore requires assistance from someone who is motivational, proactive and positive, to assist her to move forward and get the best out of her life and to enable her to live as independently as possible.

Our client enjoys bowling, shopping, people watching, visiting the seaside and walks around the park - although she has recently been unable to do many of these things.

She would like to travel again too and would love to go abroad. Prior to her brain injury she enjoyed playing basketball, football and netball, but more recently gets pleasure watching sport on TV. She enjoys watching soaps and documentaries as well, especially crime, and likes documentaries by Louis Theroux and Stacey Dooley.

Our client also has a young dog, which is vibrant and bouncy, and you will need to help care for him and walk him as and when necessary.

You’ll be required to provide some personal care (training will be provided), and to assist our client to prepare and cook meals, or at times to cook for her - plus any day-to-day domestic duties to ensure a clean and safe environment for our client.

You will be working on a one-to-one basis with our client during your shifts.

However, there is one other support worker who you will communicate with and at times work alongside. Reliability and flexibility are an essential part of this role.

The successful applicant will be chosen for their empathy, easy verbal communication skills and pro-active and outgoing personality. It is vitally important that we feel you will be a good fit for our client.

You will also need to be a confident driver and hold a full driving license. Our client has her own vehicle that you will use during your shifts, mainly locally, but you may be asked to drive further afield to meet the needs of our client.

This role is for 20 hours per week, and shifts may be negotiable between support workers in order to meet the needs of the client.

Job Specifications

1. To work with our client, who has a brain injury and reduced sight, in her own home and in the community.

2. To enable her to participate in recreational and leisure activities, both at home and in the community - such as going shopping, bowling, visiting the seaside etc.

3. To work alongside her with some household tasks, such as meal preparation, putting on the washing machine etc.

4. To carry out day-to-day light domestic duties in her house as appropriate, such as vacuuming, washing, and ironing.

5. To act as a driver, using her vehicle, mainly locally, and further afield if needed.

6. To provide daytime, evenings, and weekend cover.

7. To aid and support the client as directed by the Case Manager/Team Leader.

8. To follow an agreed approach, and use strategies documented in the support plan, working in collaboration with the client, her support team, Case
Manager, and any other professionals when required.

9. To undertake training and supervision as agreed by the Case Manager.

10. To ensure client confidentiality in all matters relating to the client.

11. To provide assistance and support as directed by the Case Manager and to be responsible to the client via the Case Manager.

12. To perform other appropriate and reasonable tasks in relation to the employment as agreed with the client and Case Manager.

13. To provide daily ongoing support/prompts to assist the client to undertake personal care and domestic activities.

14. To accompany the client on holidays and weekends away when required.

About You

Essential Qualifications and Experience

• You must be able to read and present information clearly and accurately when communicating with the team via emails, handovers and reports.
• You must have the ability to work on your own unsupervised.
• You must have a full UK driving licence and be a confident driver.
• You must be prepared to have business class insurance on your own vehicle.
• You must be prepared to provide personal care.

Desirable experience

• We prefer if you have a knowledge of or level of understanding around brain Injury.
• Ideally, you’ll have some experience of working with people in a community setting, or in their own homes.

Skills and Aptitudes

The following skills and aptitudes are essential when working with our client.

• You should have a non – judgmental approach with the ability to see things from other peoples’ perspectives and be respectful of their lifestyle choices.
• A calm communication style with clear pronunciation when speaking.
• An understanding of the ‘enabling approach’ and the ability to judge when direction needs to be offered to the client.
• A sense of humour is vital, along with an understanding of appropriate boundaries, with a mature, confident, and professional approach.
• To be able to integrate an understanding of brain injury - displaying empathy but with a non-patronising approach.
• The ability to follow the support plan, the Case Manager/Team Leader and guidance, and to accept feedback.
• To display an understanding that the workplace is also the client’s home.
• Have flexibility and a willingness to step in and help the client and family when the situation demands it.
• Have the ability to work effectively and collaboratively with a variety of people involved with the client.
• To be self-motivated and able to work unsupervised with the client.
• To be conscientious, have good timekeeping and good record keeping skills - using paper documentation and/or a laptop.
• Have an ability to identify and manage potential risks, in order to safeguard the client.
• Have the ability to use initiative and adapt to different situations and/or learn new skills.

Pay and Conditions

• You will be employed by our client via their Deputy.
• You will be line managed by the Team Leader on a day-to-day basis, and more widely by the Case Manager on behalf of the Deputy.
• You will receive initial and on-going training, plus regular supervision from the Case Manager.
• Rates of pay: £12.00 p/h weekday hours, £13.00 p/h weekend hours, £13.00 p/h on bank holidays.

What to do next?

If you would like to apply for this position, please complete the application form and email it to us, or post it to Northern Lifetime, Po Box 5997, Sheffield, S5 5BZ. Please note that we won’t accept emailed CVs alone for consideration – our clients are unique individuals, and we feel that dedicated applications are most suitable for them and us - thank you.

For an informal discussion about this role please feel free to contact Gemma on
07542 333 234 quoting reference NLT/RM/Dewsbury

Note also that this job is subject to a Disclosure & Barring Service check.

Job Type: Part-time
Part-time hours: 20 per week

Salary: £12.00-£13.00 per hour

Day range:

• Every weekend
• Monday to Friday

Physical setting:

• Homecare

Shift:

• Day shift
• Night shift

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Dewsbury, West Yorkshire: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (preferred)

Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 12/05/2023
Reference ID: NLT RM Dewsbury