A private family, Northern Ireland · Permanent, live-in · September 2026
Role Summary
Job title
Live-in Carer & Companion to a teenage girl (female applicants only; see Genuine Occupational Requirement)
Location
Private family home, Northern Ireland (county confirmed at interview), with UK and international travel
Contract
Permanent, full-time, live-in; direct employment by the family under Northern Ireland employment law; six-month probationary period
Reports to
The young person’s father (the employer)
Start date
September 2026 (notice periods respected)
Salary
£55,000–£65,000 gross per annum (c. £1,055–£1,250 per week), dependent on experience, plus full board, private accommodation and vehicle
Working pattern
Five duty days per week on a fortnightly rota (alternate weekends off, covered by the family’s regular relief carer); overnight on-call on duty nights; see Working Pattern
Vetting
Enhanced AccessNI disclosure (child workforce), ICPC for international travel, verified references, right to work in the UK
About the Role
A warm, private family in Northern Ireland is seeking one exceptional individual to become the live-in carer and companion to their teenage daughter. This is not a task-based care post and it is not a conventional nanny role: it is a senior, long-term appointment for a person of real substance, who will become the consistent, nurturing adult presence in a young girl’s daily life: someone she can rely on completely, and who takes quiet pride in helping her live as fully, independently and happily as possible.
The successful candidate will be the principal carer within a small, settled team: a regular relief carer, an established holiday carer already well known to the young person, and supportive family nearby. A team of therapists and specialists is currently being put in place around the young person in Northern Ireland, and the postholder will work closely with it as it takes shape, under the direction of her father, who is closely and actively involved in every aspect of his daughter’s care. The family places the highest value on continuity: this appointment is intended to last for years, not months, and the package, rota structure and support around the role have been designed accordingly. Applicants should be at a point where a settled, multi-year live-in commitment is both realistic and attractive to them.
About the Young Person
She is a kind and quietly humorous 14-year-old girl with a strong, engaging personality. She lives with a progressive neurological condition that affects her balance, coordination, fine-motor control and stamina; she wears a spinal brace, tires more quickly than her peers, and needs thoughtful, unobtrusive support with mobility, daily living and fall prevention. She receives learning support.
She is also autistic, with a very uneven cognitive profile: significant differences in processing speed, working memory, executive function and communication mean that everyday life is considerably harder for her than any single test score would suggest. When she is tired, anxious, hurried or faced with unexpected change, she can become rigid, distressed and very difficult to reach, and attempts to reason with her in the moment tend to escalate rather than resolve. Alongside this, she is carrying the emotional weight of her physical condition, and her mental health requires attentive, experienced and watchful support. The family is open about all of this. It is a demanding role, and it needs someone who has done this work before, not someone hoping that goodwill will be enough.
She values her independence deeply and is sensitive about being treated differently. The right person will understand instinctively that the job is to walk beside her, not to hover over her: support delivered with humour, respect and absolute normality, with sustained warmth that does not depend on being thanked for it. Full details of her needs, care plan and clinical team will be shared with shortlisted candidates at interview, under a confidentiality agreement.
Purpose of the Role
To provide continuous, high-quality personal support, physical assistance and genuine companionship to the young person; to keep her safe, well, organised and emotionally supported through her daily life; and to act as the consistent point of coordination between home, school or tutors, therapists and medical specialists, all under the direction of her father.
Key ResponsibilitiesPersonal care and physical support
- Provide sensitive, dignified personal care as required, including assistance with dressing, bathing and grooming, and the daily routine associated with her spinal brace.
- Support safe mobility at all times: steadying on stairs and uneven ground, transfers where needed, fall prevention and fatigue management, applying moving-and-handling best practice.
- Oversee medication and supplements strictly as directed by her father and her doctors, maintaining accurate records.
- Be available on-call overnight on duty nights, attending to her if she needs help (separately remunerated; see Working Pattern).
- Recognise and respond calmly to changes in presentation, reporting observations promptly and keeping a simple daily log.
Behaviour, communication and emotional regulation
- Provide calm, consistent, low-arousal support during periods of distress or dysregulation: de-escalate rather than confront, reduce demands rather than repeat them, and understand that reasoning mid-escalation does not work: regulation comes first, conversation later.
- Use autism-informed communication throughout the day: concrete language, one instruction at a time, proper processing time, prepared transitions, and the predictable structure in which she copes best.
- Apply the behaviour strategies agreed with her psychologist with complete consistency; record significant incidents factually; never respond to behaviour personally or punitively.
- Keep her physically safe when she is dysregulated, recognising that her balance and mobility make ordinary teenage flashpoints (storming off, stairs, slammed doors) hazardous for her.
- Monitor her emotional state daily and report changes in mood, withdrawal, hopelessness or any indicator of risk the same day, in line with the family’s agreed escalation plan.
Health and therapy coordination
- Schedule, prepare for and accompany her to physiotherapy, occupational therapy, orthopaedic and other clinical appointments as her new team in Northern Ireland is established, including travel to specialist centres in Great Britain and abroad.
- Carry through home exercise programmes and therapy recommendations into daily routine, making them feel natural rather than clinical.
- Maintain organised records of appointments, reports and programmes, and communicate clearly with the professional team, keeping her father fully informed.
Daily living and household
- Own the rhythm of her day: mornings, mealtimes, homework, activities, rest and bedtime, with the structure and predictability in which she thrives.
- Prepare nutritious meals and support healthy eating; manage her laundry, room and personal organisation with her, not merely for her.
- Drive her safely to school, activities, friends and appointments (vehicle provided).
Education and development
- Flex between two patterns as her schooling arrangements are finalised: a school-term pattern (mornings, evenings, weekends, appointments and school liaison) or a home-based pattern (fuller daytime presence alongside tutors and therapists). Contracted terms are unaffected by this flexing.
- Support homework and study using the assistive technology she relies on for writing, encouraging effort and independence.
- Liaise day-to-day with teaching and learning-support staff as directed.
Companionship and emotional wellbeing
- Be a warm, steady and enjoyable presence through shared hobbies, outings, films, cooking and laughter; an ally and an advocate, not a supervisor.
- Encourage and facilitate her friendships and social life, driving, hosting and quietly problem-solving so that she can do what her peers do.
- Follow the guidance of her psychologist in supporting emotional wellbeing, noticing and gently escalating concerns rather than carrying them alone.
Safeguarding, confidentiality and conduct
- Uphold the highest standards of safeguarding and professional boundaries at all times, in line with the family’s safeguarding expectations and vetting requirements.
- Maintain complete confidentiality regarding the family, the young person and her medical circumstances, under a signed confidentiality agreement.
- Work loyally and transparently with the employer, the relief carer and the professional team, raising any concern early and directly.
Working Pattern
The family is realistic that live-in support cannot be squeezed into a conventional 37.5-hour week, and equally that a sustainable role must protect the carer’s own rest, privacy and life. The pattern below reflects established practice for live-in care in the UK and complies with the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016.
- Five duty days per week, with up to ten hours of active duty per day scheduled flexibly around the young person’s routine.
- A minimum two-hour uninterrupted break each duty day, and a minimum eleven-hour overnight rest period.
- Two days off per week on a fortnightly rota, arranged so that neither the postholder nor the relief carer works every weekend: alternate weekends off plus a midweek day, with cover provided by the family’s regular relief carer. The postholder’s private accommodation remains her own throughout.
- Overnight on-call on duty nights, with a per-night sleep-in allowance and payment at an enhanced hourly rate for time awake and attending.
- Average weekly working time may exceed 48 hours only by voluntary written agreement (opt-out), reviewable at any time.
- 28 days’ paid annual leave per year (inclusive of public holidays), planned in coordination with the family; leave is covered by the family’s established holiday carer, so it can genuinely be taken.
- Travel with the family in the UK and abroad from time to time, including for specialist medical care, with all travel costs met and time properly accounted.
Person Specification
Area
Essential
Desirable
Experience
– A minimum of three years’ professional experience supporting children or young people with complex needs (for example as an SEN nanny, special-school or residential support worker, paediatric support worker, or in a nursing / allied health role)
– Substantial hands-on experience of autistic children or young people, including behaviour that challenges, demand avoidance and dysregulation, not solely physical disability
– Experience supporting a young person’s mental health (for example anxiety and low mood), with sound awareness of risk indicators and when and how to escalate
– Experience supporting mobility, balance or fatigue-related needs safely and unobtrusively
– Demonstrable longevity and continuity in previous positions, with referees who can speak to the quality of long-term relationships built
– Experience of progressive neurological conditions (for example ataxia, muscular dystrophy or similar)
– Background in a special school, CAMHS-linked or residential children’s setting
– Previous live-in experience in a private household
– Experience supporting teenage girls
Qualifications & training ( Ideal )
– Paediatric First Aid certificate (or willingness to obtain before starting, funded by the family)
– Moving & handling competence (training provided and funded if required)
– Training in low-arousal or de-escalation approaches, or Positive Behaviour Support (for example Studio 3, Team-Teach, PBS)
– QCF/NVQ Level 3 or above in Health & Social Care or Childcare, or a nursing, therapy-assistant or teaching background
– Condition-specific training or CPD in neurological or long-term conditions
Practical
– Full, clean driving licence and confidence driving daily, including with a passenger with mobility needs
– Existing right to work in the United Kingdom (the family is unable to sponsor a visa for this role)
– Valid passport and willingness to travel within the UK and internationally, including accompanying the family to specialist medical appointments abroad
– Confident swimmer, able to support pool-based activity and therapy
– Non-smoker
– Confident cook with an interest in good nutrition
Personal qualities
– Exceptional warmth, patience and emotional intelligence, with the maturity to be a steady, nurturing adult presence for a teenager
– The emotional resilience to absorb rejection, refusal and hard days without withdrawing warmth, able to keep giving without needing it returned
– Instinctive respect for dignity, privacy and independence: support that enables rather than takes over
– Absolute discretion and comfort working within a private family home under a confidentiality agreement
– Resilience, calmness under pressure, and sound judgement in relation to safety and wellbeing
– Excellent spoken and written English for liaison with clinicians, therapists and school staff
– A shared interest or hobby to enjoy together (art, cinema, cooking, animals, music, anything that builds companionship)
Vetting
– Enhanced AccessNI disclosure (child workforce), or equivalent DBS/Garda vetting transferable at the family’s discretion
– International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC) for overseas travel (obtained during onboarding)
– Two professional references, including the most recent employer, verified
Package
- Salary of £55,000–£65,000 gross per annum (c. £1,055–£1,250 per week), dependent on experience and background.
- Private live-in accommodation (own bedroom and bathroom, with private living space), with all board, utilities and household costs met.
- Vehicle provided for the role, with personal use by agreement; all role-related expenses reimbursed.
- Full contract of employment under Northern Ireland law, with payroll, workplace pension (auto-enrolment) and employer’s liability insurance in place.
- Funded training and development, including paediatric first aid, moving and handling, and condition-specific training delivered with the clinical team.
- Six-month probationary period; thereafter a settled, long-term appointment with an annual review of terms.
Genuine Occupational Requirement
Being female is a genuine occupational requirement for this post in accordance with Article 10 of the Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 (and, where applicable, Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010), as the role involves the provision of personal and intimate care to a teenage girl and residence within a private family home. The family is otherwise a committed equal-opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all backgrounds.
Safeguarding and Recruitment Process
The family is wholly committed to safeguarding and to safer recruitment practice. The appointment is subject to an enhanced AccessNI disclosure (child workforce), an International Child Protection Certificate for overseas travel, verification of identity and right to work in the UK, and two professional references verified directly, including the most recent employer. Please note the family is unable to sponsor a visa for this role.
To apply, please submit a CV with full employment history (any gaps explained) and a short covering letter describing, in your own words, why this particular role is right for you. The process comprises an initial interview, a second interview at which full details of the young person and her care plan are shared under a confidentiality agreement, and a paid trial visit so that the young person and the candidate can meet properly before any final decision is made.
Pay: £55,000.00-£65,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Discounted or free food
- Free parking
Work Location: In person
