‘I've worked so hard to get to where I am’: how Samantha Marriott became an office manager at our Castleford residential services

Sorting out colleague recruitment, compliance, payslips, contracts, and ID badges are all in a day’s work for Samantha Marriott, who’s the office manager for three Lifeway residential services in Castleford.

Samantha’s career journey at Lifeways began in 2014.

Back then, Samantha, who’s a mother of three, took up a flexible part-time role as a support worker at Whitwood House, a Lifeways residential service.

Whitwood House is right next to Whitwood Hall and Whitwood Grange, two other Lifeways residential services. All three services support adults with autism and learning disabilities, among other needs.

“Back then, I just worked as and when I could fit those eight hours in,” said Samantha. Then, a year later, Samantha was promoted to be a Team Leader, which made her the line manager of several other support workers.

In 2017, Samantha was offered the role of office manager, working across the three services.

“Whitwood House’s manager at the time told me that I were you, I’d go for the promotion,” Samantha recalls.

‘It can’t be any harder’

To accept the promotion - or not - was a tough decision for Samantha. Her youngest child, 12-year-old Charlie, had been recently diagnosed with autism.

“I’m in my forties, I’m a single parent, and I’ve got kids at home,” Samantha recalled thinking.

What’s more, Samantha had little experience of using computers – a key part of the role.

“I thought, why not just go for it,” Samantha adds. “Life can’t be any harder.”

After accepting the role, Samantha set to work learning the ropes as fast as she could. “I’m self-taught,” she says. “I've picked up things as I've gone along. I've worked so hard to get to where I am.”

Five years later, and Samantha says she’s right where she wants to be. “It’s a nice job, and I do enjoy it,” she says.

Finding meaning

Best of all, Samantha finds meaning in the everyday interactions with the people she supports.

“I feel like it's a little bit more than a just a job,” Samantha says. “And I think to work here, you have to understand that each individual deserves the best that you can give them.”

“It's just so nice when you see individuals we support succeeding in things and knowing that they are happy where they live.”

Due to the needs of her son, Samantha has a very personal view of what good support looks like, and the role she plays in making sure each of the three residential services provide extraordinary support.

“If my child or family member was here, I would want to have people who care about them,” she says.

“Working this job has made me understand my son Charlie better.”

Thanks for sharing your story, Samantha!

 

About Lifeways:

Lifeways is the UK’s largest team of support professionals providing support for adults in the community.

Our 11,000 colleagues currently support almost 5,000 individuals who live in our 1,500 supported living and residential services across England, Scotland, and Wales. 

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