Kelly Clark is the Head of Community Care & Wellbeing Services at ADSS. Our Wellbeing services provide an opportunity for fun and friendship at our local, community based, activities and support groups. ADSS delivers life changing services for people with dementia and their carers from pre-diagnosis throughout their experience of dementia.
Our Support at Home Care and Beacon Day Care Centre services promote dignity, treating each person as an individual, focusing on their strengths and potential, and providing support to help them thrive beyond their limitations.
In this blog, Kelly shares her inspiring career journey from retail to registered manager.
Kelly joined ADSS back in 2017:
“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had never worked in care before. My background was in retail and pharmacy dispensing, and while I’d built a long career there, I often felt something was missing. I wanted work that gave me a real sense of purpose, where I could see the difference, I was making in people’s lives every single day.”
So, with a mixture of nerves and excitement, I took the leap into the world of Health and Social Care and started at ADSS as an Enablement Support Worker.
Very quickly, I realised two things:
Those early days were a whirlwind of learning. I can remember going home after my first few shifts with my head buzzing, replaying conversations, and hoping I’d done things right. But what struck me was the support around me, colleagues who never made me feel silly for asking questions, and managers who gave me the confidence to step outside my comfort zone.
Within six months, I was promoted to Senior Support Worker within the Support at Home service. That promotion wasn’t just a new job title; it was the first time in years that I truly felt recognised for what I could bring to the table. I threw myself into the role, determined to not only learn the ropes but to live and breathe the culture and values of ADSS. For me, it wasn’t enough to just “get the job done”, I wanted every part of the service to feel compassionate, person-centred, and supportive.
Alongside my role, I completed my Level 3 Health and Social Care qualification, which gave me the knowledge to back up what I was learning in practice. I moved into a Care Coordinator role, responsible for the rostering of all the visits, and then onto Deputy Manager, where I was able to start making bigger changes.
This was where I discovered my love for leadership. I began introducing new processes and procedures to make our work more efficient, but even more importantly, I worked on shifting the culture. I wanted to create a workplace where people felt safe to speak up, where empathy was at the heart of everything we did, and where every staff member, from a new support worker to the most experienced senior, felt genuinely valued. Slowly but surely, I could see the transformation taking shape.
In 2021, I took one of the proudest steps of my career: being promoted to Registered Manager. Alongside this, I completed my Level 5 Health and Social Care Management qualification. Studying while managing a service wasn’t easy, but it gave me the confidence and skills to step into the role with a clear vision: to build a strong, reliable, and committed team who knew their work had meaning.
And that’s exactly what we did. Together, we created an environment where people supported each other, celebrated achievements, and felt part of something bigger. I’ve watched staff grow in confidence, some starting out as I once did, unsure if they were “good enough”, only to blossom into incredible carers and leaders. Seeing that journey in others has been one of the most rewarding parts of my role.
Now, I’ve recently taken another exciting step: handing over the reins of managing the service to Charlotte, while I focus on the strategic side of ADSS’ Care and Wellbeing provision. It’s a new chapter for me, and I feel so proud to see Charlotte carrying forward the service we’ve worked so hard to build, with those strong foundations of trust, empathy, and shared purpose firmly in place.
Looking back, I could never have imagined how far I’d come since that first day in 2017. What started as a career change, a leap into the unknown, has become a vocation, a passion, and a journey of growth I’ll always be proud of.
If there’s one thing I want others to take from my journey, it’s this: you are capable of more than you think. With the right support, encouragement, and values behind you, you can achieve things you never thought possible.
Are you ready to find a career with purpose, where you’ll be supported, listened to and inspired to grow? At ADSS, we believe in unlocking people’s potential, whether you’re completely new to care or already have experience, there’s a path here for you. Join us and be part of a team that makes a difference every single day, walking alongside families as they face dementia together, while finding purpose for yourself. Apply now and take your first step into a future you’ll be proud of.