Bsl Support Assistant

**Job description for a Support Worker/Personal Assistant**
**Location**: Wallsend, Tyne and Wear
**Pay Rate**:£32 per hour
**Hours**:6hours per week ; between all PAs 15 hours available every week

**Nature of the job role**

I am profoundly Deaf and autistic, and primarily use British Sign Language. Your job will be to provide the communication assistance and support I need to do my freelance work. You will be paid through the UK government scheme Access to Work. Thus, it is essential for this position that you are (or register to be) self-employed with a UTR number. As my assistant, you must be reliable and be able to work flexible hours, and respect my business.

You must be willing to learn or understand about autism and OCD, as well as to be able to respect my self-employment work and maintaining confidentiality. I will require support to be able to carry out my business. Most of the work will be around admin and marketing tasks - however from time to time, there will be in-person events.

I am 27 and live in the Wallsend area. I am Deaf and autistic as well as having OCD, and a genetic connective tissue condition, which means I’m a full-time wheelchair user. However, this role is for support **only** in a work capacity - I have separate Personal Assistants for social care. We will mostly be working in my home office.

I am a manual wheelchair user and rely on a mixture of facial expressions, BSL and phone apps to communicate. **It is essential that you can sign.** You don't need to be fluent, but you must be able to hold a conversation. As I am Deaf, autistic and have OCD, the main part of working with me will be to support me with communication and preparing for work appointments, for example booking in BSL interpreters and making notes ahead of my work consultations.

My self-employed business is in the Deaf and disability sector so it would be useful (although not essential) to be familiar with the disability benefit system (especially PIP) and the different models of disability. There will be training on all aspects of how I like my support and how my conditions specifically affect me.

**Main Duties**
- In-person_
- Helping me get to my meetings, for instance booking assistance for transport and coming with me for communication assistance with staff.
- Accompany me to any in-person work events, for example a meeting.
- Communication/correspondence_
- Book in my BSL interpreters
- Making telephone calls to organisations for me
- Finance_
- Supporting me with invoicing
- Helping me to update my turnover sheet
- Paperwork_
- Sending interpreters notes/prep for meetings
- Writing key action point notes from client meetings
- Helping with any other paperwork, such as reports
- Marketing_
- Supporting me with social media
- Helping with promoting and advertising my business
- Sending out monthly newsletter

**Person Specification**

To be my Assistant you should:

- Have a positive attitude towards Deaf and disabled people
- Be confident in using BSL (you need to have conversational BSL but total fluency is not required)
- Understand autism and OCD conditions and how they affect communication
- Be reliable, punctual, and understanding
- Have good written & verbal communication skills including the ability to communicate with people who are non-verbal
- Use your own initiative
- Be willing to work under my direction
- Be able to work in different settings and know how to follow confidentiality

**Job Types**: Part-time, Permanent, Freelance
Part-time hours: 6 per week

**Salary**: From £32.00 per hour

**Benefits**:

- Casual dress
- On-site parking

Schedule:

- Day shift
- Monday to Friday

COVID-19 considerations:
You will be provided with face masks; we conduct lateral flow testing and encourage assistants to have the COVID-19, booster and flu jabs.

Ability to commute/relocate:

- Wallsend NE28 8HE: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

**Experience**:

- Working with Deaf or disabled people: 1 year (preferred)

**Language**:

- British Sign Language (required)

Reference ID: BSL Work PA