Home & Person Helper required Hours depending on contract @ £14.50/hr in Crickhowell Area - Crickhowell - NP8

I use a powered wheelchair, have limited dexterity, and some communication impairments (speech and hearing). I employ a Helper to assist me with my home and personal activities. My Helpers are funded through Direct Payments from Powys County Council. I am responsible for my own wellbeing and management of the assistance I require. Through the work of my Helpers, I am enabled to live life as I choose. The role of my Helper will involve assisting me in my home with personal care, cooking and housework, as well as assisting me to fulfil my responsibilities as a husband and father. The work of a Helper requires flexibility and is sometimes described as being someone's arms, legs, speech, and ears. 

I am in my late-sixties and have lived independently, with assistance, since 1981. I married Rachel in 1993, and we have two grown-up children. Between 1996 and 2005, Rachel and I worked as Methodist Church Mission Partners in Kenya.  After returning to Britain, we spent a year in Nottingham before moving to Llangynidr in 2006 when I took up a job with a Disabled Persons’ Housing Service in Newport.  Rachel is a Consultant Community Paediatrician in Powys.   

In 2010 I founded, and was General Secretary of, Disability in Wales and Africa (DWA) which has now become Share Our Story (#SOS). #SOS promotes international solidarity between Deaf and Disabled People, presently between Wales and Africa. I am an Advisor to a charity – Hands Around the World. Within the Welsh disability sector, I am a member of a “Care Lab” group, supporting research into social care within Wales, as well as being part of a committee administering financial support for Deaf and Disabled People who wish to stand for public office.       

I enjoy watching most sports and am an active member of Hope Baptist Church in Gilwern.  Between 2008-2022 I was a Community Councillor in Llangynidr and have been a School Governor at both Llangynidr Primary and Crickhowell High school.

The work of the Personal and Home Helper is essentially about supporting me in my day-to-day activities. It will focus on enabling me to get out of bed, dressed and receive personal care such as bathing and toileting. Your work will also include cooking and laundry and other housekeeping roles.

Your hours will be discussed during the interview, but a typical day will last from 8am-1pm. The job is   in my home in Llangynidr, and the hourly rate of pay is £14.50 per hour.

You will work alongside my Office and Mobility Helper who assist me in my office and involvement in a range of projects and initiatives, as well as other activities. 

Personal Help: Assisting me to get in and out of bed, bathing, and toileting (hoists and slings are used). It will also involve dressing, helping with eating and drinking.

Home Help: Supporting me to fulfil household responsibilities, including cooking and meal preparation (vegetarian and vegan diet), laundry, and cleaning. 

Mobility Help: Driving my vehicle (please see Essential/desirable skills and attributes below) and supporting me at the destination. Occasionally, you will be asked to push my manual wheelchair where my powered chair cannot go.  

General Help: According to interest and ability but could include assisting with DIY, gardening, and the upkeep of our chickens.
Although the role of the Personal and Home, and Office and Mobility, Helpers are separate, they can overlap. For example, there will be times when the former will be asked to assist with telephone communication and the latter will help me in the toilet.

No formal qualifications are required except a valid driving license. If you do not have a valid driving license please contact me as it may not stop you from applying. No formal experience of care work is required but the willingness to do this is essential. Some affinity to my interests and activities is also desirable.

I employ Regular and Relief Helpers with the former working on an agreed shift pattern and the latter coming in when the regular helper is not available.

Official Base of Work and Rates of Pay- Are as specified earlier.

Sleepovers – via mutual agreement there will be occasions when sleepover periods are requested.  These will be paid at £60 per night if first on call and £40 if second.

Any mileage undertaken on behalf of your work, in your own vehicle, will be paid at 45p per mile.

Annual Leave is 28 days per year, pro-rata, including 8 Bank Holidays. If you work a Bank Holiday, you accrue a day’s leave to compensate.         

Your normal working hours will be subject to the agreement reached between us. There be occasions when you are asked to work beyond your normally agreed hours. This will be because another member of staff is off sick, on annual leave, or the activity that you are involved in goes on longer than your normal hours. Cover for annual and sick leave will also be sought from a pool of Relief Helpers. Any overtime or sleep-over arrangements will be arranged through mutual agreement between myself and the respective Helper.   

Most training will be “in-house” and in keeping with the job described above.  Where further training is required, this will be sought from other agencies supporting the Direct Payments programme. Where the training relates to my charitable and business activities, this will be sought from an appropriate organisation. Training and development needs will be considered as part of an annual review.  

Please send a C.V. or letter of application with two referees, one being a previous employer or tutor. Please describe your background, why you are interested in this job and what you can bring to the role. Please provide your contact details to enable your application to move forward. Any appointment is subject to a successful DBS check, although this may not necessarily delay your start date.