Personal Assistant

eRecruitSmart; London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A unique opportunity for a Personal Assistant in Woolwich, London to provide essential support to a young music conductor with Cerebral Palsy. The role involves a mix of personal care and administrative tasks, requiring sensitivity and an ability to adapt to changing needs. Flexible hours and on-the-job training provided.

Benefits

Flexible hours

On-the-job training

Travel expenses

Qualifications

• Excellent sense of humour and fluency in English are essential.
• Good social awareness and communication skills required.
• Patience and sensitivity are important traits.

Responsibilities

• Assist with personal care-related tasks including transferring and dressing.
• Proactively complete household chores and help with scheduling.
• Support travel and communication with public transport.

Skills

Excellent sense of humour

Perfect fluency in English

Excellent communication skills

Good social awareness

Patience

Job description

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We have a unique position available for an experienced Personal Assistant in Woolwich, South East London. Our client has Cerebral Palsy and is looking for Personal Assistants who can provide crucial physical assistance with every day tasks at home and at work. A full job specification will be provided on application.

About our client
Our client is a young music conductor with a group that made global headlines when it made a historic debut at the 2018 BBC Proms. They have been focussed on score study to develop his repertoire for large ensembles and orchestras during the pandemic. In 2021, they made a successful application to Arts Council and is using the funding to develop as an independent mainstream young conductor, developing the crucial connections in order to progress his conducting career in the mainstream.

About the role
The role of Personal Assistant involves assisting with personal care-related and administrative related tasks (no previous “care” training or experience required). You will receive on-the-job training and it is important for you to be pro-active and have an ability to read situations to determine how you can best assist in a multitude of contexts.

This is a logistical role and as a Personal Assistant you are not directly involved in creative projects other than to assist as required. However, the role needs a creative mind, social awareness, and an aptitude to deal with the unexpected as well as the mundane positively.

This position exists due to the lack of fine motor control in James’ arms and legs. Through providing a second pair of hands, personal assistants will have a wide range of experiences whilst working at his home, in office and rehearsal/ performance environments.

Key Result Areas/Core Responsibilities:

• Maintain the title and the spirit of a ‘Personal Assistant’ as opposed to a ‘Carer’ or ‘Care Assistant’
• Assist with personal care-related tasks including help with transferring into wheelchair, eating, toilet, shower, dressing as and when required
• Pro-actively complete household chores (including cooking and cleaning), whilst facilitating my schedule and movements
• Help with making phone calls and writing e-mails on the go as well as in situ
• Take notes – hand-written and/ or typed;
• Assist with any other tasks and/ or activities which will facilitate our client to live an independent and happy lifestyle, at home and in workplaces
• Assist with travel using public transport (including London Underground)
• Assist with communication directly with others including phone calls, face-to-face meetings, at rehearsals and media and public engagements

Start times and locations can change as with life. Any changes will obviously be discussed with you but our client likes to plan ahead so you won’t get any nasty surprises!

About you
To be successful for the role of Personal Assistant, you will need these essential characteristics:

• Excellent sense of humour
• Perfect fluency and understanding of the English language
• An excellent degree of sensitivity and patience
• Good social awareness and understanding
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• A positive personality and the ability to identify and complete tasks as well as taking instructions
• A flexible approach – ready to inherit new tasks, and to assist in different environments in a focused manner
• A genuine respect for individual tastes and desires
• Happy to assist unusual hours or at short notice when required
• Has independent means of transport

About the hours & rewards
In the role of Personal Assistant, your typical start time will be at 12pm from which time you will be assisting our client with whatever he is doing that day. There will be several Personal Assistants to cover each 24 hours and he can offer either flexible or regular hours depending upon your availability and preference.

In particular, our client is looking for people who can assist on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays in a “two weeks on/ two weeks off” rotation. Once our client goes to bed, you’ll sleep over in your own bedroom at his home and you will be on call if he requires assistance during the night (which is only on a very rare occasion).

The rates of pay are £12.50 per hour and £69.76 per sleep and travel expenses and can be reclaimed if travelling outside of London to and from the role during which your time will be paid for.