Direct Payments Support Service

Personal Assistants/Support Workers Vacancies

Updated 12th February 2010

The following vacancies are advertised directly by the disabled person who receives support from the Direct Payment Support Service. It is important to note that it is not Darlington Association on Disability that is the employer.

Would you like the opportunity to work for and assist a disabled person on a one to one basis to have choice and control in their life and live independently within their own home and in the community?

Do you enjoy the company of people, are able to work flexibly, reliable, have good communication skills and willing to learn how to meet the individual needs of the person you are assisting?

If the answer is YES to both of these questions then you may be interested to find out more about the various posts available to work in Darlington employed by a disabled person or carer using a Direct Payment.

Duties may include assisting with personal care, accessing community facilities, shopping and domestic tasks. Car drivers and experience are desirable but not essential. Previous experience is not essential.

A version of this information in Word format is available by clicking this link: Direct Payments Vacancies(Word). For a PDF version please click this link: Direct Payment Vacancies(PDF).

Personal Assistant. Reference:GR/13-18

A gentleman with advanced M.S. is looking to recruit a PA with experience who will be able to fit into a well established team of 3 PA.

Duties: Assistance with getting ready for bed, meal preparation, assistance at mealtimes and general domestic tasks.

Hours: 10-12 hours per week - Teatimes, bed/night-times and weekends

Rate: £7.00 per hour weekdays, evenings and Saturdays; £10.50 per hour on Sundays.

Applicants: Maintain confidentiality, work for a close-knit family with dogs, reliable, have excellent communication skills and be able to work in a non-smoking environment.

Personal Support Worker, Darlington Area Reference No. 11-08

A vacancy has arisen for a support worker who has level two sign language skills to work as part of a team to assist a young male to live independently in his own home. Shifts that are available are Monday 9am - 1pm, Friday 9am - 5pm & Saturday 8am - 9 am & 9pm - 10pm, Sunday shift to be agreed. The successful applicant must have a flexible approach to cover holidays and sickness within the team of staff.

Duties: Ensuring safety and wellbeing, providing companionship and supervision and giving assistance where needed.

Hours: 20 hours per week (extra hours may be available)

Hourly Rate: £8.50 per hour

Personal Assistant Reference No. 10-10

Personal Assistant wanted for a disabled lady. Working as a part of a team of three.

Duties: Personal and domestic care. To provide assistance with washing, dressing and cooking etc.

Hours: Part-time 10-15 hours, flexible. Must include 1 in 3 weekend cover.

Hourly Rate: £7.50 per hour

Personal Assistant - Branksome Area Reference No. SA12-18

A young lady needs a team of personal care assistants to meet personal care needs, assist with household tasks and assist with social/leisure outings.

Duties: Assisting with dressing, personal care, washing, meal preparation, assisting with mobility - all aspects of daily living.

Hours: Approx 16 each hours per week plus sleepovers

Hourly Rate: Very attractive.

Applicants must be: Able to work flexibly, good communicator, able to respect dignity and willing to learn from the employer.

Personal Assistant - Darlington Reference:19-12

A personal assistant is sought to offer day and evening time support to a 16 year old young man who has autistic spectrum disorder. We require a person who is outgoing, can drive and has access to a car as some of the work entails helping to occupy him out of the home. Some previous experience of working with young people who have challenging behaviour would be an advantage but is not essential.

Hours: The family are looking for one night of respite per week, hopefully progressing to a short break on a weekend once every other month.

Hourly rate: TBA

Duties will include: Helping the young man to socialise within the local community and offer some supervision within the family home as agreed with parents on a weekly basis.

Applicants must be: Flexible, confident, easy going and energetic.

All successful applicants will undergo references and an enhanced criminal records bureau check.

Personal Care Assistant - Middleton St George area - Reference: 12-20

To support a woman in her own home at lunchtimes. Must be reliable, flexible, trustworthy, punctual, able to take initiative but also to follow instruction, excellent communication skills, and a driver with the use of a car.

Duties: personal care, light housework, occasional shopping, meal preparation help with medication and exercise routine, other duties as required

Hours: 7 hours per week (probably increasing in the future) to be spread over 4 days (midday weekdays)

Wage: £7 per hour

Support Worker - Merrybent Area, Darlington. Ref 20/02

Duties: Assisting an 8 year old boy access social activities - days out, and going to the play park, also likes trains, and swimming - occasional babysitting too (has two sisters one 7 and the other 11)

Applicant must be reliable, trustworthy, non-smoking, and patient. Car owner/driver

Hours: 2.5 per week either on a Sunday or an evening during the week (4pm to 6.30pm)

Rate: Rate £7.50/£8.00 per hour plus 40p per mile - mileage allowance

Support Worker - West End Area Reference No. 10-13

A Support Worker is required to assist a disabled lady to live independently - assistance with personal, domestic and social activities involved.

Hours: 1 ½ hrs for morning visit plus 1 hr minimum bedtime visit per week.

Also required to work alternate weekends

Average hours as an example:

Week 1 = 10 hrs (No weekend)

Week 2 = 20 hours (Incl weekend)

Extra hours may be available

Hourly Rate: £9 per hour

Applicants must be: able to work flexibly, maintain confidentiality, and must be reliable.

Personal Assistant Reference 14-07

A personal assistant is required to support a young lady with social activities, housework and shopping.

Hours: minimum of 8 per week (may increase)

Hourly Rate: £7.00 an hour

Duties Include: changing beds, dusting, hoovering, cleaning windows and other general housework. Also assisting on trips out and shopping.

Applicants must be: Reliable, have a good sense of humour, flexible, trustworthy, able to maintain confidentiality, a car driver with clean licence and be able to fit manual wheelchair in boot of car. Employer is a cat lover.

Personal Assistant Reference No. 04-02

A Personal Assistant is required to take a young girl horseriding once a week on a Thursday.

Hours: 2 hrs - to collect at 5.50pm and return from lesson at 7.50pm

Hourly Rate: £7.50 per hour, 40p a mile mileage allowance.

Applicants must be: a car owner with clean driving license, be trustworthy and have experience of working with children.

Personal Assistant - Sedgefield Area Reference No. 11-05

A gentleman with cerebral palsy is looking to recruit a PA with experience who will be able to fit into a team of 2 PA's.

Duties: Assistance with personal, domestic, social and leisure requirements.

Hours: 8-10 hrs per week - flexible hours including weekends. Will be required to cover sickness and holiday of the team (up to 18 hours per week)

Rate: £8.50 per hour for weekend and evening work.

Applicants must maintain confidentiality, have excellent communication skills, be flexible and able to work as part of a team. Driving Licence essential. Mileage allowance 39p per mile.

Personal Assistant Reference No. 04-07

A Personal Assistant is required to support a young man with Down's Syndrome to access social activities.

Hours: 3 hours per week. Must be flexible, but work will normally fall on a Thursday or a Saturday afternoon.

Hourly Rate: £7.00 per hour.

Duties: Accompanying the young man to social activities, and supporting him to participate. Teaching him to use buses from Hurworth to Darlington.

Personal Assistant Reference No. 01-02

A Personal Assistant is required to support a lady with a combination of household and domestic chores, to include dusting, hoovering, ironing, shopping etc and will also include meal preparations. You will also be required to provide support with child care such as babysitting and supporting the lady when she takes her children swimming, soft play centres etc.

Hours: 13 hours per week, Monday, Wednesday & Fridays & 8 hours per month for evening & weekend support with childcare. Extra hours may be available.

Hourly Rate: £7.50 per hour Weekdays, £8.00 per hour Evening & Weekends

Applicants must be able to work flexibly, maintain confidentiality, and must be reliable. You must be a driver/car owner with clean licence. Childcare experience would be preferred.

Personal Support Worker - Lascelles area of Darlington area Ref: 07-13

Car driver with access to a vehicle and good sense of humour to assist a man in getting out and about and managing his affairs. Must be honest, trustworthy, flexible and patient.

Duties: support with social activities, medical appointments, shopping, budgeting, maintaining healthy eating, planning and making choices.

Hours: 5 hours per week,

Rate: £7.00 per hour

Support Worker Ref: 22-08

A support worker is required to assist with supported living for a group of young people with learning difficulties in Darlington.

Hours: To be arranged - will include evenings and weekends plus sleep overs on an as and when needed basis.

Hourly Rate: £7.15

Applicants must be: trustworthy, able to work on own initiative, reliable, able to maintain confidentiality, able to work fliexibly. Car driver would be preferable but not essential. Previous experience of working with people with learning difficulties would be preferable but not essential.

Important information for applicants:

Applicants must be: Able to work flexibly, good communicator, able to respect dignity and willing to learn from the employer.

All applicants will have to provide references and undergo an enhanced criminal records bureau check.

For further information please contact the Direct Payments Support Service on 01325 360524 quoting the job reference number or alternatively e-mail wendy@darlingtondisability.org or georgette@darlingtondisability.org

A Direct Payment is made from the local authority to individuals to have control and choice over their own support. Many people who use a Direct Payment choose to employ a personal assistant or a support worker.

Successful applicants will be employed directly by the disabled person who receives support from the Support Service to do this. It is important to understand that it is not the support service that is the employer.

All posts include the statutory requirement of 4.8 weeks paid holiday and other usual employment rights.

It may be helpful to understand that there is a difference between that of a Care Assistant and a Personal Assistant. Although differing posts have varying requirements the general role of a personal assistant is the same. A personal assistant's role is to help your employer to live the way they choose. This means that a personal assistant should listen to their employer to understand and respond positively to any reasonable request for assistance. It enables disabled people to lead an individual, independent life equal to that of non-disabled people.

If you would like to apply for any of the posts please quote the reference number (on the top of each advert). To ensure a smooth recruitment process we ask applicants to apply for only one post at a time and if you are unsuccessful you are then able to apply for further posts.

If however you are looking for work, which is in excess of the advertised post - please speak to the Support Service, as there may be posts, which you could apply for together to make up the hours that you wish to work.

What happens next:

1. After completing your application form and returning it to the Support Service, your application will be sent to employers which you have requested and if indicated other employers which are appropriate.

2. If short-listed you will be asked for an interview, which will give the employer the opportunity to decide whether they wish to employ you. This is also the applicant's opportunity to find out information to decide whether you feel the position is appropriate for you.

3. Where you indicate as such your application form will be kept on file and passed on to an appropriate employer. This means that it may take some time before you are contacted.