Female* Personal Care Assistant for a lady P/T @ £9.50/hr in BS6 - FTE - £19.8k - BRISTOL - BS6

Female* Personal Care Assistant for a lady P/T @ £9.50/hr in BS6 - FTE - £19.8k - BRISTOL - BS6

• Trustworthy, capable and organised PA wanted by a creative, political disabled woman living in Redland BS6.
• The role will consist of 2 to 3 shifts a week, each 2.5 - 4 hours in length. Weekdays and weekends, mostly afternoons, but hours are flexible as I will be recruiting a team.

• Housework (including cleaning, laundry, etc).
• Shopping and other errands.
• Planning, preparing and cooking vegetarian meals.
• Helping feed and care for a cat.

• Driving me to and assisting me in getting to and taking part in various meetings, social activities and other appointments. Usually locally, occasionally further afield. (This is obviously greatly reduced during COVID-19.)
• Enabling me to carry out any chosen activity whether inside or outside my home, by carrying out other requests which I might reasonably make.

• 2 to 3 shifts a week, each 2.5 - 4 hours in length.
• Mostly afternoons, but hours are flexible.
• Occasional additional negotiable bookings, blocks of work and/or activities away from Bristol (medical appointments, social visits etc) will be available, from single to several days.
• £9.50/hour.

• Previous experience of PA work is not important, but applicants must be willing to learn and adapt. A commitment to disability equality and to this job is essential.

• Commitment to disability equality and an ability to treat a disabled employer with dignity and respect.
• Kind, capable and adaptable person with motivation to learn.
• Professional approach and commitment to the job.
• Highly organised and able to manage a varied workload, prioritise tasks and keep records.
• Trustworthy and able to confidentially and sensitively handle personal and protected medical information.
• Someone who is treating Covid-19 as a legitimate risk.
• Ability to plan and prepare good vegetarian food.
• Ability to use initiative and accept responsibility.
• Respect for, and cooperation with, the way I choose to live.
• Excellent communication skills.

• Safe, calm and efficient driver with a minimum of 12 months' UK driving licence. (A licence restricted to driving automatics is fine.)
• Skills in vegetarian nutrition.
• Experience with advocacy.
• Knowledge of health or bodywork practice (physiotherapy, osteopathy, massage, dance).
• Knowledge on neurodiversity/invisible disability.
• Interest in social justice activism.

• Full PPE provided.
• This role often suits postgrad students, self-employed, and artists looking for income top-up.
• We will be starting interviews asap and recruiting until a full team is employed. So please apply asap.
• References will be requested and checked.

A personal assistant (PA) is employed and directed by a disabled person to give assistance with whatever tasks the employer finds difficult to carry out unaided. My PAs are employed directly by me, working to my specific instructions, to help to provide the help I need with various aspects of daily living – domestic, personal, work and social – and to minimise the impact of both chronic illness and discrimination. This enables me to maximise my health and activity.

PAs are an important part of the disabled people’s Independent Living Movement, which works for full rights and equality. Independent living is about choice and control.

Many of the tasks listed in the job description seem straightforward and form a part of most people’s lives. The important difference is that, in this job, employees carry them out as a PA. For example, when preparing a meal, the employee is there not as a cook, but as a PA doing the task of cooking. This means carrying out the task as near as possible to the way that I would if I didn’t need assistance.

The best PA is someone who grasps that the job is about listening well and using ‘common sense’, as well as respecting and working within the way I choose to live. I am looking for people who will assist efficiently and unobtrusively with the tasks I find difficult, so that I can get on with my life.

Personal care and companionship are not a part of the role.

Whilst standard working hours are regular, there can be small variances and some bookings may be at short notice. These ad hoc shifts and changes will be by negotiation.

For the most part, work is locally based, but occasionally I will need PAs for longer blocks and away from Bristol for things such as medical appointments. This is by negotiation.

We are also hiring a remote working PA to do administration and research. You can apply for both roles.