“I’ve realised that I’m really in the right place. And maybe my life up until this point has led me here.”
For a long time, Zoe Alexander, who is from Newcastle, wasn’t entirely sure where her career would take her. There was music, travelling, hospitality, and volunteering. Each experience taught her something different, but none felt quite like the right destination – until social care.
Looking back now, she sees those years differently. Zoe reflects, “I’ve realised that finally I’m really in the right place. And maybe my life up until this point has led me here. The things that I’ve done, the things that I’ve been good at, the things that I’ve been surrounded up to now. And it makes absolute sense that I am in this role.”
Zoe is a Service Manager at Threshold Services, where she leads a residential service supporting people with physical disabilities, brain injuries, and other complex needs. Yet, her journey into social care began before she stepped into a management role. It began with a simple wish, as Zoe says, “I knew from an early age that I wanted to work with people in some kind of support capacity.”
A different path
Zoe was drawn to the idea of helping others through creativity. Music was a huge part of her life, and she went on to study it at university, initially exploring the possibility of a future in music therapy. She notes, “I think it was bringing together creativity with healing, and with holistic care.” While music therapy didn’t become her career, the values behind it have remained central to her approach. She still champions opportunities for creativity, bringing music therapists, art therapists and community groups into the service she manages, because of their positive impact.
After university, Zoe spent time travelling and working in restaurants. Hospitality taught her how to work with people in fast-paced environments and how to adapt to different situations, skills that would later prove valuable in social care. But she still felt something was missing. Unsure exactly where she wanted to focus her energy, she decided to volunteer.
A moment of difference
Zoe began volunteering with Caldwell Children, supporting families of children with disabilities. Sometimes she worked directly with those who received support, sometimes siblings who needed attention of their own, and sometimes she stepped in wherever a family needed an extra pair of hands.
One moment, with a mother whom Zoe bonded particularly well with, has stayed with her. Zoe says, “There were weeks where we ended having a coffee and cake because she needed that little bit of human interaction that wasn’t directly related to the kids.” It was a simple moment, but it taught Zoe something important about social care – it is not always about solving an issue; sometimes it is about listening and understanding what someone needs. By the time Zoe finished volunteering, she knew she had found the sector she wanted to build her career in.
Growing from the ground up
At 26, Zoe secured her first paid role as a Support Worker with Leonard Cheshire (now part of Threshold Services), a charity supporting disabled people to live and work independently. She joined a newly established service where staff and the people they support were finding their feet together. There were challenges, but there was also a strong sense of ownership and teamwork. Zoe says, “We worked hard, and it became a special service because it was ours. We built it, and that felt special.”
What followed was more than a decade of learning, development, and progression. Over the years, Zoe worked her way through a series of roles, becoming Team Leader, Volunteer Coordinator, Deputy Manager, and eventually Service Manager. Her progression reflects a strength of the social care sector: the opportunity to develop a lifelong career. “Most people in management positions in health and social care start as a care worker or a support worker. If somebody wants to gain experience and move up the ladder, with the ambition to get there, they can,” Zoe notes.
Leading and supporting
Now, Zoe leads a supported living service supporting people with physical disabilities, acquired brain injuries and complex health needs. She oversees staff teams, ensuring high standards of care, meeting regulatory requirements and advocating for the people who use the service. It is a role that requires resilience, leadership and problem-solving every day.
Despite the complexity of her role, the thing that keeps her motivated has remained remarkably consistent – people.
“The relationships that are built with the client base are second to none. You walk in every day, and people are coming up and having a chat. You’re part of their life, and they’re part of yours,” Zoe notes. That sense of connection extends throughout the whole service. “It’s like a big family. There’s mutual respect. It’s everyone feeling happy and supported,” Zoe adds.
Looking back and moving forward
When Zoe reflects on her journey, she doesn’t see a collection of unrelated jobs. She sees a path that gradually led her towards a career where she could combine compassion, creativity, leadership, and a genuine desire to support others. For anyone considering a future in social care, she believes the difference the work makes is difficult to match.
“I don’t actually think there is a more meaningful role than working directly with someone, providing them care and support that they need in whatever capacity,” as Zoe says.
The work can be demanding and unpredictable. Every day brings new challenges and new opportunities to make a difference. For Zoe, there is nowhere else she would rather be, stating, “It is a hard job, that goes without saying, but it is definitely the best job.”
Take a deeper dive…You can hear more from Zoe and her work at Threshold Services by watching the video below
Feeling inspired?
Working together to change people’s lives… Make a difference by embarking on your journey into social care. For more information on how you can start your journey check out our Interested in becoming a social care practitioner? page or read more social care stories here.