Meet Clare, Children’s Team Manager - Short Breaks

Meet Clare, our Children’s Team Manager for Short Breaks. Hear what she has to say about her career with us:

I would describe myself in three words as compassionate, crazy and a problem solver.

Before working at Diverse Abilities I worked for the NHS for 12 years in various different roles within a community hospital, the Child Development Centre and a Perinatal Unit, but my passion has always been working with children with disabilities and this is what led me to Diverse Abilities.

Day to day my role is so varied, one day I can be writing a tender to bid for money to run our services, the next day I could be on a day trip with the young people we support to a theme park. I love that my role is really varied and it suits my personality, that no one day is the same. I love having the ability to be able manage/steer a service where I get to make a difference to the lives of the people we support and their families, but that in equal measure I get to go out and have fun and make memories with them too.

My biggest challenge would have been stepping into my current role, where I took over managing all of the Short Breaks services, it was such a steep learning curve. However tough it was I can reflect now and realise it taught me so much, I learnt I was far stronger than I ever thought I was, I learnt how to prioritise and ask for help.

My advice for a new starter would be to have FUN! Be honest if you are struggling, there is so much support on offer. Be open to change.