Personal Care Assistant for a 51 year old woman. P/T@ £17.52/hr in NR7 - FTE - £34.2k - NORWICH - NR7
Job Reference (129834c0)
Personal Assistant / Care Worker Advert
Norwich only | Regular fixed shifts + flexible cover | £17.52 per hour
Cover message to attract serious applicants
Please read the full advert before applying. This is a genuine, regular, long-term PA role in Norwich. It includes fixed weekly shifts plus realistic flexible cover availability for sickness and holiday cover within the PA team. Please only apply if you are genuinely available for the shifts and cover you list, are comfortable with personal care, dogs and cats/kittens, and are willing to provide references, complete required checks/training, and attend paid shadowing. Applications that do not answer all screening questions fully will not be progressed.
Role summary
I am looking for a reliable, experienced female Personal Assistant / care worker to join my existing PA team in Norwich. The role supports my daily health, wellbeing, independence, and routine. This role is funded through Direct Payments and paid into your bank account, with tax and National Insurance deducted at source.
This is a serious, ongoing care role for someone seeking a stable, long-term position rather than short-term work for only a few weeks or months. Reliability, honesty about availability, and continuity are essential.
About me
I am a 51-year-old disabled lady with several long-term health conditions, including autoimmune disorders, ADHD, PTSD, fibromyalgia, connective tissue disorder, adrenal insufficiency, osteoarthritis, pancreatic insufficiency, diverticular disease, pain, fatigue, and mobility difficulties. I use a wheelchair indoors and outdoors. I previously worked in the NHS and still work privately from homfor one afternoon a week, as working gives me purpose and independence.
I currently have two friendly mature female cocker spaniels. From 15 August onwards, I will also have two kittens in the home. Applicants must therefore be comfortable working around dogs and cats/kittens and willing to help with them when necessary, especially when my husband is travelling. Assisting with them is part of the established care plan.
Role structure: fixed hours and flexible cover
• Fixed weekly hours: the regular shifts you agree to take every week. Once agreed, these hours are expected to be treated as a regular commitment.
• Flexible additional cover hours: extra hours may be available when other Personal Assistants are on sickness absence, annual leave, or need cover for agreed reasons.
• Applicants must be realistic about both fixed weekly availability and cover availability. Please only list days and times you can genuinely attend if offered the role.
Hours available
• Morning shifts: 9:00am-12:00pm. These include breakfast, personal care, washing/showering, hair washing/drying/styling, dressing, lunch preparation, and support with planning/organising the practical tasks of my day In order to support pacing ang my fatigue levels. This planning support is especially needed while I am waiting for digestion of my breakfast and for the morning medication to start acting and aliviate some of my regular daily pain and my inability to speak and to enunciate words in order to be able to communicate with you and others clearly (this takes a long time to act despite the medication is taken 2 hours before your arrival), coping with associated gastric pain from the digestion of breakfast, and before/after toileting. The role requires patience, discretion, and a calm, practical approach.
• Evening shifts: usually around 6:00pm-8:00pm or similar, involving evening personal care preparing for bed with often a strip wash, preparing a fresh hot meal, and helping me settle for the night when appropriate.
• Afternoon community access support: usually between 1:00pm-5:00pm (tbc) for a 2-hour shift, to support appointments via wheelchair access with a motability equipped vehicle, for the purpose of social activities, i.e. dog-related outings, or general community access (appointments, coffee shops, clothes or items shopping).
• Domestic support: Light cleaning around the home areas I utilise, including bedroom, living room, toilet, shower room, landing, hallway, stairs, etc. You have 2 hours for completing this task, usually on Monday, or Wednesday,
Main duties
• Personal care, including washing, shower support, dressing/undressing, hair washing, drying, and styling, applications of various diferent treatment bodily creams.
• Discreet support around toileting routines and personal care needs.
• Meal preparation, including preparing fresh hot meals using HelloFresh-style meal kits due to extremely severe dietary restrictions set my different health conditions (i.e.kidney, pancreas) and serious allergies, including anaphylaxis reaction to capsicum.
• Supporting me with wheelchair access and community activities.
• Driving my automatic adapted motability vehicle where agreed and appropriate.
• Supporting appointments, shopping, and social activities.
• Domestic tasks such as putting away the laundry, light cleaning, meal preparation, and household support as adding to the shopping list something you might notice is missing for my care.
• Feeding and helping with my dogs, and later kittens, when necessary, especially when my husband is travelling.
• Working positively with the existing PA team and communicating through agreed systems and protocols such as WhatsApp, phone calendar, and rota arrangements.
Key applicant qualities
• Reliable, punctual, and genuinely available for the fixed weekly shifts and flexible cover shifts applied for.
• Seeking a stable, long-term PA position, not temporary work for only a few weeks or months.
• Experienced in personal care and comfortable supporting dignity, privacy, and independence. Knowledge and experience of what working in a person- centred care realistically means.
• Calm, patient, practical, discreet, and able to work sensitively around pain, fatigue, gastric pain, digestion delays, and toileting routines, urgencies and retentions.
• Confident preparing fresh hot meals, including meat/fish/non-vegetarian meals unless clearly stated otherwise.
• Comfortable around dogs and cats/kittens and willing to help with them and their basic needs when necessary.
• Able to work as part of a small PA team with respectful and reliable communication. Knowledge of how to work both independently and cooeratively in a professional manner with colleagues.
• Honest about availability, limitations, and anything that may affect attendance.
• Willing to provide references details at interview, complete relevant checks DBS, agreement to complete psidtraining during first month of probation, and attend paid shadowing and review meetings when required
Essential requirements
You have previous experience carrying out person centred personal care.
You are genuinely available for the regular fixed shifts and the flexible cover shifts you apply for.
You are willing to provide details of two referees at interview stage, including email and phone contact details. One must be a previous line manager or employer where possible. Please confirm that your referees will be contactable and that you have permission to share their details.
You are willing to complete an enhanced DBS check if required, unless you already have a suitable enhanced DBS check dated within the last year.
You are willing to complete required training, including manual handling, food handling, health and safety, or other relevant training.
You are comfortable with dogs and cats/kittens, as I have two dogs and will have two kittens from 15 August onwards.
You can work as part of a small PA team and communicate reliably about sickness, holidays, and shift cover. You are able to use basic technology such as a phone calendar, WhatsApp, and a rota app.
You understand that this is a regular, ongoing care role, NOT a casual enquiry or short-term opportunity. I am looking for a PA who is seeking a stable, long-term position and who is interested in building a consistent working relationship over time. Reliability, commitment, and continuity are essential because my care needs depend on regular, dependable support.
Pay and conditions
• Pay: £17.52 per hour.
• Paid shadowing: you will receive paid shadowing with a senior or acting Senior PA before working independently.
• Holiday: accrued 5.6 weeks pro rata annual leave.
• Probation: 6-month probationary period, which may be extended if needed.
• DBS: the role is subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check.
• Training: essential training is paid and required for the role.
Application questions – Please Answer on Your Cover Letter
To be considered, please answer all questions in the cover letter below. Applications that do not cannot genuinely answer these questions fully will not be progressed.
Please do not apply if
• You cannot commit to regular weekly shifts.
• You are only looking for evidence of job-search activity and do not genuinely intend to take the role if offered.
• You cannot provide suitable references.
• You are uncomfortable with personal care.
• You dislike, are uncomfortable around, or are unable to help with dogs and cats, when necessary, especially when my husband is travelling.
• You are not willing to communicate reliably about sickness, holidays, and availability.
• You are only looking for short-term work for a few weeks or months.
Thank you for taking the time to read the advert properly.
I value honesty, reliability, kindness, and respectful communication.
I look forward to hearing from suitable applicants who are genuinely interested in a stable PA role in Norwich NR7.
Services
Meal Preparation
Personal Care
Domestic Care
Social + Leisure activities
Support to remain independent
Training
Essential PA Guide
Safeguarding Adults/Children
Moving & Handling
Understanding challenging behaviour
Food Hygiene
First Aid
Hand hygiene
Autism / Aspergers
Transportation
Full UK driving license
Own personal car
Can drive a motability equipped car
Medical
Safe Administration of Medication
Continence Care
Epilepsy Awareness
Schedule, Pay & Hours
Time
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
ONA = Overnight Awake / ONS = Overnight Sleep