Job Title: Personal Assistant

Job Ref: BN/BW/08/26

Reporting to: Employer

Location: Worcestershire

Rate of Pay: £25

Nature of the job role:

The Personal Assistant (PA) will provide personalised support to Bethan to enable her to live as independently as possible, maintain her health and wellbeing, and successfully manage her own home. The role will involve supporting Bethan with identified daily living needs while promoting her independence, choices, dignity, and confidence.

The PA will provide practical and emotional support with tasks such as meal preparation, personal care, household routines, accessing the community, attending appointments, and maintaining social connections. The role requires a flexible, person-centred approach, recognising the impact of Bethan’s autism, physical health conditions, fatigue, anxiety, and history of dissociative seizures.

The PA will work alongside Bethan to develop safe routines, encourage independence, and provide reassurance when needed, while respecting her preferences and supporting her to achieve her personal goals. The role is not to take over tasks Bethan can complete herself but to provide appropriate prompting, guidance, and assistance to help her maintain control over her daily life.

The PA will need to build a trusting and consistent working relationship with Bethan, communicate effectively, and support her to feel safe and confident in her new home and community.

Main Duties:

Personal duties:  

The Personal Assistant will provide support to Bethan with the following duties:

• Support Bethan to maintain her independence and confidence within her own home.
• Provide support with personal care routines, including prompting and encouragement with hygiene, dressing, and self-care tasks where required.
• Support with meal planning, shopping, food preparation, and maintaining regular nutrition and hydration routines.
• Assist with household tasks, including laundry, changing bedding, cleaning, and maintaining a safe and comfortable home environment.
• Support Bethan to establish and maintain daily routines to help manage the impact of autism, fatigue, anxiety, and health conditions.
• Provide reassurance and emotional support during periods of increased anxiety, stress, or when adjusting to changes.
• Support Bethan to access the community, attend appointments, and engage in social activities.
• Encourage and support Bethan to maintain relationships with family and friends and reduce the risk of isolation.
• Assist Bethan with managing correspondence, forms, and tenancy-related tasks when required.
• Support Bethan to identify and manage risks within the home, including supporting safety plans relating to her health needs and dissociative seizures.
• Promote Bethan’s choices, dignity, privacy, and independence always.
• Encourage Bethan to develop independent living skills and complete tasks herself wherever possible.
• Maintain professional boundaries, confidentiality, and respect Bethan’s personal preferences and routines.
• Communicate any concerns regarding Bethan’s health, wellbeing, or safety to the appropriate person or professional.

Domestic duties:  

The Personal Assistant will support Bethan with domestic tasks to help her maintain a safe, clean, and comfortable home environment. Duties may include:

• Supporting Bethan with general household cleaning and organisation.
• Assisting with laundry, including washing, drying, folding, and putting clothes away.
• Supporting with changing bed linen and maintaining bedroom hygiene.
• Assisting with meal preparation, kitchen organisation, and cleaning after meals.
• Supporting Bethan to maintain household routines and manage tasks that may feel overwhelming.
• Helping to identify and address any household issues, such as reporting repairs or concerns to the appropriate services.
• Supporting Bethan to maintain a safe environment, considering the impact of fatigue, mobility difficulties, and health conditions.
• Providing prompts and encouragement to help Bethan develop confidence and independence in managing her home.
• Supporting with shopping and organising household supplies when required.

The PA will encourage Bethan to participate in domestic tasks wherever possible, promoting her independence while providing practical support when needed.

Social Duties:

The Personal Assistant will support Bethan to maintain and develop her social connections, reduce isolation, and increase her confidence accessing the community. Duties may include:

• Supporting Bethan to access social activities, hobbies, and recreational opportunities within her local community.
• Accompanying Bethan to appointments, community facilities, and activities when required.
• Providing reassurance and encouragement when Bethan experiences anxiety about unfamiliar places or situations.
• Supporting Bethan to maintain relationships with family and friends.
• Encouraging Bethan to build confidence and independence when accessing the community.
• Supporting Bethan to use local facilities and services safely, including shops, leisure activities, and community resources.
• Helping Bethan to plan and attend social activities that promote her wellbeing and quality of life.
• Providing companionship and emotional support during periods when Bethan feels isolated or overwhelmed.

The PA will support Bethan to make her own choices about social activities and encourage her to participate at a pace that is comfortable for her, while promoting independence and confidence.

Hours of work:

The Personal Assistant will provide 13 hours of support per week, which will be used flexibly to meet Bethan’s assessed needs and support her independence.

The hours will be arranged between Bethan and her Personal Assistant to provide support at times that are most beneficial and responsive to her needs. The planned support includes:

• Meal Preparation: 7 hours per week
• Laundry, Bed Change and Household Tasks: 1 hour per week
• Social Support and Accessing the Community: 3 hours per week
• Personal Care Support: 2 hours per week. To a total of 13 hours a week.

The PA hours may be adjusted flexibly across the week depending on Bethan’s health, appointments, and daily needs, while ensuring the agreed weekly hours are not exceeded.

The role to begin as soon as possible and will be reviewed as part of Bethan’s ongoing care and support plan to ensure the support continues to meet her needs.

Qualifications:

The ideal Personal Assistant does not necessarily require formal qualifications; however, they should have the right skills, experience, and personal qualities to provide safe, effective, and person-centred support to Bethan.

Essential qualities and experience:

• Experience of supporting adults with additional needs, disabilities, or long-term health conditions.
• Understanding of autism and how this may affect communication, sensory needs, anxiety, and daily routines.
• Experience of providing person-centred support that promotes independence, choice, dignity, and wellbeing.
• Good understanding of supporting someone with anxiety and building confidence in accessing the community.
• Ability to provide practical support with daily living tasks, including meal preparation, personal care, and household routines.
• Good communication skills, with the ability to listen, reassure, and adapt support to Bethan’s individual needs.
• Reliability, patience, empathy, and the ability to build a trusting professional relationship.
• Willingness to learn about Bethan’s health conditions, including fatigue, mobility difficulties, and dissociative seizures.
• Ability to respect confidentiality, maintain professional boundaries, and work in partnership with Bethan and relevant professionals.

Desirable qualifications/training:

• Health and Social Care qualification or equivalent experience.
• Safeguarding Adults awareness.
• First Aid training.
• Moving and Handling awareness (if required).
• Autism awareness training.
• Seizure awareness training or willingness to complete this.
• Experience supporting individuals to develop independent living skills.

The right PA for Bethan will be someone who is compassionate, dependable, and understands the importance of supporting her to live independently while providing reassurance and encouragement when needed,

Skills & Experience:

The Personal Assistant should have the following skills and experience to effectively support Bethan:

• Experience of supporting adults with disabilities, long-term health conditions, or additional support needs.
• Understanding of autism and how it can impact communication, sensory needs, routines, anxiety, and independence.
• Experience providing person-centred support and promoting independence rather than doing tasks for the individual.
• Ability to provide practical support with daily living tasks, including meal preparation, personal care, household tasks, and maintaining routines.
• Good communication skills, including the ability to listen, provide reassurance, and adapt support to Bethan’s individual needs.
• Experience supporting individuals who may experience anxiety, low confidence, or difficulty accessing the community.
• Ability to encourage and motivate Bethan while respecting her choices, privacy, dignity, and independence.
• Good organisational skills to support with planning, appointments, routines, and household tasks.
• Ability to recognise changes in Bethan’s health, wellbeing, or presentation and report concerns appropriately.
• Awareness of supporting individuals with fatigue, mobility difficulties, and health conditions, including seizure awareness.
• Patience, reliability, flexibility, and the ability to build a trusting professional relationship.
• Ability to always maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries.
• Willingness to work alongside Bethan, her support network, and professionals involved in her care.

Desirable Experience:

• Previous experience working as a Personal Assistant, support worker, or within health and social care.
• Experience supporting someone to develop independent living skills and maintain their own tenancy.
• Experience supporting individuals to access community activities, appointments, education, or volunteering opportunities.
• Experience supporting people with autism, anxiety, and complex health needs.

To apply for this role please send a CV or letter outlining your suitability for the role to PAvacancies@idealforall.co.uk – please quote job reference in your application.

Alternatively, if you would like to discuss the role please call 0121 558 5555 option 1 and speak to a member of the Direct Payment Team.