Find out more about our Board Members and Trustees
Roger Causer, Chairperson
Previous Experience
I worked in the NHS for nearly 50 years in various roles including roles at a senior management level. My work in Internal Audit in the NHS included a range of governance assignments. In more recent years I worked as an accredited Local Counter Fraud Specialist supporting a number of NHS organisations in protecting valued public resources from fraud, bribery and corruption.
Chester Link Journey
Initially I joined the company as a trustee and then became the Treasurer, following this a number of years ago I took over the role of Company Chairman.
I lead a small group of committed and enthusiastic voluntary trustees, who oversee the smooth running of our organisation and ensure we deliver a quality service to our service users.
Anna Maclese, Chief Officer
Previous Experience
My background is in primary education and a range of social care settings including supporting young people living in care and being Deputy Manager of a residential home for older people. I owned a ‘Kumon Maths’ franchise for seven years and specialised in developing the literacy and numeracy skills of struggling and disillusioned students.
I achieved an honours degree in English and Psychology, Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and am qualified in Leadership and Management, Voluntary Sector Management and Mentoring.
Chester Link Journey
I have worked for Chester Link since 2002, initially as a Support Worker, Senior Support Worker, Team Leader and have been the Service Manager and Chief Officer since 2012.
I really enjoy the challenges and variety of the Chief Officer role. I am passionate about leading the staff teams to provide the best support and housing for our service users to enable them to develop their skills and independence, and experience new and interesting opportunities in their lives.
Work with Us
The Chester Link employs over 70 amazing staff in full time and part time positions. The management team comprises of a Registered Manager, Care Co-Ordinator, Staff Co-Ordinator and Housing Co-Ordinator who report to the Chief Officer with the support of the company Administrator and Bookkeeper. We have a great supportive team of staff who take pride in the work they do and continually stride to achieve the best they can.
Staff training and education
All new staff are subject to pre-employment checks, including a Disclosure and Barring Service check at an enhanced level (DBS).
All new staff receive a full induction and shadow experience staff. They complete the ‘Care Certificate’ award and mandatory training including Safeguarding Adults, First Aid, Health and Safety, Food Safety and Medication Administration.
Staff are supported to gain a qualification in Health and Social Care, and there is an ongoing training plan to ensure that all staff are up to date in their training and have opportunities to develop their learning in areas such as Autism, Dementia Awareness, Mental Health Awareness and Management.
We would love to hear from positive, enthusiastic, outgoing and person centred individuals over 18, who enjoy spending time with people and would like to support them to live a life of their choice.
Want to find out more about how you can be a part of Chester Link?
Click the link below to see our current vacancies.
Our Managers
Cate Glover, Care Co-Ordinator
I have worked within the field of mental health and Learning Disabilities for over 20 years. I have a background in art and I became interested in the potential of studying to become an art therapist after completing my degree. This brought me into the field of social care. As I find working in this field fulfilling and rewarding, I have remained in social care, starting out as a support worker and then moving up into a Management role.
I am now the Care Co-ordinator with a qualification in Leadership and Management and I have worked for The Chester Link since 2003. My main tasks are – Key person for the service users we support, line managing staff, sharing on-call responsibilities with my peers.
Charlotte Bunton-Deer, Housing Co-Ordinator
I am the Housing Co-Ordinator for The Chester Link. I have worked in social care since 2016 and have a first class honours degree in Health and Social Care. I have worked for The Chester Link since 2020, as part of my job, I ensure that the houses are all meeting and exceeding regulatory standards. I spend a lot of time meeting with contractors and performing housing audits.
We strongly believe that our service users should live in a homely, well kept, safe and updated properties. I check that all health and safety and infection control is kept up-to-date, monitor our systems and compliance. I update policies and risk assessments periodically and oversee budgets to ensure that we are on target.
My additional responsibilities include being The Chester Link’s Digital Leader, and the Deputy Data Security and Protection Lead.
Lorna Cooper, Staff Co-Ordinator
I have an Undergraduate Degree in Psychology from University of Chester and a Postgraduate Degree in Family and Child Psychology including Learning Disabilities and Special Educational Needs. I am currently studying for my NVQ level 5 in Management in Health and Social Care as well.
I started working for Chester Link in June 2018, this was my first job in care and support as a support worker and over the years as we have grown, I worked my way up to be part of the management team after two years and have now become the Staff Co-Ordinator which I have been doing for the past 9 months. In my role as Staff Co-Ordinator, I manage the staffing levels and rotas for each service across Chester Link, including managing staff annual leave, days off, requests for days out and holidays for the service users as well as covering short notice sickness in all staff teams all whilst making sure our service users have the best support available to them. In my role I supervise and appraise a share of our staff team to make sure that not only are our service users happy, but our staff are as well. Over the past four years I have grown and developed with this charity and have found a job that I didn’t think I would land in but can now never imagine leaving.
Hannah Sayer-Anderson,
Training Co-Ordinator
I am the Training Co-Ordinator responsible for training for staff at the Chester Link. With nearly two decades of experience within the care industry both professionally and personally, I discovered a passion for teaching and mentoring others. I decided to qualify as a teacher in 2017 and spent the next 4 years teaching individuals in the care industry how to effectively care for others. During this time, I gained recognition for my successful teaching practice by receiving an OFSTED grade 1 outstanding observation and student of the year whilst completing my Certificate of Education.
Alongside teaching I am passionate about Care Quality standards and ensuring that staff understand the importance of the Care Quality Commission and delivering a high standard of care for service users. I completed my Internal Quality Assurance qualification in 2019 and apply this to my current role at the Chester Link. My standards are extremely high and I facilitate the implementation of the extensive recruitment process for the company which involves ongoing pastoral and developmental support to ensure staff are following our high standards before completing the induction process. The care certificate in an integral part of this and I facilitate developmental observations before staff are signed off as competent.
An open door policy is extremely important to me. Staff need to feel as though they can approach me at any time and can talk openly, I take pride in being the face of Human resources for the Company and am passionate about developing relationships and supporting others in this area.
Lesley Williams, Registered Manager
I am an experienced manager gained through; originally Financial Services & HR to the last 10 years working directly within Charity Organisations, Social Housing and most recently Domestic Abuse Refuges. Supporting vulnerable adults with complex needs resulting from trauma, drug and alcohol misuse & homelessness, to supporting men, women and children fleeing from domestic abuse homelives. I bring both back office and front office skills through business and staff management, and hold various management qualifications alongside the NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational H&S & IOSH and a Health & Social Care Diploma.
This is a new role for me where I will manage the overall provision of care and support services working alongside the Chief Officer and Care Co-Ordinator.
My role is to ensure that the service meets and exceeds the CQC Fundamental Standards and that service users are supported to lead the lives they choose as far as they are able.