The owner of Life Plus, Darren together with the Managing Director, Michelle Batchelor is responsible for the direction and operational management of the company. Darren couples a wealth of experience in healthcare recruitment with hands-on experience within the mental health sector as a residential unit manager, giving him valuable insight at grassroots level.
From the UK originally, Darren has held “the responsible individual” position for two highly respected healthcare agencies in the UK. The role of “the responsible individual” registered with the Commission for Social Care Inspection in the UK has both legal and moral implications; this means that if anything did happen involving a worker from that agency, “the responsible individual” could be held personally responsible and liable.
Darren is a keen Formula One fan and is always happy to chat about the good old days of motor racing.
Responsible for the strategic direction and the operational management of Life Plus, Michelle holds qualifications in Business Management and Human Resources. Originally from the UK, Michelle has over 20 years’ experience across general management, operational management, and recruitment, with 15+ years’ experience within the Healthcare Recruitment
Michelle believes in working as an extension of the client’s organisation to make the recruitment process as seamless as possible. When she is not in the office, Michelle can be found in the Boxing ring, as a 4 x World Champion Kickboxer and an Asia Pacific Boxing Champion…… did I mention she is also the company debt collector.
Leslee is a Registered Nurse with over 30 years’ experience in healthcare, working in various roles including management, rehabilitation, training, palliative care and home and community support, both overseas and in New Zealand.
Leslee is committed and passionate about ensuring the provision of quality care to clients by well trained and competent staff to meet client individual needs.
Outside of work she enjoys spending time with family and friends, outdoor activities, travelling and dog training.
Since joining Life in 2011, Tracey’s role has expanded considerably. Extremely organized with exceptional attention to detail Tracey is always 2 steps ahead.
Now a seasoned member of the Service Coordination Team, Leading the charge for our Temporary Services Division there isn’t any area of coordination that Tracey isn’t familiar and experienced in and can’t handle. Tracey’s no-nonsense attitude gets things done and delivers the utmost in customer service!
With three young daughters who demand a lot of her time and attention Tracey successfully juggles motherhood with work and the odd glass of wine with family and friends.
Diploma in Management qualified, Ayesha has worked in the Health and Disability sector for the last 3 – 4 years, prior to her time with Life Plus working as a Homecare Coordinator for one of Life Plus’s competitors. Ayesha joined Life Plus bringing with her a wealth of knowledge in Homecare across, MOH, DHB, ACC and Private contracts. Since joining Life Plus, Ayesha has adjusted to the Life Plus way of doing things and utilising her excellent multi-tasking skills. Ayesha is a Health and Safety Rep for Life Plus. Ayesha commented:
Life Plus can be my Canvas e.g. a painter needs a good canvas, colour and brush to implement his talent. For me, this organisation is a canvas, employees are the colours and my talent is the brush. No matter how talented the painter is, he still needs the right canvas and good colours to implement his talent.
Ayesha enjoys socialising with friends and co-workers, gardening, home decorations and spending family time with her Husband.
Fiona is a registered nurse with over 20 years of experience in the UK and NZ. Her specialty is cardiology but after 15 years in the UK, it was time for a change. Fiona enjoys meeting and assessing new clients and assisting them to find the appropriate recovery needs.
She balances this with her busy home life as a mum to two boys and enjoys playing netball to burn off some energy – when not injured herself!
Anisha joined Life plus in early 2018 as a team administrator and is now our Administration and Events Manager. She comes from a fast-paced hospitality and customer service background working at the cinemas for over six years. Even though she sometimes misses her discounted movies, popcorn, and ice cream, she loves the people she is working with and loves to continually learn more about the industry and grow with the company. Anisha is also a graduate of a Bachelor of Arts in Event Management minoring in Public Relations. When Anisha isn’t at Life plus she’s either catching up on her favourite shows such as The Real Housewives Series or Shortland Street. She loves shopping her way around every mall or current sale that’s on. If she’s not watching her favourite shows or shopping her heart out, you can find her eating her body weight in pizza and pasta or looking at good memes she can chuckle too.
Abby joined Life Plus in May 2019 as a temp payroll administrator. She then moved on to our Front of House Administration role on a permanent basis. “The company welcomed me with open arms. They really take care of their staff members. I have never experienced anything quite like it with another employer”. Abby enjoys getting out of the house as much as possible, using her spare time to mainly shop up a storm – particularly at Sephora, makeup and beauty is a major passion of hers. She hopes to graduate from university one day with a Doctor’s Degree, specializing in Dermatology.
Preeti holds a Bachelor of Commerce from India and Diploma in professional accounting from Auckland University. Joining Life Plus in 2010 as Accounts and Payroll Administrator promoted to Financial Controller in May 2014, Preeti is a perfectionist and give’s 110% in everything she does – her mantra being “Life will give back everything you have given to it”. A versatile member of the team Preeti has an extensive Healthcare Recruitment background and is a wizard with databases.
When she is not at work playing with the numbers, Preeti enjoys spending every minute of the day with her gorgeous son, daughter and husband. She also loves to cook and dance (preferably not at the same time as it gets messy) …….
Mohanans Payroll experience spans 9 years in total which includes 4 years in New Zealand. Prior to Payroll Mohanan spent 11 years in different domains of Finance & Accounting such as Procure to Pay, Reconciliations & Order to cash, for various international businesses. Mohanan’s work experiences overall have been very enriching, challenging, and encouraging as through the years he has been exposed to various business environments and their operating models and multiple ERP. In his spare time, Mohanan is either entertaining his 3-year-old daughter, with his wife, playing badminton, or embarking on a DIY project around the house which pretty much sums him up.
A professional accounts and payroll assistant with over 6 years’ experience in the field. Mittal is skilled in payroll processing, problem-solving, and auditing in work environments serving as few as 20 employees or as many as 400+ employees. Highly skilled in all aspects of accounting, including data interpretation, compliance assurance, and ledger balancing. Mittal has extensive experience in a wide range of financial and accounting functions, has a keen eye for numerical tasks with a thorough understanding of the breadth of accounts plus strong desire to identify cost-effective opportunities for business
Hina has been an Enrolled Nurse since 2011 and has been with Life Plus since August 2012.
Hina joined Life Plus as an Enrolled Nurse and Assessor and completes assessments for all of our short term clients.
Hina really enjoys getting out into the community, meeting new clients, and providing them tools for their recovery process.
Hina also used to be our Staff Induction Instructor, however, with our company transitioning to a paperless system, she has helped introduce an electronic-based program.
Hina enjoys spending time with her children, cooking, and also baking and making sweets.
Starting off as a Community Support Worker, Russel’s experiences in the healthcare sector is varied.
Truly passionate about providing good care for Russel it is not about financial gains, but a commitment to providing the best possible quality care, assigning the most competent staff, and meeting the client’s needs!
When she’s not assisting Tahira and the rest of the Serious Injury team, Russel’s family is her source of love and inspiration whom she loves to cook up a storm for!
Daphne recently migrated from Singapore to New Zealand and is enjoying her time here so much more than humid Singapore.
She joined Life Plus in February 2019 and is learning so much about the working culture in New Zealand. Daphne graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications in Singapore and has been working for the past 5 years in Singapore. Life Plus is her first job in Auckland and has been in recruitment in Singapore, she is learning the similarities and differences between Singapore and New Zealand’s recruitment industry.
When she is not working, Daphne enjoys experimenting and cooking her hometown dishes and chilling at the beach with her husband.
Moving to New Zealand on the 1st of January 2020, Anelda grew up in South Africa. The youngest of 3 ( two brothers) Anelda’s background is in coordination in the hospital environment, which translated amazingly into coordination in the temp recruitment space here at Life Plus. A lover of animals, especially dogs. Her fav food is anything that is not healthy, unfortunately, and she loves to explore the lovely New Zealand landscapes.
Tahira came to NZ from Fiji to pursue a career in nursing. Achieving her Bachelor of Nursing degree at the University of Auckland. Whilst studying, She worked for Life Plus as a health care assistant (HCA). Starting her nursing care in private mental health and addiction, gaining international experience and knowledge whilst travelling between NZ, Australia, Thailand, and Bali. Tahira continues to develop her knowledge on spinal injuries and traumatic brain injuries in her current role as a Principle Consultant. In her spare time, Tahira loves spending quality time with her partner, family, and friends. She also takes interest in trying to understand different cultures and the power of connectedness; through which she believes perspective can be better understood.
A highly motivated and qualified Occupational Therapist with a passion for promoting health and wellness in everyday life. Mary Jane has experience in working with predominantly adults, older adults, and young adults who have suffered brain injuries, stroke survivors and neurological conditions, spinal injuries, and amputees.
MJ has a keen interest in Psychology and Holistic Health and Wellness and is currently in the process of part-time study for a Bachelor of Naturopathy and Herbal Medicine in the management of chronic health conditions and pain management. MJ hopes in the near future to undertake postgraduate studies to expand her learning within the Occupational Therapy sector.
Outside of her career, Mj has two beautiful children and a husband whom she cherishes with all her heart and has a love for anything yoga, fitness, health, and food-related (she can eat a family block of peanut butter Whittakers easily!)
“Blossom wherever you are planted” is one of Joy’s life mantras. She is a Registered Nurse both in the Philippines and here in New Zealand. As she started working with Life plus as a Complex Care Registered Nurse back in 2016 she learned the ropes of New Zealand community care passionately and worked her way up as a Complex Care Consultant at present. Life Plus is her first-ever company in New Zealand and her loyalty and commitment to the team is a reflection of how she admires the culture of this remarkable organization.
She particularly enjoys the holistic resources of Auckland. Where she can work happy during the week, chill on a Friday night and enjoy the serenity of nature with her family on a Sunday Lunch at the beach.
A registered nurse with 15 years’ experience in community nursing, both in New Zealand and Australia. Vicky loves challenges that require out of the box thinking and is committed to patient centricity and person-centered care.
Born and raised on the South Islands west coast of New Zealand Vicky moved north and then spent 10 years living in Australia before moving back to be closer to family.
In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, home renovation, and spending time with family and friends.
Carla grew up in Taranaki and is the proud mum to 5 beautiful girls. Carla is an integral member of the After Hours team, bringing her common-sense no-nonsense approach and her background in Dentistry, Healthcare, and Restorative Justice to the organisation.
In her spare time, Carla enjoys spending time with her Whanau and her hobbies include reading, vinyl records, and retro furniture.
Lisa has more than6 years’ experience in design, communication, and content creation. She is passionate about creating inspired solutions and telling people’s stories. Lisa brings to the team qualified skills in design, video production, web development, SEO, and social media marketing. As a multimedia specialist, Lisa is responsible for planning and sharing our story online and through our marketing. Lisa prides herself on getting to understand a person or business and using her skills to showcase their best strengths to the world!
Corina is of Nga Puhi / Irish descent. Joining LifePlus in 2019 as a Resource Coordinator. Corina worked for the Maori Trustee for 14 years in both the Gisborne and Rotorua office until her son sustained a severe Traumatic Brain Injury in 2007. Corina was her son’s full-time Carer for 10 years until moving to Tauranga in 2017.
Corina’s personal experience of the health system has given her a deep sense of empathy and understanding of the challenges clients may face. Akey volunteers for Camp Unity, organising events, fundraisers, and camps for families impacted by brain injuries, Corina loves to do arts and crafts and spending time with her 5 moko.
Ramya joined Life Plus as part of the After Hours team. Born and brought up in Mumbai, India, Ramya has completed a bachelor’s in Speech and Language Therapy from Bangalore, India, and a master’s degree from Auckland, New Zealand in Speech-language therapy.
Ramya loves to socialise, solve puzzles, and will try pretty much anything!
An only child, born and raised in the Philippines, Bea graduated with a degree in BS Psychology and is a registered Psychometrician in the Philippines. Part of the After Hours team, Bea likes listening to music, reading fiction books, eating out at different restaurants and trying different cuisines.
Joining Life Plus in November 2019, Mary has 4 years of experience in the Philippines within the RPO environment and has sourced candidates in different kinds of industries. Mary is still learning and adjusting to NZ, but she can’t wait to explore and discover all of what this land of the long white cloud has to offer. Outside of work – she enjoys being with her friends doing karaoke, eating something new, solving puzzles/game boards, and going to places she’s never been to.
Born in New Zealand with Cook Island heritage. Maara was blessed with being able to live in Rarotonga for 10 years and recently moved back to NZ in December 2019 and joined the After Hours team at Life Plus. In her spare time, Maara enjoys reading books with a Lord of the Rings nature and watching sci-fi movies. Living near the sea is where she likes to be for scenic walks around the local marinas and beaches when she is motivated to get out there and walk. Maara is married and has 2 wonderful children.
Kia Orana e Kia Manuia
With 10 years of experience in the Health Industry Rebecca grew up with her oldest sister being nonverbal and having tonic-clonic seizures.
Moving to Christchurch 20 years ago and Rebecca likes to spend her free time boating, fishing, hunting, and socializing.