Recruitment FAQs

About your experience

Does it matter that I don’t have qualifications?

You don’t need qualifications for the vast majority of our roles. We will support you to gain relevant qualifications, free of charge, once you’ve joined us. Where qualifications are required, this will be stated clearly in our advert.

Do I need to be a driver?

Unfortunately, for most of our jobs yes you will need to be a driver. If so, it will be stated on the advert. The reason is that it is really important to the people we support that they get out and about frequently, and most places have a company vehicle which our staff take it in turns to drive. For some jobs, you will need your own transport as well, but again this will be stated clearly on the advert. 

What if I have a conviction?

You are very welcome to apply. For people with a past conviction our process includes a risk assessment and director-level approval before we can go ahead with an offer of employment. Part of the process is to discuss with you what the offence was, what the sanction was, when it took place and what the circumstances were. 

About the job

What are the shift patterns like?

Working in residential services for both adults and children, there’s a lot of variation between services. Your line manager will be able to talk this through with you at interview. Typically, there is a rolling rota including day and evening shifts. Most shift patterns include some but not all weekends. Some services have dedicated waking night staff and some have a sleep-in arrangement. Your manager will let you know the next month’s rota as far in advance as possible. If you are working in one of our educational roles, these are usually term-time, and term lengths vary according to area. Typically you might be working 8 to 4or similar, and in some educational roles there are additional administrative tasks. If you are in one of our specialist or support functions, for example administration, marketing, PBS etc., these roles are normally daytimes Monday to Friday, with some flexibility required.

What different types of work do you have? 

At MacIntyre we have a wide range of opportunities:

• Perhaps you would like to support adults with a learning disability and/or autism to live gloriously ordinary lives.
• Maybe you feel drawn to working with children and young people as they prepare for adult life. 
• Or perhaps you want to use your managerial, administrative, finance or other specialist skills in an amazing charity. We are bound to have something for you. 

And if there isn’t something currently in your area immediately, register for a job alert so you’ll be notified when there is.

Joining, training and progression

What recruitment checks do you carry out?

Normally, checks include proof of right to work in the UK and proof of NI number, a Disclosure and Barring (DBS) check, a reference from your current and most recent employers and a health check. We will need to try and obtain references for any previous care jobs (if you’ll be working with adults) or any previous jobs with children (if you’ll be working with children and young people. Additionally, if you’ve lived outside the UK for six months or more within the last five years, we will need an overseas police check.

What is the induction and training like?

When you join you will get your own personal development plan. Your line manager will work with you to get achieve the right mix of e-learning, work shadowing, coaching and face-to-face training. You will also attend one of our popular corporate inductions, where you will meet staff from around the organisation. 

What are the opportunities for promotion? 

Currently around 20% of our vacancies are filled by internal staff, which covers both promotions and transfers. All our vacancies are available to current staff members, and we will actively support you to learn and develop.