Meet Paula - the Manager of Juno New Brighton - our third home, opening in 2025
Tell us who you are and what you do
I’m Paula Walsh, I joined Juno in the autumn of 2024, and I will be the Registered Manager of Juno New Brighton.
I did a Social Work degree and quickly in the role realised it wasn’t really for me – I wasn’t interacting with people, I was sitting at a desk most of the time and rarely got to go out and see families and children. I started working in a children’s residential home and really liked it. I started as a Residential Child Care Worker and progressed up to Deputy and then Registered Manager.
What brought you to Juno?
It was the ethos and values of Juno – the fact that it’s a non-profit organisation, and the concept of putting the surplus back into supporting children. In my previous roles, I saw a completely different focus – more focused on the money – and I found myself often challenging that. I realised how important it is to me to align with the ethos of the company. So when I heard about We Are Juno, and how this organisation is doing things, it really felt like how I wanted to work.
What's been the main focus of your role so far?
Getting Juno New Brighton open! The first couple of months have been all about submitting the registration documents to Ofsted, doing lots of studying to complete my NVQ5 and lots of additional training. The house has been renovated and I’ve been working with Chloe, Juno’s Expert by Experience, to choose the furniture, colour schemes, decorations, the overall vision for the complete home. I look forward to seeing it all come together and see the house become a home.
What will be the main challenges for you in this role?
Well, I’ve done it before so I know what challenges await. There’s always something happening, residential care is demanding and no two days are the same, but that’s what I like about it.
I think a real challenge will be recruitment – getting that strong team that works well together, wants to make the home a home, wants to support the children and have fun doing it. That’s so important – if the team is happy, it’s a nice environment for the children, it makes such a difference.
If you want to be a part of our team, sign up here to be notified about our vacancies going live in the new year!
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