The role of a Team Starter
Getting Teams off the ground
When someone reaches out for support, they often don’t yet know what their support team will look like. The Team Starter is the person who helps get things off the ground: guiding the early conversations, helping with practical steps, and staying involved just long enough to ensure a team can work well on its own.
Team Starters don’t run teams. Their goal is to make sure no one else needs them long-term.
What Team Starters do
Team Starters are often the first human connection a new person has with Equal Care. Their work involves:
Welcoming the person and understanding what kind of support they want (and don’t want)
Explaining how Equal Care works, including the Teams model and what to expect
Completing key documents like the Getting Support Profile and Trust Assessment
Introducing the person to the Equal Care platform and supporting them to explore potential matches
Facilitating early conversations, trial sessions, and the setup of team hats (roles)
Stepping back once the team is running smoothly and no longer needs direct support
In some cases, the Team Starter will also speak with friends, family, advocates or professionals involved in the person’s life, to ensure the team’s start is well-rounded and informed.
Matching and forming a new team
A key part of the Team Starter’s work is helping people find the right match. This includes:
Sharing support needs and preferences with trusted members of the co-op
Helping identify people with capacity and the right experience
Coordinating introductions and early support sessions
Making sure the basics are in place: the rota, communication tools, and agreed responsibilities
Team Starters help to put practical structures in place (like team chat and shared notes), while supporting each member to feel confident in their role. They’re often the ones who help assign the team’s first hats — things like rota holder, support profile holder, or medication record holder — but always in collaboration with the Team Owner and others involved.
Working beyond the team
Team Starters also play a role in supporting the wider Local Circle. They help:
Identify capacity or gaps for new teams
Work alongside recruiters, trainers and Coaches to keep communication flowing
Build and hand over relationships with external professionals, such as social workers or brokers
Flag and problem-solve when something’s getting in the way of a team forming well
What makes a good Team Starter?
This is a role that calls for a balance of warmth and boundaries, intuition and organisation. You’ll need to be comfortable with admin, systems and communication tools — but also confident in holding space for emotional conversations, tricky logistics or moments of uncertainty.
Qualities that help in this role include:
Being welcoming, inclusive and persistent
Having strong follow-up and clear boundaries
Spotting potential in others and helping people grow
Managing expectations honestly
Working well with different people, roles and systems
Support, training and expectations
Team Starters are trained and supported through a structured process, which includes:
Shadowing experienced Team Starters
Training in Equal Care’s model, platform, and legal responsibilities
Working with a buddy for in-the-moment feedback and support
Learning about care contracts, co-operative governance and working with complex teams
The co-op asks for a minimum commitment of 12 months in this role after training, to ensure continuity and honour the investment made.
Payment and commitment
Team Starters can be either independent workers or employees:
Independents are paid the Participation Rate while training, then move to the Circle Hat Rate
Employees are paid the Real Living Wage, with caregiving hours adjusted to reflect training time
Holding more than one core hat (e.g. Recruiter + Team Starter) may attract a salary uplift
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