Personal Assistant/Carer

Job description and Person Specification
Job title: Personal/Care Assistant
Reporting to: The employer Susan Herricks
Location: Within the employer’s own home 10 Gunnsbrook Close Great Bowden Market Harborough Leicestershire LE16 7HZ and in the community
Job purpose:
To assist with a variety of tasks which will enable/assist the employer who needs care and support to live their personal and social life according to their wishes and interests.
About the employer:
The employer is a 64-year-old married lady who enjoys sailing, music, crafts and reading. The employer is dual sensory impaired (deaf blind) and also suffers a degree of mental ill health which manifests as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder focusing around hygiene and cleanliness both personal and in her home. She can get very anxious. She is also asthmatic.
Her husband is also blind and they have a guide dog called Gyp living with them in their 2-bedroom bungalow in Great Bowden Market Harborough. Colin has his own care support package in place.
Main duties:
These duties may vary from day-to-day.
Personal Care
Support with showering to ensure employer is safe/has what she needs
To assist with oral hygiene
To assist with nail and hair care as required
To assist with shaving employer’s legs and underarms as required
To assist with ear and eye drops as required
To assist with regular cleaning and maintenance of hearing aids including checking and changing batteries
Assist to colour co-ordinate clothes when getting dressed
To assist with other personal care tasks as required.
To assist with Covid 19 Self-Testing (Rapid Antigen Test)
Domestic duties,
To help with grocery and other shopping tasks (some online)
To assist with cooking/preparing and serving nutritious meals and snacks
To assist with baking as required
To help with laundry tasks including ironing
To change and remake the bed as required
To assist with general household tasks including vacuuming and dusting, cleaning of the bathroom, kitchen, bedrooms and hallway.
To regularly defrost freezer and fridge
To advise when refrigerated items are out of date.
To assist with window cleaning as required
To help with light gardening tasks and to keep pathways clear
To help care for Gip ensuring he is fed, exercised, groomed and the garden is kept clear of any dog waste
To change light bulbs and fuses as necessary
Other Duties,
To regularly update the communication diary
Ensure stocks of PPE are maintained by advising the employer when items run low e.g. face masks, gloves, aprons and hand sanitiser
To assist with opening and reading the post if it is in print
Assist the employer when working on the computer if requested
Social duties
Support the employer to:
 keep in touch and socialise with family and friends
 attend adult education classes
 attend medical appointments
 participate in hobbies such as dog walking, sailing, crafting
 attend social events such as music gigs or the cinema
Type of person that I am looking for:
 Values, honest, reliable, punctual, non-judgemental, ability to build good relationships based on trust and respect, flexible, adaptable, easy going, able to work alone, positive, willingness to travel, understands equality and diversity and has a good sense of humour.
 Specific requirements, experience of working with an employer with sensory impairment preferred.
What you can expect to receive:
Full training will be given; you will be supported during your induction/first few shifts of working with the employer. You will shadow an experienced member of my support team during this time. The employer offers competitive rates of pay and work place pension.
Hours of work:
Post 1
Tuesday 3.45pm to 6.15pm
Thursday 12 noon to 6pm
Friday 3.45pm to 6.15pm
Post 2
Alternate Saturday 10.00am to 2pm
Alternate Sunday 4.00pm to 7.00pm
Some flexibility possible, exact times to be agreed at interview. Posts 1 and 2 can be combined if candidates wish to be considered for all of the hours
Rate of pay:
Weekdays - £12.44 per hour, Weekends - £13.50 per hour
Self-employed - £16.00 per hour
Skills, qualifications and experience –
Essential:
 Driver aged 25 or over with full clean driving licence due to restrictions on the Motability car insurance leased by the employer.
 reliable/good time keeper
 good at building relationships
Preferred:
 computer literate
 good communicator
 likes dogs
 a good listener
 ability to support people with mental health issues
 patient and understanding nature.