Volunteer Associates

Joe Nixon 

Volunteer Advisor

Joe has worked in the care sector for 40 years managing and developing services. Joe was an active member of Shared Lives UK and has held different senior positions over the years within Shared Lives. Joe has also held the position as chair of governors for a special needs school for a number of years, in Knowsley.

Born in Liverpool Joe left school in 1970 and went into nursing where Joe qualified as a psychiatric nurse for children and adults with learning disabilities.

Joe became a Residential Manager for a local authority in 1981for adult services for people with Learning Disabilities /Mental Health and Older people. Joe developed and set up accommodation and day services for the service user groups.

Joe joined PSS (a Liverpool based charity) in 1994 to support and manage existing Shared Lives arrangements (formerly known as Adult Placements). This involved developing a range of Shared Lives services such as long term, short breaks and day care opportunities. This service was provided in ordinary family homes of carefully recruited and trained carers.

Joe has also developed locally based service user groups to ensure that people had ‘a voice’ and were listened too. Joe explored and developed other types of provision that Local Authorities / PCTs were interested in for example a Toy Library in North Wales. Joe has worked across a number of Local Authorities such as, Liverpool, St Helens, Halton, North Wales, Warrington, Wirral, Scotland and Stafford

Joe is a member of Shared Lives UK

Joe Nixon’s Qualifications include

• Welfare Officer
• State Enrolled Nurse
• Qualified social worker GSCC (registration number 1045703)
• Diploma in Management

Joe also has significant experiences in the following areas;

• Lecturing (Social Care and Management)
• Trainer (Social Care Legislation and Management Strategies
• Leadership and Change Management
• Service User individual and group work
• Contracts, Tenders and Budgets
• Evaluation and Auditing Services
• Developing New Services in other Geographical Areas
• Staff Supervision / Training / Recruitment / Selection
• Investigations