Personal Care Assistant for a lady P/T@ £17.52/hr in NR7 - FTE - £34.2k - NORWICH - NR7

Are you looking for an exciting role that is fun, diverse and rewarding?
 
Despite my different health conditions, including various autoimmune disorders, I am a 51-year-old lady with great sense of humor, and friendly disposition. These, among others,  includes combined ADHD,  PTSD, fibromyalgia, undiferentiated connective Tissue Disorder, diverticular disease, pancreatic insufficiency and Adrenal Insufficiency, ostheoarthtitis in various areas, which means I am dependent on steroids and a wheelchair user. Adrenal Insufficiency is considered a life threatening condition whenever I have an adrenal crisis. 
I have this condition since 2012 and am well equipped in the management adrenal crisis situations. 
I have constant pain and fatigue due to these health conditions. I also have mobility issues due to these conditions and 
I use a wheelchair both indoors  and outdoors. 
I am a semi-retired health worker and still work two afternoons a week from home, online, from my sofa, despite the disabilities I have. I find that working gives me purpose and makes me feel part of our society. 
I used to have many hobbies, such as photography, building dollhouses, and quilting. However due to the deterioration of my health in July 2024,  I have not been able to do any of them for a while now. I 
I hope with now having extra support of PAs I will return to them again. 
As a Personal Assistant, I would expect you to  be enthusiastic about communicating with and supporting me in a person-centred manner. companionship is a big part of this role. 
You will have a contract with me and be managed by me and by another Supervisor PA  (you will be funded by social services and partially by me (contribution) - direct payments). It is important that at the interview you see if you feel comfortable with this management arrangement.  
Although my husband lives with me, ultimately, you will be working for me as I have capacity to be deciding what is most important for my care and life. This might be a different arrangement from other homes where family members ultimately make decisions for their cared ones. 
I am looking for a personal assistant (FEMALE due to nature of personal care work) to complement the work of other personal assistants already in place. 
The position will be:
2 morning of 3 hours, that includes personal care, breakfast and lunch. 
1 afternoon where you will help me access the community with my wheelchair.  Either for appointments or for some fun activities which may include taking my 2 beautiful "girls" dogs to a field or a park and have a cup of coffee in a cafe. 
3 evenings (including Sunday evening) of 2 hours each. 
If you wish, you can take two additional hours of domestic work to be carried out usually on Monday afternoons.
The starting time for the position is:
1. Morning: 9 to 12
2. Evening: 6pm to 8pm, sometimes this may need some flexibility making it a little ealier or later depending on my needs. 
3. Afternoon (variable times): between 1pm to 5pm but for a total of 2 hours once a week.  This may need to be variable as it may depend on whether and what time is the appointment or the bookings made. 
As part of this role, being able to cover the other Personal Assistants in case of sickness and/or holiday is essential. We are all aiming to ensure I have all the care I have been allocated as being without care is really tough on me. 
My husband often travels and works long hours.  If he is here and available, he is a good source of information but he is not able to take up any care himself as he already has several duties at home and at work. 
We operate as a responsible team, by notifying all PAs and myself, via a private WhatssApp group to which we all belong to. if you need to absent, as soon as you know this, you will need to post on the grou  the request  for the cover of the shift you have been allocated that you need to miss. 
For example, you will need to request for cover first thing in the morning (before 8am) or if possible, even the night before. 
This means that regularly keeping an eye on the group chat is extremely important to see if someone needs cover and you might be able to offer it and pick up extra shifts that way. 
You will need to let us know in advance when you will not be available to cover, so we don't expect your response on that specific day as we would from the other PAs.
Enhanced Pay Rate: £17.52 per hour

The jobs 
1.    Existence of prior experience in carrying out personal care is ESSENTIAL (shower and washing my hair/drying/(un)dressing/hair drying/ styling) as this occurs usually in the morning along with breakfast and lunch preparation. 
2.    In the evening, as I have several dietary restrictions, you would be preparing a FRESH hot meal with a "Hello Fresh" pack. 
This is in a way easier for you, as it all comes labelled, and with a recipe  that should be easy to follow. You need to check with me my dietary restrictions when you get the recipe and ingredients. 
3.    You will also remind me to take my medication whenever you are here (up to 4 times a day).  
 4.  The shifts on the evenings are especiall  allocated for a PA to prepare my dinner (a hot meal) and carry out my personal care necessary for the night, and help me into bed.  
5. If my husband is travelling, feeding our two dogs and taking them to the garden regularly whilst  you stay with them, is also essential. 

Details:
You MUST like dogs as I have two very friendly mature female cocker spaniels. 

Working as part of a team is also essential and being a team player, so all PAs look after each other when it comes to picking ip cover and supporting each other in a cooperative manner. Respecting both mine and the supervisor PA authority and knowledge of having done the same role you will be doing for v over 10 years is essential for this role to work for all of us. 
It is important to undertand that here we are very accepting of individual differences, whether they involve age, culture, health differences, cultural background or neurodivergence.  We are all an important part of a big puzzle that together makes it all work well.  

Communication using technology such as an app for rota on your phone, or an electronic calendar on your phone and a PA WhatsApp group is a necessary  skill for this position.  

I encourage applicants from all backgrounds with prior experience in care and with the necessary requirements described here.

An interview will take place either online or at my home when convenient for both of us;
if the time suggested for the interview is not suitable, please suggest suitable times for you (for me the best times are: Mondays, Wednesdays  or Fridays PM, and weekends).

You will only be considered for an interview ONCE you have answer these quick but very important questions to me. 

1. How long have you worked as a personal assistant/ carer? 
2. What do you enjoy most in your caring role?
3. Tell me about a positive experience with dogs and with cats.
4. Tell me about your experience with cooking at home or elsewhere.
5. How would you describe your personality?
6. What could get in the way of you fulfilling your role?
  
Thank you for answering these very important questions. 

I look forward to meeting you soon.
 
Summary terms and conditions: 
-The rate of pay for this position is £17.52 per hour.
-Hours and times of work: 
9-12pm, afternoons (variable times), evening 6-8 pm or similar: 
Total: it varies on how many shifts you can take on a regular basis plus covers if necessary
-Further details of your a specific duties will be discussed when you will be shadowing a senior PA and learning the role on the job.  This shadowing is paid.  
Everything that will be expected of you will be explained prior to acceptance of the position.
-The annual holiday entitlement for this position will be wte equivalent to the work you would normally expect to be done during 5.6 consecutive weeks.
Your holidays quota start in April. 
You will be require  to take v up essential training for employed workers online. These hours are also paid. 
-If this job requires; Manual Handling, Handling of hazardous chemicals and/or Food Handling you will be required undertake annual training for these subjects.
You will be insured as well. 
The post is subject to the following:  
· A satisfactory enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check, the cost of which will be covered by Social Services.
 · Satisfactory references from two referees, one of which must be your current or last line manager.  The second can be a professional or a character reference of someone not related to you/ or another employer.
 · Completion of a satisfactory probationary period of 6 months. If required, this probationary period can be extended to ensure you are meeting the required aspects of this role. 

I look forward to meeting you soon.