Personal Assistant (PA) | P/T 9hr/week | £13.97/hr avg | Leeds LS2 / LS22 | FTE - £27.2k - Leeds - LS2
Job Reference (3ee0dd59)
Job description and person specification
Job title: Personal assistant (PA)
Reporting to: Employer - Private Individual
Location: Woodhouse (LS2) initially. Hopefully moving to Wetherby (LS22) at some point.
Job purpose:
■ To assist with a variety of tasks which will enable the employer to live their personal and social life according to their wishes and interests.
■ This role does not involve live-in or overnight support.
About the employer:
■ Male
■ Aged 37
■ No pets
■ Non-smoker
■ Non-drinker
■ No recreational drugs, etc
■ I am diligent, honest, and principled
■ I value integrity over everything else
■ I communicate in a direct & honest way
■ I believe I am a reasonable person
■ Likes, interests, & hobbies;
■ Allotmenteering
■ Gardening
■ Sport
■ Fitness
■ Gameshows
■ Quizzing
■ Retro gaming
■ Computers
■ Journalism
■ Broadcasting
■ Music
■ Singing
■ Comedy
■ Learning
■ Justice
■ Care & Support circumstances;
■ I am looking to hire one or two personal assistants to support me with my executive functioning and administrative needs.
■ The PA duties will mostly be conducted at my home.
■ ■ My 9 weekly hours of personal assistance could be split between two personal assistants or one PA could take all 9 hours and then the 2nd PA would be given a zero hour contract to be a back-up for whenever the first PA is unavailable.
■ I have recently been diagnosed with autism in June 2026.
■ ■ I have not been told the level, but I guess I have Level 1 autism i.e. low support needs relative to people with Level 3 autism.
■ Chronic anxiety and depression.
■ Complex post-traumatic stress disorder.
■ Chronic ankle instability.
■ Irritable bowel syndrome.
■ I recently was diagnosed with, and successfully treated for, melanoma skin cancer.
■ I am intelligent, but I have some deficiencies that make some areas of my life difficult to manage on my own.
■ People unfamiliar with autism often do not realise I have a disability.
■ ■ They just think I'm shy.
■ ■ I am often treated unfairly and inappropriately by people unfamiliar with autism.
■ I am still learning about myself and my autism.
■ ■ I don’t yet understand which of my traits are due to autism, but I believe many of my deficiencies are known symptoms of autism and therefore strategies to minimise their impact have been documented by scholars.
■ ■ My deficiencies include:
■ ■ ■ Executive Dysfunction: I experience burnout, struggle to start tasks, can only process one thing at a time, and find administrative and bureaucratic tasks overwhelming.
■ ■ ■ Communication Barriers: I struggle to process information ‘on the spot’, which impacts spoken language. I have a high anxiety/fear surrounding phone calls, voicemail, emails, and letters with people or groups whom I anticipate may be unfair or unreasonable with me..
■ ■ ■ Memory & Routine: I have poor short-term / working memory, requiring me to write everything down, poor time management, and I do not adapt well to unexpected change.
■ ■ ■ Sensory & Physical: I am sensitive to certain lights and sounds, have a weak immune system, chronic ankle instability, difficulty with sleep, and I am a skin cancer survivor requiring mole monitoring.
■ Some traits I have which are not necessarily deficiencies but can cause me difficulties include:
■ ■ Being a very principled person in an unprincipled society leads to conflict.
■ ■ I am rigid & stubborn.
■ ■ I am direct & honest in my communication, this includes being critical.
■ Specific difficulties caused by my deficiencies and traits include:
■ ■ I regularly boycott things & people after I see immoral or unjust behaviours, I call them out, and my concerns are dismissed or ignored.
■ ■ Maintenance of my home.
■ ■ Self-advocacy.
■ ■ Self-neglect.
Main duties (Job Description):
(Note: These tasks vary weekly and will be tackled systematically rather than all at once)
■ Social, leisure & community access duties, supporting me with / to;
■ Find & do hobbies,
■ Attend some appointments with me e.g. medical,
■ Attend social events,
■ Having someone to discuss with & ask for advice and opinions from,
■ Formulate ideas, plans & strategies,
■ Advocate.
■ Personal care, reminding, supporting, and encouraging me to;
■ Get out of bed,
■ Take medication,
■ Shower,
■ Clean teeth,
■ Eat healthily,
■ Do physiotherapy exercises,
■ Be productive,
■ Shave,
■ Get dressed,
■ Be motivated
■ Monitor my health, such as checking my moles for signs of a recurrence of skin cancer.
■ Manage my mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and complex PTSD.
■ Domestic duties, reminding, supporting, and encouraging me with;
■ Cooking, preparing and serving nutritious meals and snacks,
■ Cleaning,
■ Changing bedding,
■ Laundry,
■ Shopping,
■ Tidying my home,
■ Dishwashing
■ Vacuuming.
■ Selling / Disposing of my possessions before I move home,
■ Moving my possessions from my current home to my new home.
■ ■ I am aiming to move from Woodhouse (LS2) to Wetherby (LS22), but this has not yet been confirmed.
■ ■ Wetherby / Boston Spa to LS2 takes 26-30 mins to drive.
■ Administrative duties, reminding, supporting, and encouraging me with;
■ Managing my employment of a PA.
■ Fulfilling all my obligations as an employer.
■ Managing my Direct Payments from Adult Social Care,
■ ■ Such as; applying for disability related expenses, applying for funding for autism services, amending PA hours & wage if necessary.
■ Managing my benefits claims,
■ Managing my social housing applications,
■ Research & Communication with people and organisations, i.e. phone calls, emails, and voicemail, regarding things such as;
■ ■ Appliance repairs.
■ ■ Home repairs.
■ ■ My social housing application.
■ ■ Finding an adequate GP and receiving adequate physical healthcare.
■ ■ Finding an adequate dentist and receiving adequate dental healthcare.
■ ■ Finding an adequate mental health service and receiving adequate mental health care.
■ ■ Finding appropriate exercise opportunities.
■ ■ Learning about autism.
■ ■ Shops when I need to purchase something.
■ ■ Hairdressers when I need a haircut.
■ ■ Making complaints.
■ ■ Bills.
■ ■ Understanding my rights.
■ ■ Helping me identify and arrange disability related expenses.
■ ■ Making legal claims,
■ ■ Finding, and making referrals to other support agencies,
■ ■ Advocacy.
■ ■ Renewing my provisional driving license.
■ ■ Renewing my bus pass.
■ ■ Applying for things I am eligible for.
■ ■ Emigration (Long-term goal).
■ Executive Functioning & Advocacy Support, reminding, supporting, and encouraging me with;
■ Helping me overcome difficulties I have with executive dysfunction.
■ Helping me overcome difficulties I have with sensory overload.
■ Helping me plan.
■ Acquiring:
■ ■ Adequate physical healthcare.
■ ■ Adequate housing.
■ ■ Adequate mental healthcare.
■ ■ Adequate dental healthcare.
Type of person that I am looking for (Person Specification):
■ Values;
■ Integrity
■ Morality
■ Honesty
■ Diligence
■ Responsibility
■ Reliability
■ Open-minded
■ Confidentiality
■ Respectful
■ Invested in my success / wellbeing,
■ Supportive,
■ Dedicated.
■ Skills;
■ Good communicator
■ Straightforward, direct & clear communication
■ Good listener
■ Ability to work alone
■ Productive
■ Pragmatic
■ Organisational Skills
■ Problem Solving
■ Time Management
■ Basic tech literacy
■ Attention to Detail
■ Personal Attributes;
■ Emotionally Mature & Empathetic: Calm, patient, and understanding of neurodivergence, complex PTSD and other difficulties.
■ Objective, Intelligent & Logical: Able to make decisions based on evidence and logic rather than emotion or intuition.
■ Constructive
■ Non-Judgmental
■ Adaptable and Flexible
■ Proactive
■ Not Easily Offended: Comfortable with a direct, honest, and analytical communication style.
■ Willingness to learn and adapt to my specific needs.
■ Previous experience with autism is not essential. Autism Awareness training can be provided.
■ Specific requirements,
■ Essential;
■ Someone who can compensate for my deficiencies.
■ Ability to speak English.
■ A DBS check is required but work can begin before the DBS check has been completed.
■ Basic meal preparation.
■ Must have the right to work in the UK
■ Confidentiality and discretion: Absolute discretion and confidentiality are mandatory. The successful candidate may be managing sensitive personal data, financial mail, and medical paperwork, and must sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) / Confidentiality Clause upon employment.
■ Preferred Communication Protocol: I require a PA who will deliver information to me in writing (letter, text or email) rather than giving verbal 'info dumps' or demanding immediate answers on the spot. You must allow me the time to process information at my own pace.
■ Preferred;
■ A driver with their own car would be useful to help me move my possessions to my new home.
■ Knowledge or experience of the role would be beneficial.
■ Prior experience working with autistic adults is beneficial but not mandatory.
■ ■ I value logical thinking, high intelligence, and high integrity over formal care qualifications.
■ ■ Full training on my specific routines and needs will be provided.
Trial / Probationary Period:
This position is subject to a mandatory 12 week paid probationary period to ensure our communication styles and working dynamic are compatible.
During the probationary period, if either you or I decide to end the employment we wouldn’t need to give a reason & would only need to give one week’s notice.
What you can expect to receive:
■ Full Training Budget: Access to over 80 fully funded courses via the Direct Payments team, including Autism Awareness, PTSD, Mental Health Awareness, and Nutrition. I will give you a full list of courses available upon employment.
■ Professional Infrastructure: You will receive a formal contract on or before day one, an employee handbook, statutory holiday pay, an induction, health and safety records, a risk assessment, an employer with employer's liability insurance, and registered with HMRC for tax & national insurance purposes, and monthly supervisions during the probationary period, then quarterly afterward.
■ Full Administrative Support: Payroll is managed externally by Barrie Bookkeeping, and I am fully supported and advised by the Leeds City Council Direct Payments Team.
■ Wage is determined by Adult Social Care and potentially could be increased via a re-assessment.
■ Working hours and days are determined by Adult Social Care and potentially could be amended via a re-assessment.
■ A reasonable, open-minded, diligent, and honourable employer.
■ Immediate employment without having to wait for the DBS check to be completed first.
■ Either regular duties split between two PAs or a back-up PA available for when you are unavailable, depending on which you prefer.
Hours of work:
Adult Social Care has awarded me 9 hours of weekly PA hours;
7 hours on weekdays.
2 hours on weekends.
I am flexible on how these hours are distributed.
It has been recommended to me that the hours could be split:
3.5 hours on two weekdays each.
2 hours together on a single weekend day..
Rate of pay:
Weekday Rate: £13.23 per hour (7 hours total per week)
Weekend Rate: £16.54 per hour (2 hours total per week)
Average Combined Rate: £13.97 per hour
9 hours per week total: £125.69.
Application Deadline:
I wish to hire someone as soon as possible, but I will wait for the correct candidate if necessary.
How to apply:
To help me identify if we are a good match, please include a short covering note answering these questions:
- Are you looking to take the full 9 hours per week, a proportion of the weekly hours, or are you applying for the flexible back-up/zero-hours role?
- Do you have a driving licence and access to a car to assist with my upcoming house move?
Services
Meal Preparation
Domestic Care
Social + Leisure activities
Support to remain independent
Schedule, Pay & Hours
Time
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
ONA = Overnight Awake / ONS = Overnight Sleep