Area Manager - Supported Independent Living

Stride; Sydney; On-site; AUD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Base salary plus super

Salary packaging up to $15,899 (tax‑s‑

Meals and entertainment allowance up到$

Leave loading 17.5%

Paid parental leave

Wellbeing leave day

Purchase up to 5 additional leave days

Stride Rewards discounts

Excellent training and career develop

Job summary

Stride is a leading mental health organisation in Australia. We are seeking a Senior Leader to oversee around ten Supported Independent Living facilities across Southwest/Western Sydney, ensuring high-quality, person-centred care while driving financial sustainability.

Reporting to the General Manager: Community & Residential Services, you will manage staffing, rostering, budgets, risk and incident management, and stakeholder engagement, to support consumer independence and safety.

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent extensive industry experience.
• Leadership experience managing multi-site services.
• Thorough understanding of NDIS Practice Standards and Quality Indicators.
• Experience rostering and management of funding agreements.
• Strong financial and analytical skills in a service delivery context.
• Experience managing high-support consumers with complex behaviours.
• Proven leadership and team management experience.
• Knowledge of SCHADS Award or related framework.
• Proven ability to manage Profit & Loss statements, rostering and budgets across cost centres.
• NDIS regulatory requirements and safeguarding obligations.

Responsibilities

• Drive strategies to achieve financial sustainability.
• Lead the operational management of SIL facilities.
• Manage staff delivering high-quality, person-centred care.
• Oversee incident management and escalation processes.
• Engage with stakeholders including consumer representatives.
• Promote consumer independence, dignity, and choice.
• Ensure quality, compliance and risk management across sites.

Skills

Leadership

Financial acumen

Stakeholder engagement

Communication

Problem solving

Change management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Disability Services / related field

Job description

We are leaders in mental health service delivery, specialising in working with adults and young people, and in early childhood intervention.

Stride is a name that expresses our ambition – it’s a name that’s purposeful and shows awareness of the important role we play in the recovery journey.

As we embark on our next stage, join us to make a difference. We're here to Stride.

• This role oversees services across Southwest/Western Sydney.
• Full-time and Permanent opportunity
• Excellent base salary plus super
• Salary Packaging options (up to $15,899 tax free)
• Meals and entertainment allowance of up to $2,650
• Leave loading at 17.5%
• Paid parental leave
• One paid wellbeing leave day per year
• Purchase up to 5 additional leave days in a 12-month period
• Stride Rewards – access to discounts from 100s of retailers (fashion, food and fitness)
• Excellent training and career development

Role Overview:

This is an exciting opportunity for a Senior Leader to work for an established specialist mental health organisation. Reporting to the General Manager (Community & Residential Services) the Area Manager is accountable for the efficient operational and financial management of approximately ten Supported Independent Living facilities, driving high-quality and person-centred care, effectively managing risks and incidents, actively engaging with stakeholders including consumer representatives and ensuring that the facilities comply with the NDIS Practice Standards and regulatory requirements and Stride’s mission and values.

Responsibilities include:-

• Drive Strategies and Practices to Achieve Financial Sustainability
• Lead the Operational Management of the SIL Facilities
• Actively Lead and Manage Staff in the delivery of high-quality person-centred care for consumers
• Responsible for prompt and responsive Incident Management and Incident Escalation
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Promote consumer independence, dignity of risk, choice and control
• Quality Compliance and Risk Management

Requirements

• Qualifications: Degree in Disability Services, Human Services, Social Work, Business Management, or a related field or equivalent extensive industry experience.
• Leadership Experience: Proven experience managing multi-site community or residential services, ideally within a NDIS or SIL environment.
• Thorough Understanding of NDIS Practice Standards and Quality Indicators
• Proven experience in rostering and management of funding agreements
• Well-developed financial and analytical skills in a service delivery context
• Experience in managing high-support consumers with complex behaviours
• Proven Leadership and team management experience
• Industrial Knowledge: Demonstrated experience managing staff who work under the SCHADS Award or a related Award or Enterprise Agreement framework.
• Financial Acumen: Strong proven ability in managing Profit and Loss statements, rosters, and operational budgets across multiple cost centres.
• Regulatory Expertise: Deep working knowledge of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards
• Commission requirements, reportable incident frameworks, and positive behaviour support obligations.
• Situational Management: Demonstrated ability to remain calm under pressure, lead incident investigations, and make sound decisions and judgements.
• Experience in change management and leadership of service delivery teams
• Communication: Exceptional interpersonal skills including problem-solving and negotiation, resolving conflicts, and communicating effectively with people of all levels and backgrounds
• Current Australian Driver’s Licence
• Must be eligible to apply/currently hold a WWCC
• Must hold/be willing to apply for NDIS worker screening clearance
• Participation in an after- hours on-call roster for incident response is an inherent requirement of this role

Stride is committed to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable people. All applicants applying for roles within Stride must undergo required screening processes prior to their successful appointment.

Stride is an inclusive workplace and we encourage applications from diverse backgrounds in order to enhance the depth of cultural diversity and insight within our workforce.

This includes but is not limited to people with a lived-experience of mental health recovery, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, LGBTQIA+, and people with disabilities.

Closing date for applications: Applications will be viewed and actioned upon receipt, with a final closing date of 13 October 2026.

Please note the closing date may end sooner if a sufficient number of applications have been received.