Caretaker / Companion – Learning Support Assistant

Role Overview

We are seeking a warm, structured, and experienced Learning Support Assistant to serve as a live-in Caretaker / Companion for a high-functioning 19-year-old young woman with Down syndrome in Dubai. This is a long-term role requiring a candidate with a background in special educational needs or learning support who can deliver consistent, structured daily support under the guidance of an Occupational Therapist.

The primary objective of this role is to teach and reinforce life skills (activities of daily living) to support the young woman’s journey toward greater independence, while maintaining a warm, respectful, and age-appropriate approach.

About the Young Adult

The candidate will be supporting a 19-year-old young woman who completed her Grade 12 education in June 2026. Her therapeutic and developmental profile is as follows:

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)

• Primary goal is to build independence in daily living tasks
• Has historically relied on others for basic tasks; support must be consistent, firm, and encouraging
• Responds best to a warm, respectful approach that facilitates task completion independently

Cognitive & Emotional Profile

• Demonstrates slow processing speed and can become dysregulated
• Has developed self-awareness of dysregulation and some self-regulation strategies - requires in-the-moment guidance to implement them effectively

Motor & Physical

• Participates actively in sports and movement-based activities
• Tends to rely on fixed movement patterns; benefits from motor planning, coordination, and body awareness work
• Requires support with fine motor development: finger dissociation and refined grasp patterns

Communication

• Has a broad vocabulary and communicates thoughts well
• Speech clarity can sometimes be reduced; oral-motor activities may be beneficial

Key Guiding Principle

• Must be treated in an age-appropriate manner - as a young adult, not as a younger child. All support should promote her autonomy and maturity.

Candidate Requirements

Essential

• University graduate or equivalent qualification in Education, Special Educational Needs, or Learning Support
• Fluent English speaker
• Aged 25–35
• Experience working with children or young adults with special needs
• Valid driver’s license and confident, experienced driver
• Valid passport (must be able to travel internationally)
• Willing and able to travel extensively with the family
• Organised, dependable, and emotionally mature
• Calm, patient, and nurturing - with the ability to provide gentle but firm guidance

Role Responsibilities

• Provide daily structure and routine, reinforcing life skills (ADLs) as directed by the supervising OT
• Encourage independence through structured, routine-based activities aligned with the therapeutic plan
• Reinforce fine motor and coordination exercises through daily guided activities as prescribed by the OT
• Support social engagement, outings, and community participation
• Drive to therapy sessions, classes, outings, and appointments as required
• Coordinate closely with the supervising Occupational Therapist to support milestone achievements
• Reinforce therapeutic goals set by the OT within the home environment
• Implement oral-motor and communication support activities as guided by the OT
• Monitor and report on daily progress to the supervising OT and family
• Travel internationally with the family when required

Salary, Compensation & Benefits

The following compensation and benefits apply to this role:

Up to AED 7,500 - subject to experience and interview assessment.

The role includes medical insurance, one month of annual paid leave, an air ticket to your country of passport once every two years, and end of service gratuity in accordance with UAE labour law.

This role involves approximately four to six trips per year, each lasting one to two weeks — around 8 to 12 weeks of travel annually. Travel abroad would require the successful candidate to accompany the young adult throughout. All travel-related costs (flights, accommodation, and meals) are covered by the family, along with an additional travel allowance of AED 500 per week while travelling.

Personal Qualities Sought

• Warm, compassionate and genuinely invested in the young adult’s progress
• Structured, proactive and able to create and maintain consistent routines
• Professional, discreet and respectful of family privacy
• Energetic yet calm - capable of sustaining engagement without overstimulating
• Able to balance genuine companionship with professional leadership

Pay: From AED1.00 per month

Work Location: In person