Personal Assistant required for lady in Otley (LS21) for 4 hours per week @ £8.75 per hour - OTLEY - LS21
Job Reference (be11b1c5)
THE ROLE:
You will be supporting a creative individual to achieve her various goals. Key goals for 2020 are to improve well-being, to write and publish a book; to be financially solvent; to find 1) an affordable space for use as an art studio/workshop and 2) a new living environment/home.
This means creating and working to a plan and undertaking tasks together to achieve defined goals. In this role as personal assistant you will be part mentor, befriender, strategist, advocate, trusted advisor and helping hand to a 53 year-old non-working creative person. The ideal PA would support me with personal administration and follow up on outstanding tasks when required. Dealing with various requests from services, utilities and others and trying to sort things out when they go wrong is a huge drain on my energy and disrupts routines so my PA will take on some of this admin, which will help me develop better routines and ultimately improve my well-being. Sometimes you will need to get on with things on your own while I focus on something else.
Due to atypical intelligence and an atypical brain, support is needed to overcome frustrations and barriers in day-to-day life. The lack of support needs being met in the past has led to burnout. Burnout fatigue has resulted in a pervasive lack of tolerance to stressors with anxiety being felt more acutely although this is not often externalised and therefore not always evident to other people. I require a PA to support me with overcoming these stressors and providing guidance when needed. This will require taking time to get to know me.
Well-being and maintaining a regular yoga and meditation practice needs to be prioritised in addition to developing my creative work, which makes me happy and also essential for maintaining well-being.
KEY DUTIES:
● Befriending and learning about me
● Learning about Asperger’s Syndrome
● Mentoring
● Strategic thinking and coming up with ideas to improve quality of life
● Help organise living environment
● Advocating for me
● Visiting places and attending some appointments
● Liaising with organisations
● Writing emails and drafting documents
● Assisting with the recording of visual images
● An extra pair of hands
SUPERVISION AND ADMIN:
I will be your employer and will set the agenda but we will work together as a team. We can talk about how we will ensure I’m achieving my goals, once recruited to the role. We will have an informal 2-hour review session over a coffee once every 4 weeks at a fixed time and place. This will give us both the opportunity to discuss what is working and what can be improved.
The role is based in Otley, West Yorkshire.
Successful applicants will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and must hold a clean and valid UK driving license.
Mileage while working (not including to and from Otley) will be reimbursed but you will need to keep a mileage log and submit this each month, in order to be reimbursed. A mileage log template will be provided.
THE CANDIDATE:
| PERSON SPECIFICATION | REQUIREMENT
| Previous experience of being a support worker/pa | NOT ESSENTIAL
| A good understanding (or a willingness to learn in depth) about Asperger Syndrome* | IDEAL
| A willingness to get to know and understand me | ESSENTIAL
| A car driver with own transport | ESSENTIAL
| Strict confidentiality | ESSENTIAL
| Resourceful | ESSENTIAL
| Kind and compassionate. Positive attitude. Patient and committed. Respectful. | ESSENTIAL
| Thinks outside the box and creative | DESIRABLE
| A good standard of written, verbal and numeric skills | ESSENTIAL
| Able to really listen | ESSENTIAL
| Own laptop | DESIRABLE
*Books will be loaned to improve your understanding of Asperger Syndrome if required.
Services
Domestic Care
Social + Leisure activities
Support to remain independent
Training
Safeguarding Adults/Children
First Aid
Hand hygiene
Autism / Aspergers
Transportation
Full UK driving license
Own personal car
Schedule, Pay & Hours
Time
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
ONA = Overnight Awake / ONS = Overnight Sleep