Shared Lives Officer

Nick's story

Career journey

Nick's journey into a career in adult social care began when he joined the British Army in 2010 as a combat medical technician. During his time in the army, Nick gained a Level 2 Health and Social Care qualification. Nick went on to work for the East Midlands Ambulance Service as a frontline care assistant and then an ambulance technician.

In 2018, Nick decided to move into a career in the Shared Lives service at Leicestershire County Council because he wanted the opportunity to provide support to carers and people accessing the service on a long-term basis. Nick was able to transfer the values and skills he gained during his previous roles, such as empathy, compassion and organisation into his new role as a Shared Lives officer.

What is the Shared Lives scheme?

Shared Lives is a scheme that matches Shared Lives carers, who are paid care professionals, to people who require support on a long or short-term basis. Unlike in traditional support services, Shared lives carers deliver support services from their own homes.

See our case studies for information about the role of Shared Lives carers. You can also visit Leicestershire County Council's website for more information about the scheme.

Role of a Shared Lives Officer

Nick is fulltime and works regular 9am - 5pm office hours. Although his role is desk-based, the nature of his work means that he travels across Leicestershire to meet carers and service users in their own homes.

Nick works as part of a team of 7 Shared Lives officers. The team are responsible for recruiting, monitoring and supporting Shared Lives carers and matching people looking for support with carers who can meet their needs. A typical working week can include recruitment events, visiting potential carers in their homes to help them through the application process, and organising introduction meetings for people to meet carers before they decide whether to book a support placement with them.

At any one time, Nick has a caseload of around 15 carers who he is responsible for. Nick is responsible for ensuring that these carers deliver a high standard of care. To achieve this, Nick facilitates the induction and training process for his caseload of carers and answers enquiries from Shared Lives carers and people using the service. When safety or wellbeing concerns are raised, Nick is responsible for liaising with his colleagues in adult safeguarding to ensure that appropriate actions are taken.

Shared Lives officers are required to work both independently and as part of a team. Although Nick has his own caseload of carers, he works collaboratively with his colleagues to share information, meet service users requirements, and promote the work of the Shared Lives service.

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You can explore job vacancies at Leicestershire County Council on the East Midlands Shared Services Jobsite