Dementia care can sound like a difficult field of work. By definition people do not get better and the challenges of the illness for those affected by it are considerable. However, our truly person centred approach brings out the best in people - both those living with dementia and those caring for them. Here is how our staff feel about working for us:

   "It's so good to work for a service that gets such positive feedback from clients and families"

   "We have excellent training to equip us to do the job well"

   "I feel that my visits to clients enhances their life. I enjoy their company too"

   "I am proud of the service we provide and be part of that"

   "I know that if I have a problem I will always have support"

   "Seeing a client laugh and enjoy that moment is the most amazing satisfaction"

   "We have good relationships with other organisations and a great reputation"

   "Brilliant training, great staff to work with"

   "People really appreciate our services"

Current vacancies

Ask any of our support workers or day club staff why they love their job and, in addition to the comments above, they will probably say 'the people' - meaning both the people they support, and their colleagues.  Others cite the flexible hours, the excellent training, the benefits of working for a forward-looking, innovative charity and the rewards of making a real difference to the lives of those we support.

Career development at Alzheimer's Support

Some of our staff are starting out in their career in care or in charity work. Others come to us after retiring from other sectors and find that the pace of work and flexibility suits their lifestyle. We have had students on placements who then go on to work for us, while two of our Care Co-ordinators started on the same day - 27 years ago.

We know that our people are our best resource. People stay at Alzheimer's Support because we are ambitious. We stay because we can see there is a job to be done and because we have the structure and systems in place that can and do make a difference.

We take career development seriously. Of our five senior managers, four had no experience of dementia when they started. Former journalist Stephany Bardzil joined us a development manager in 2009 and is now Head of Comms and Fundraising. Our CEO Sarah Marriott started her Alzheimer’s Support career as a support worker, fitting the job around her young family and taking on more responsibility as her boys grew up.  Head of Day Care Grant Newton came to the organisation after a career in business in which he never stayed more than two years in a job – he is now in his 13^th year at Alzheimer’s Support. In the words of our former CEO Babs Harris:

Being relatively small and completely independent gives us great freedom and flexibility. We can set up a service quickly to meet demand. We can make adjustments without referring to a distant head office, and even as CEO I can get to know the staff team and the families we support.

A successful organisation

In 2015 Alzheimer's Support was recognised as one of the top ten health care charities in the UK when it won the GlaxoSmithKline Impact Award.  We were finalists in the national Dementia Care Awards in 2016, winners in 2017 and 2019 and finalists in 2018. In April 2017 we won a major Wiltshire Council contract which has allowed us for the first time to offer our services in North and South Wiltshire and the contract was awarded again in 2020.

Because of this ongoing expansion, and more recently due to the knock-on effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, we need to increase our staff team. There are many people living with dementia who need our services, particularly in the north and south of the county, but we cannot provide the hours of support without more people on the team. 

Alzheimer’s Support, where your ideas count.   Get in touch today if you’d like to join the team.

Current vacancies

We are proud to have achieved a Bronze award in the Armed Forces Covenant recognition scheme and are working towards Silver award.