Information for
Key Contacts
We have 150 staff divided between our sites in East Sussex and Northamptonshire.
We believe that by investing time and resources in our staff our service users will reap the rewards through excellent care.
Because we look after everyone who works for us, staff turnover is low with an average length of service of four years. This is high for the care industry.
Every member of staff is important but we think it is important to share as much information as possible about our key managers.
Meet the Team
Pawel Orlikowski,
Director of Operations Avens Ltd.
Originally from Poland, Pawel Orlikowski is the Director of Operations Avens Ltd. He is highly qualified with a Master’s degree in nursing, an NVQ Level 4 in Health and Social Care and the Registered Manager’s Award. He also has a Professional Diploma in Management.
Pawel has been with Avens for over a decade and is responsible for a number of properties and projects throughout East Sussex as well as working with local authorities in the South East of England.
Read more“Avens provide excellent services for its customers, excellent working conditions for its staff and has a great reputation. Avens has given me an incredible opportunity for my professional development and my work gives me a huge amount of job satisfaction.”
Richard Ransley,
Chairman Avens Ltd.
Richard Ransley joined Avens as Chairman of the Board of Directors in June 2021 after having been an informal consultant to Avens Limited over the previous 30 years. Originally a Civil Engineer.
Richard started his Finance career in 1978 as a CIMA student. The past 44 years have been predominantly within the Construction sector so he brings a wealth of experience to the Finance and Property side of Avens. Corporate compliance and governance are of the utmost importance.
Debbie Smith,
Finance Director, Avens Ltd.
Debbie Smith joined Avens as Finance Director in April 2017. Debbie qualified under the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (”ACCA”) in 1992 and has worked for small and large organisations within the property investment and development sectors, managing finance teams simultaneously across multiple locations.
She is therefore able to draw upon a wide breadth of commercial financial experience gained from within a highly regulated sector in the fulfilment of her duties for Avens.
Grzegorz Mierzejewski,
Manager of Avens Supported Living Sussex
Grzegorz has worked for Avens since 2006. Beginning as a support worker, he has progressed to Team Leader, Deputy Manager and it is great pride that Avens can announce Grzegorz is the Manager of Avens Supported Living Sussex (ASLS).
Gabriela Grad,
Manager of St Anthony, East Sussex
Gabriela joined Avens Ltd in July 2019, she began as a support-worker and was promoted in 2021 to Deputy Manager.
Gabriela completed her registration with CQC as the Registered Manager of St. Anthony in December 2022.
Lyn Eager,
Manager of Avens Supported Living Northamptonshire
Prior to joining Avens in 2009, Lyn had gained solid experience in a variety of positions within the care sector. She had successfully achieved her Level 3 in Health and Social Care whilst working with elderly Dementia. Lyn started with Avens in the position of Support Worker and quickly progressed to Head of Support followed by Senior Head of Support and then Service Team Leader.
In 2022 her in depth knowledge of the Company and its Supported Living services was recognised when she was promoted to Deputy Manager. In 2023 she was appointed to Manager for the service.
Julie Morrison,
Manager of The Ferns, 43 Marshalls Road, Northamptonshire.
Julie Morrison is leading our latest Residential Care Home in Raunds, Northamptonshire.
Julie has 20 years of experience of Supporting Adults with learning disabilities to live in their local community independently. Julie has worked for Avens Ltd since 2009, previously Julie worked for Northants Social Services as a care manager.
Read moreJulie is especially passionate about Person Centred Planning, putting the people she supports at the heart of the decision making process, and tailoring creative services around individual need, she places importance on staff training and believes this is the key to providing successful care services.
Seeing first hand the difference planning makes to people’s lives, is one of Julie’s key motivators.
Julie is very excited about the new Raunds project, Julie stated “This is a very exciting time for my team and myself. We want to give community presence, real Care Plans that meet the individual needs”.
Mandy Brady,
Deputy Manager of The Ferns, 43 Marshalls Road, Northamptonshire.
Julie is supported by her Deputy Manager, Mandy Brady. She has worked for Avens since 2004 and started working at our sister Care Home at Ringstead, as a Support Worker, then a Team Leader and was promoted to Head of Care. It was a natural progression for her to be promoted as Deputy Manager at Raunds. Mandy is the link between all stakeholders within the care setting.
Michelle McDonald,
Manager at 39, Denford Road, Ringstead, Northamptonshire.
Michelle has worked at Ringstead since 2001 as a care worker all the way up to Deputy Manager, where she supported Denise Lyford for 9 years before being made Manager at 39 Denford Rd at the beginning of 2016. Michelle has already made her mark on the home, with improvements to the back flats lounge already completed, creating a beautiful living space for those who live there to relax in.
Read more“I have always been impressed by Avens’ friendly and open ethos. I have received total support from the company over the years. Firstly being employed as a support worker, team leader, head of care and deputy manager, and now the manager. Every role has been rewarding which I think is down to the happy atmosphere Avens promotes. Best of all, I feel lucky to be able to support our service users and help them have the best possible quality of life.”
“At the end of the day, it’s not about us, it’s about them and it’s about what they want and what makes them happy. That’s what makes me happy, is knowing that everyone who lives here is happy to be getting up in the morning because they’ve got something to look forward to.”
Claire Wyant,
Deputy Manager at 39, Denford Road, Ringstead, Northamptonshire.
Michelle is supported by her Deputy Manager, Claire Wyant. She has worked for Avens since 2014, starting as a Team Leader and then promoted to Head of Care. It was a natural progression for her to be promoted as Deputy Manager at our Ringstead home.
Training Team
Magdalena Orlikowska,
Director of Staff Training; Head of Tailored Training, Avens Ltd.
Magdalena has worked at Avens since 2005 and has progressed from care worker to Avens Director in 2012. She manages Avens’ training department in her role of the Head of Tailored Training learning centre.
In 2020 Magda has achieved ‘Certificate in Education and Training’ (CET); she has also achieved ‘Preparing to Teach in a Lifelong Learning Sector’ (PTLLS) Award 2010 and achieved her V1 (2011) and A1 (2007) qualifications.
Clair Andrews,
Trainer, Internal Quality Assurance & Assessor, Avens Ltd.
Clair has worked for Avens since 1996 and has progressed from a Care Worker and Team Leader. Clair has spent time in various roles but most prominently as the Trainer and Assessor, where she is a leading figure in ensuring that staff are well trained and qualified, which included delivering training, assessing and verifying qualifications as well as supporting the Tailored Training team.