A private caregiver supports someone who needs help with daily life at home. The role covers personal care, medication, meals, and mobility. Light housework and company through the day come with it.
This page gives you a full example job description to use as a template when hiring. For everything else, see our page for hiring a caregiver. It covers what caregivers do day to day, salaries by country, how the role compares to a companion, and how to hire one.
Something worth thinking about when you write the brief. Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, has noticed that the caregivers who settle into a private home fastest are usually the ones who came from hospitals or care homes. They’ve already learned how to be present in someone’s life without being intrusive. That instinct is hard to teach. If you’re choosing between two candidates and one has hospital or care home experience, that history is often a stronger signal than years of in-home work alone.
Example of a caregiver job description
Here’s an example job description for a full-time, live-in private caregiver in a family home. The duties are typical of a private household caregiver role. Visa and medical qualification rules change country to country.
Job description
A family is looking for an experienced, live-in caregiver for an elderly parent in their own home. The client needs help with personal care, medication, and mobility, along with company through the day.
The caregiver will be the client’s main daily support. They’ll help the client stay comfortable and safe at home, and watch for changes in health or mood. They’ll work closely with the family and the client’s medical team. Medical care such as injections or wound treatment stays with a visiting nurse or doctor.
The role is full-time and live-in, with a private bedroom and en suite. Time off can be arranged in two- or three-day blocks, or on a week on/week off pattern.
Responsibilities
Personal care
- Help with bathing, dressing, grooming, and toileting
- Help the client move safely between bed, chair, and bathroom
- Help the client get around the home and on outings, including with any mobility aids
Health and medication
- Remind the client to take medication on schedule
- Watch for changes in health, skin, appetite, sleep, or mood, and flag them early to the family or medical team
- Help with simple exercises prescribed by the client’s doctor or physical therapist
- Keep written notes on health and daily activity
Meals and household
- Cook for the client’s dietary needs
- Do light cleaning and laundry
- Do the weekly grocery run and pick up prescriptions
Company and daily life
- Spend time with the client, whether that’s chatting, reading, playing games, listening to music, or going for walks
- Go with the client to medical appointments, social visits, and outings
- Keep a calm, steady daily routine the client can rely on
Requirements
Essential experience
- Minimum 3 years as a private caregiver, or in a hospital or care home
- Verifiable written references from previous families or employers
- Calm, patient, and physically able to help with lifting and moving the client safely
- First aid and CPR certification
- Comfortable tracking medication and noticing early signs of health changes
Preferred qualifications
- CNA or HHA certification (US), NVQ Level 2 or 3 in Health and Social Care (UK), or DEAES (France)
- Experience with dementia, stroke recovery, or long-term chronic conditions
- Clean driver’s licence for errands and appointments
Personal qualities
- Absolute discretion and respect for the client’s privacy
- Kind, patient, and attentive
- Steady presence, able to be in the home without being intrusive
- Clear communicator with the family and medical team
- Fluent English; a second language is a plus
Work conditions
- Full-time, live-in with private bedroom and en suite
- Time off in blocks: two or three days at a time, or week on/week off
- Health insurance included
- Paid holiday
- Salary based on experience
Using this job description
If you’re using this as a starting point for your own hire, change the responsibilities and requirements sections to match your brief. The details that change things most are the client’s medical needs, whether the role is live-in or live-out, and whether a clinical qualification is needed.
Morgan & Mallet places caregivers in the US, UK, Europe, and the Middle East. If you’d like us to refine a job description for your household, or help you hire, get in touch with one of our offices.
Looking for a position as a private caregiver?have a look through our current vacancies on the Morgan & Mallet job board.
This job description was reviewed by Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet.