Children's Home Managers

Kent County Council; Ashford; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 39,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority in Ashford is seeking a Children's Home Manager for its Reception Centre for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The role involves running the children's home, providing support for UAS children, and ensuring a safe and respectful environment. Requirements include experience in a similar role, leadership ability, and effective communication skills. The position offers a competitive salary and opportunities for training and development, focused on enhancing support for vulnerable children.

Benefits

Full induction

Training and development opportunities

Excellent local government pension scheme

30 days annual leave allowance

Qualifications

• Experience as a Children's Home Manager or equivalent in a residential setting.
• Ability to lead a team and coordinate staffing across shifts.
• Effective communication and maintenance of language standards.

Responsibilities

• Support the day-to-day running of the children's home.
• Role model good practice and organise staff.
• Lead by example and maintain a supportive environment.

Skills

Leadership

Effective communication

Team management

Experience with asylum-seeking children

Job description

Overview

Kent County Council's Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking (UAS) Children's Service provides accommodation and support to newly arrived UAS children in Kent. The Service is developing as a centre of excellence nationally and we are seeking passionate individuals to join our service. Reception Centres, staffing and services KCC provides to UAS children, are fully funded by Central Government. This is an exciting opportunity to join the Service's Reception Centre team. The Reception and Safe Care Services are Kent County Council owned, Ofsted regulated, children's homes and supported accommodation, collectively termed Reception Centres. The Reception Centres, and the services they provide to children, are run by a diverse team of managers and workers, who are all committed to ensuring children are protected and supported to take the first steps in their journey to a more permanent home elsewhere in the UK.

This role is for Maple Rise, based in Ashford, Kent and is named after the Maple Trees of Vietnam. Maple Rise is a children\'s home for UAS children aged under 16 years, with a capacity of up to 10 children. Located in a residential area and not too far away from another Reception Centre (Memona Lodge), Maple Rise is well-located for children to access a variety of services and recreational spaces. Maple Rise has well established links with local services and organisations in the community for young people to access a variety of activities. This Reception Centre is subject to Ofsted regulations for Children\'s Homes 2015. We are seeking experienced Residential setting managers who can support the day-to-day running of the children\'s home ensuring that all UAS children begin their resettlement journey with the support they need.

Children\'s Home Managers need to be able to role model good practice and organise staff to support all UAS children during their stay from practical objectives and learning, through to emotional support. We are looking for Children\'s Home Managers who have worked with UAS children previously and who have the energy and drive to strive for the best. If you are passionate about UAS children, enthusiastic and can lead by example, please apply. This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Responsibilities

• Support the day-to-day running of the children\'s home and ensure UAS children begin their resettlement journey with the required support.
• Role model good practice and organise staff to provide practical objectives, learning, and emotional support for all UAS children during their stay.
• Work with UAS children previously and demonstrate energy and drive to strive for the best.
• Lead by example and maintain a safe, respectful, and supportive environment in line with regulatory requirements.

Qualifications / Requirements

• Experience as a Children\'s Home Manager or equivalent in a residential setting, with experience of working with UAS children preferred.
• Ability to lead a team and coordinate staffing across shifts.
• Ability to communicate effectively and maintain English/Welsh language standards required for the role.
• Must be able to work across a rolling shift pattern, with weekly alternating shifts and regular weekend cover.
• Applicants must be aged 21 years or above to meet Ofsted regulations.

What KCC offers

• Full induction
• Training and development opportunities
• Basic salary of between £34,421 and £38,304
• Equivalent annual leave allowance of 30 days
• Excellent local government pension scheme
• Opportunities to develop in your career
• The opportunity to expand and develop your knowledge and skills of working with children seeking asylum

Diversity and Application Information

KCC is committed to building a diverse workforce and encourages applications from people of all ages, abilities, genders, sexual orientations, ethnic backgrounds, faiths and those with caring responsibilities. The closing date for this advert may be earlier than stated should a number of suitably qualified candidates apply. If interested, please apply as soon as possible.