Post: Personal Assistant

/ 336 Brixton Road
London
SW9 7AA
T 020 7501 8960
F 020 7924 9621
E
W www.disabilityLambeth.org.uk

Job Reference: WBDec15

Post: Personal Assistant

Closing Date: Friday 22nd January 2015

Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in the post of Personal Assistant.

Direct Payments Team at Disability Advice Service Lambeth supports disabled people in Lambeth in recruiting their own care staff.

Please find enclosed:

·  An application form;

·  A Person Specification and Job Description.

This post is for 10 hours per week at £12 hour working with a client living in Clapham (SW4). There is also a possibility of some 24-hour shifts: Wednesday or Thursday through to Thursday or Friday which would pay £9.40 hour in addition to normal hours worked in the 24 hour period; or overnight shifts: e.g. 10pm – 7am, 9 hrs at £9.40 hr.

Please read instructions for completing the application form

·  Please make sure that you complete ALL sections of the application form;

·  Incomplete application forms, or forms with sections missing, WILL NOT be considered for short listing;

·  When filling in the section: “Experience” please refer to the requirements specified in the Job Description under “Personal Assistant Tasks”.

Please complete the application form and send it to the Direct Payments Team at the address above. We will be contacting short-listed applicants within two weeks of the closing date to arrange interview dates.

If you would like us to keep your details on file for any future vacancies please tick the relevant box on the application form.

Yours sincerely,

Direct Payments Team

Disability Advice Service Lambeth

Charity No. 1087399 A company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales No. 4214688

Personal Assistant

Person Specification and Job Description

Please read carefully all the information in the Person Specification and Job Description before completing the application form.

General Information:

·  Your job as a Personal Assistant is to assist the disabled person to meet their personal, social and domestic needs and any other day-to-day requirements or activities;

·  Through your support as a Personal Assistant, the disabled person is able to lead an individual, independent and active life, in his or her own home or within the community;

·  You should always ask what the disabled person’s needs are and listen and act upon their requests and directions;

·  If employed you will be asked to provide two suitable references.

Person Specification

You should be:

·  Experienced in supporting a disabled person with their personal care;

·  Reliable and trustworthy;

·  Able to accept responsibility;

·  Able to work independently and show initiative as required;

·  Willing to learn the job well;

·  Diligent and conscientious;

·  Committed to equal opportunities in your attitude and the way you carry out your work;

·  Able to handle the physical tasks of lifting, handling, pushing and bending, unless otherwise stated. You do not need to be physically strong to do certain tasks well, but it does help, together with good general health.

Your Responsibilities:

·  Arrive at the agreed time ready to work; client lives in Clapham SW4

·  Give notice if you are going to be more than ten minutes late;

·  Respect the privacy of the person you are working for and maintain a professional approach at all times, being careful to treat your working relationships as confidential, including the assistance provided;

·  Understand and be mindful of the disabled person’s right to dignity, respect and independence;

·  Communicate and discuss any problems that arise as soon as possible;

·  Respect your employer’s possessions and equipment and only use the telephone, television, radio, fridge etc with appropriate consent.

·  To communicate with client’s wife and other PA’s as necessary.

Job Description

PAs should be:

·  Able to provide 6 days week morning personal care for 1 hour between 07:45 and 09:30. Fixed time to be agreed;

·  Able to carry out daytime support/sitting hours between 11am – 3pm on Monday or Tuesday – day to be agreed;

·  Experienced in working with older people, mental health, dementia, stroke, Parkinson’s, neurological difficulties or similar conditions is desirable;

·  Able to administer PEG feeding and medication when required, previous PEG experience or training is desirable;

·  Experienced in overnight care/sitting;

·  Available for occasional overnight stays – normally on Wednesday/Thursday night;

·  Patient, soft spoken and sensitive in approach;

·  Able to supervise the client at all times;

·  Prepare meals/snacks when required and attend to clients personal needs including socialising and stimulation;

·  Comfortable working in a home environment with a cat and dog, able to feed cat and dog;

·  Confident to operate the two stairlifts in the home;

·  Able to be flexible regarding the hours and times worked;

·  One day off a week – not normally Thursday or Friday and staggered with other PA – to agree a regular day, but can be flexible;

·  Willingness to work additional hours should the need arise: (depending on carer’s availability and not guaranteed):

o  to provide occasional cover for other PA – including PM personal care and daytime sitting hours – flexible and to be negotiated well in advance

o  to carry out escort duties along with clients wife (eg. Dr’s apts, social outings)

o  to occasionally work overnight (eg. 9 hours) or 24 hr stays in conjunction with other PA. To assist client in all areas of personal care inc. on/off commode throughout night, monitor physically safety, prepare food, administer medication via PEG as needed. Monitoring devices allow carer to sleep between using commode and manage client during the day. Possibility of 15 - 20 overnights a year shared with other PA.

Your domestic and other support tasks may include:

·  Food preparation and cooking meals;

·  Managing client’s clothing and personal areas;

·  Support and household or domestic routines;

·  Dealing with paperwork, bills and letters;

·  Taking part in social occasions or leisure activities.

Learning the task involved

The disabled person (with guidance from his wife) is the person best qualified to know what their needs are and how they are best met. For the most part therefore, areas of assistance can be learned and familiarised through you and the disabled person (and his wife) working together. Where required, your employer will provide practical training and guidance.

Application Form

Post: Personal Assistant Job Ref: WBDec15

PLEASE PRINT THIS FORM OUT, complete in black ink, using block capital letters AND RETURN IT BY POST TO:

Direct Payments Project

Disability Advice Service Lambeth

336 Brixton Road

London SW9 7AA

Personal Details

Full name:
Address:
Postcode:
Contact Telephone Number
Home:
Mobile:
Please enter your email address to receive regular vacancy email alerts
Email Address:

Male Female

Your gender:

Do you hold a current driving licence? Yes No
Do you have access to a car? Yes No
Do you have any driving convictions or
Endorsements? Yes No

Where did you see this post advertised?

University of London Careers Group Website

Job Centre South London Press

Job Fresh Other ______

Location:

Please tick the areas in Lambeth where you prefer to work:

Streatham Norwood Clapham Brixton

Stockwell/Vauxhall Kennington Waterloo

Any area in Lambeth

Experience:
Please give details of any experience you have which is relevant to this post, paying particular attention to the headings below.
·  Experience of supporting disabled people:
·  Experience of keeping written records:
·  Experience of supporting disabled people to access the community:
·  Examples of when you have had to take responsibility within your role:
·  Examples of when you have had to use your initiative to achieve a successful outcome for your client:
·  Commitment to equal opportunities:
·  Have you experience of working with the following client groups?
If so please tick the relevant boxes:

Autism

Learning Disabilities
Physical Disabilities
Older Persons
Mental Health service users/survivors
Children
Other (please specify):

Please show the times you are able to work by ticking the boxes below:

Mon / Tues / Weds / Thurs / Fri / Sat / Sun
Mornings
Afternoons
Evenings
Sleepovers
Yes No

Are you able to respond to ‘CRISIS’ call outs?

Yes No

Are you able to do extra hours if necessary?

Employment History

Please give details of your previous employment starting with your most recent job

Name and address of employer / From / To / Job title
Name and address of employer / From / To / Job title
Please use this space to provide any other information relevant to this post.

When is the earliest date you will be able to start work?

______

Please provide the name and contact details of two referees both professional ie. your most recent manager and previous employer

Professional
Name:
Address:
Contact Numbers: / Professional
Name:
Address;
Contact Numbers:

PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation Offenders Act 1974 [Exceptions Order 1975] and therefore prospective employees are required to give information about any convictions, including those, which for other purposes are spent. In case of employment, any failure to disclose such convictions could result in dismissal. Information given is confidential and will only be considered for the purposes of this application.

Do you have any past or present convictions?

Yes: No:

Your details will be kept on file for 6 months and may be passed to other clients who are currently recruiting. If you do not want your details to be kept on file please tick

DECLARATION:

If you give information which you know is false, this may lead to your application being rejected, or if appointed, to your dismissal.
I declare that the information I have given is to the best of my knowledge true and correct.
Signature: Date: / /

Please post your completed forms to:

Direct Payments

Disability Advice Service Lambeth

336 Brixton Road

London SW9 7AA