Children's Home Registered Manager

NHS; Woolwich; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A local authority in care services in Woolwich seeks an exceptional Registered Manager to lead a new Children’s Home. This opportunity involves shaping high-quality care, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards, and empowering a team of up to 15 staff. The ideal candidate will possess a strong background in social care, leadership skills, and a commitment to safeguarding children's welfare. Join us in making a real difference to young lives within a supportive environment.

Benefits

Supportive leadership team

Opportunities for professional development

Chance to influence a new provision

Qualifications

• Experienced in managerial roles within a social care setting.
• Knowledge of child care and safeguarding legislation.
• Ability to work effectively with children, families, and professionals.

Responsibilities

• Lead and continuously improve staff quality and effectiveness.
• Ensure compliance with Children’s Home Regulations and Quality Standards.
• Develop a skilled team and provide regular supervision.

Skills

Leadership

Emotional intelligence

Effective communication

Budget management

Mediation skills

Education

Social Work Qualification DipSW, CQSW, CSS or equivalent

Minimum Level 5 Workforce Diploma in Social Care Management

Job description

The Royal Borough of Greenwich is opening a brand-new Children’s Home, and we are seeking an exceptional Registered Manager to shape and lead this provision from the ground up. This role requires a confident, experienced professional and someone who believes deeply in the power of safe, nurturing homes to transform young lives.

If you are driven by purpose, committed to high-quality practice, and passionate about helping children thrive, this is a rare opportunity to make a lasting difference.

We are looking for a leader who brings both professional expertise and emotional intelligence, someone who can inspire teams, empower children and uphold the highest standards of care.

Main duties of the job

As the Registered Manager, you will:

• Offer strong, values‑led leadership, ensuring high‑quality physical and emotional care in line with our Statement of Purpose.
• Fulfil all responsibilities required under the Children’s Homes Regulations and Quality Standards, ensuring robust safeguarding and regulatory compliance.
• Build and develop a skilled, motivated team of up to 15 staff, providing regular, reflective supervision and fostering a positive, learning‑focused culture.
• Ensure 24/7 operational excellence, including participation in on‑call duties with the Deputy Manager.
• Create a stable, structured and warm environment where routines, boundaries and nurturing relationships help children flourish.
• Advocate for young people, ensuring their voices guide planning, decision‑making and continuous improvement.
• Work collaboratively with families, social workers, schools, health partners and the wider Permanence Service to deliver holistic, child‑centred support.
• Promote education, wellbeing and opportunity from school engagement to creative activities, trips and community involvement.
• Ensure strong health provision, access to specialist services, and support for young people to develop healthy, confident lifestyles.
• Manage budgets, staffing, resources and placement decisions with sound judgement and integrity.
• Lead innovation, including initiatives that support young people into independence and adulthood.
• Provide clear, accurate reporting and quality assurance to senior leaders.

About us

This is an opportunity to help create something special: a Children’s Home built on care, hope and excellence. You will join a forward‑thinking local authority that values its workforce, champions innovation and puts children’s wellbeing at the centre of everything it does.

We offer:

• A supportive leadership team and a strong Permanence Service.
• Opportunities for professional development and career progression.
• The chance to influence a new provision from its very first days.
• A role where your work directly shapes children’s lives, memories and futures.

Job responsibilities

Role:

In accordance with our Statement of Purpose, to lead and continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of the staff at the Children’s Home, ensuring the development of services, both at the home and wider Permanence Service, including other provisions, which improve outcomes for young people. To place children and their needs at the heart of what you do, and promote the engagement of young people in planning, delivering and improving the service. To inspire and lead a culture in the home and wider service which helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and safeguards and promotes their welfare, in accordance with the Quality Standards and Regulations.

Main Duties:

1. To take responsibility for all aspects of the operation of the home under the direction of the Responsible Individual by providing overall leadership and management and by undertaking direct work to ensure the delivery of high quality physical and emotional care in a safe, clean and comfortable environment.
2. To fulfil the requirements of the Registered Manager role as set out in the Children’s Home Regulations and Quality Standards.
3. To deliver an effective workforce strategy for the home, recruiting, training, developing and managing staff to ensure 24/7 cover and provide a competent and efficient workforce. To manage a team of up to 15 staff and ensure they receive regular, high‑quality supervision.
4. To manage and allocate resources, including budgets, staff, equipment, vehicles and petty cash.
5. To provide managerial cover to the home, shared with the Deputy Manager, for sleeping in / being on call outside of normal working hours.
6. To work closely with the wider Permanence Service in the development and delivery of packages to support young people living in the home and to challenge other professionals, internally and externally, on the services offered to young people living at the home.
7. To take immediate management action when the welfare or safety of the young people is at risk.
8. To attend meetings, court hearings, panels and other forums in co‑operation with the Deputy Manager.
9. To be directly accountable for ensuring that the home operates in full accordance with national and local requirements and that safeguarding procedures are properly implemented, ensuring compliance with formal inspection and audit systems, and support the effective inspection of services by regulatory bodies and external inspectors (OFSTED).
10. To ensure that the routine and ethos of the home is compatible with the young people’s needs, ages and circumstances and that it provides continuity, boundaries, security and a stable base for the children.
11. To promote positive relationships with children’s families and friends, which may include outreach, ensuring that they are made welcome to the home and have the opportunity to contribute to the work of the home, its routine and practices.
12. To ensure the promotion of educational activities and to liaise closely with schools and the Virtual School ensuring that young people are supported through staff attendance at parents evening and other events. To ensure that children are afforded the full range of social and educational activities compatible with their ages, interests and abilities at school and in the wider community.
13. To ensure that young people are registered with GPs and Dentists and that full use is made of the range of health provision including relationships with CAMHS, making sure that young people are educated into healthy lifestyles and diets compatible with age, gender, religion and ethnicity.
14. To arrange holidays and trips away from the home for the young people, ensuring that health and safety requirements are met with sufficient safeguards in place.
15. To apply professional judgement and appropriate assessment of risk in responding to and deciding on the appropriateness of placements and referrals, taking into account the impact any placement will have on the existing children.
16. To ensure that complaints are dealt with in accordance with procedures and that young people have the opportunity to speak and meet with their social workers and other appropriate professionals, such as advocates.
17. To ensure that young people’s records are kept up to date and retained in accordance with departmental and regulatory requirements with all appropriate information stored and confidentiality maintained.
18. To innovate new practices to support young people which will contribute to the prevention of family breakdown once the young people have returned home or left care.
19. To develop and deliver any Staying Close initiatives through strategic innovation for the Offer for residential Care Leavers, including the potential to manage further residential provision and other innovation.
20. To provide regular briefings and reports on the quality and performance of the team(s) / home(s) to Group Leaders and senior managers.

Contact Service

1. To line manage and supervise staff of the Contact Service where applicable.

General

1. To contribute to developing and routinely carrying out quality assurance activities with respect to performance, professional practice and decision making in the team(s) and wider Permanence service, ensuring this development positively promotes equality and continuous improvement.
2. To work as a member of Children’s Services management team and contribute to the overall development of operational services and the promotion of high standards of practice.
3. To undertake employee investigations and appeals in line with RBGs policies and procedures.
4. To ensure that an equal opportunities and anti‑discriminatory perspective informs all aspects of the work and that the Council’s Equal Opportunities policy is promoted and adhered to.
5. To undertake other tasks as may be required within the remit and grading of the post.

Person Specification

Experience

• Managerial experience within a social care setting with direct practice experience in residential care for children/young people.

Qualifications

• Social Work Qualification DipSW, CQSW, CSS or equivalent as well as minimum Level 5 Workforce Diploma in Social Care Management or equivalent, with comprehensive knowledge of child care and safeguarding legislation, national standards and guidance for looked after children and residential care practice, as well as awareness of therapeutic approaches and innovation.

Skills and Abilities

• Ability to work effectively with children, young people, their families, and other professionals, including the use of mediation and restorative approaches.
• Ability to set work priorities and manage effectively self, staff and teams under pressure, including working shifts.
• Effective verbal, written, presentation and budget management skills.
• Skills in identifying, setting, monitoring and meeting service targets.
• Ability to promote user involvement in the delivery, review and redesign of services.

Knowledge

• Understanding of the Council’s Health and Safety, Information Governance and Equal Opportunities Policy with a strong personal commitment to Equal Opportunities.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Lead Children in our Care and Care Leavers