Accommodation and Community Services Lead - Care Services (Kent)

Aspens Charities; Pembury; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Mileage expenses paid

Hybrid working

Flexible working arrangements

Training and development

Nest Pension

Job summary

Aspens Charities is seeking an experienced social care leader to join us as Accommodation and Community Services Lead – Kent, providing operational leadership over residential, supported living and outreach services. You’ll report to the Head of Kent and steer quality, safeguarding, performance and continuous improvement across our Kent services.

This is an opportunity for an established Registered Manager, Home Manager or similar leader to broaden impact, develop teams, and ensure high-quality,

Qualifications

• Experience leading multiple regulated community services.
• Strong knowledge of CQC standards and safeguarding.
• Experience with budgets and performance management.

Responsibilities

• Leading, developing and supporting Service Managers across residential, supported living and outreach services.
• Driving operational excellence and ensuring services deliver high-quality outcomes for the people we support.
• Promoting person-centred, strengths-based and neuro-affirming practice.
• Providing leadership around safeguarding, risk management and quality assurance.
• Supporting services through CQC inspections and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Monitoring performance, budgets and service quality across multiple locations.
• Building positive relationships with commissioners, regulators and other key stakeholders.
• Contributing to service development, sustainability and future growth opportunities.
• Fostering a positive and inclusive culture where colleagues feel supported and empowered to succeed.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Strategic thinking

Communication

Decision making

Job description

Location: Cornford Lane, Pembury, TN2 4QU, with hybrid working and regular travel across our services

Hours: 37 hours per week, Monday to Friday

Salary: £40,000–£45,000 per annum, dependent on experience

This role requires a visible leadership presence across our services. Mileage expenses will be paid for travel to locations away from your main workplace, in accordance with Aspens’ mileage policy.

Lead high-quality services. Develop great managers. Make a lasting difference.

Aspens is entering an exciting new chapter. We’ve strengthened the way we deliver care, creating an even more effective, responsive and sustainable model of support for the people we support.

As part of this development, we’re looking for an experienced social care leader to join us as our Accommodation and Community Services Lead – Kent, providing operational leadership across a portfolio of residential, supported living and outreach services.

Reporting to the Head of Kent, you’ll lead and support our Service Managers, driving quality, safeguarding, performance, compliance and continuous improvement across our services. You’ll also have the opportunity to contribute to the strategic development and future direction of our service provision across Kent.

This could be an exciting next step for an experienced Registered Manager, Home Manager, Deputy Manager, Operations Manager or similar multi-service leader who is ready to broaden their impact.

You’ll play an important role in shaping the future of our services, developing high-performing teams and helping to ensure that every person we support receives high-quality, person-centred support.

If you’re an experienced social care leader looking for your next challenge and want to be part of an ambitious organisation dedicated to improving lives, we’d love to hear from you.

About Aspens

Aspens’ mission is to provide high-quality care and support to autistic people and people with learning disabilities, meeting their needs and aspirations and empowering them to learn and grow through an integrated network of services across the South East.

About the role

You’ll provide leadership and oversight across a portfolio of community services, ensuring they are safe, high quality, financially sustainable and compliant with regulatory requirements.

Working closely with Service Managers, you’ll champion person-centred and neuro-affirming practice, drive continuous improvement, provide leadership around safeguarding and quality assurance, and help shape the future development of our services across Kent.

What you’ll be doing

• Leading, developing and supporting Service Managers across residential, supported living and outreach services.
• Driving operational excellence and ensuring services deliver high-quality outcomes for the people we support.
• Promoting person-centred, strengths-based and neuro-affirming practice.
• Providing leadership around safeguarding, risk management and quality assurance.
• Supporting services through CQC inspections and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Monitoring performance, budgets and service quality across multiple locations.
• Building positive relationships with commissioners, regulators and other key stakeholders.
• Contributing to service development, sustainability and future growth opportunities.
• Fostering a positive and inclusive culture where colleagues feel supported and empowered to succeed.

About you

You’ll be an experienced leader within adult social care who enjoys developing others and shares our passion for delivering exceptional support.

We’re looking for someone who can bring:

• Significant experience managing regulated community services.
• Experience of leading managers and/or services across multiple locations.
• Strong knowledge of CQC standards, safeguarding and relevant legislation.
• Experience of managing budgets, performance and service quality.
• Excellent leadership, communication and decision‑making skills.
• A commitment to person‑centred, rights‑based support and continuous improvement.
• An understanding of autism, learning disabilities, mental health and Positive Behaviour Support.

What we offer

When you join Aspens, you’ll benefit from:

• Comprehensive paid training and career development opportunities, including recognised qualifications in health and social care.
• Flexible working arrangements, with the option to take on additional bank shifts.
• Nest Pension and Death in Service benefit.
• Access to a dedicated Employee Assistance Programme and Mental Health First Aiders.
• Blue Light Card discounts.
• 20% staff discount at Aspens High Street Stores.
• Discounted staff menu at the Bluebell Café in Pembury.
• Refer a Friend scheme, with up to £250 for every successful referral.
• Employee recognition programmes, including Employee of the Month.

Ready to make a difference?

If shortlisted, we’ll contact you directly to arrange an interview. Any offer of employment will be subject to satisfactory employment references and Disclosure and Barring Service checks, which we will arrange on your behalf if required.

Please note that we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date if we receive sufficient suitable applications, so we encourage you to apply as early as possible.

As a Disability Confident employer, Aspens Charities is committed to creating an inclusive and supportive environment for disabled people. We actively promote the recruitment, retention and career development of people with disabilities and recognise the valuable contribution they make to our organisation.

We are committed to making our recruitment process accessible to all candidates. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the application or interview process, please let us know.