Responsible Individual

Service Care; Banks; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Service Care is seeking an experienced Responsible Individual / Area Manager to oversee up to five children’s residential homes in Preston and surrounding areas. You will lead, support and challenge Registered Managers while ensuring high standards of care and regulatory compliance.

You will collaborate with senior leadership, drive service improvement, and maintain safeguarding across sites, with flexibility for out-of-hours work and travel between services.

Qualifications

• Previous experience as a Responsible Individual and/or Area Manager within children's residential care.
• Experience overseeing multiple children's residential services.
• A Level 5 qualification in Leadership and Management for Children and Young People's Services.
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding, children's residential regulations and Ofsted expectations.
• Proven experience supporting and developing Registered Managers.
• Strong quality assurance, auditing and service improvement experience.
• The confidence to provide both support AND challenge to senior managers.
• Excellent leadership, communication and decision-making skills.
• A full UK driving licence and the ability to travel between services.
• Flexibility to provide out-of-hours support when required.

Responsibilities

• Providing leadership and oversight across up to 5 children’s residential homes.
• Supporting, developing and appropriately challenging Registered Managers.
• Ensuring services remain compliant with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015, Quality Standards and Ofsted expectations.
• Monitoring safeguarding, quality, incidents, complaints and overall service performance.
• Conducting regular quality assurance visits, audits and reviews.
• Identifying areas for improvement and ensuring effective action plans are implemented.
• Ensuring the wishes, feelings and individual needs of children and young people remain at the heart of decision-making.
• Working closely with senior leadership and external professionals.
• Supporting the development and growth of existing and future services.
• Providing leadership and support outside normal working hours when required.

Job description

Responsible Individual / Area Manager – Children’s Residential Care

Preston & Surrounding Areas – Full-Time | Monday–Friday

This is a genuinely exciting opportunity for an experienced Responsible Individual or Area Manager to take a key leadership position within a growing children’s residential care organisation. I’m working directly with a client who has built a strong reputation for providing high-quality care to children and young people, and they are now looking for an experienced senior professional who can provide leadership, challenge and support across a portfolio of services. And importantly, this isn't simply a "keep things ticking over" role. You will have a genuine opportunity to influence the quality of care being delivered, develop Registered Managers, drive service improvement and play a significant part in the continued growth of the organisation.

The Role

As Responsible Individual / Area Manager, you will have oversight of up to 5 children’s residential homes, working closely with Registered Managers and the wider senior leadership team. You'll be responsible for ensuring that the homes continue to deliver outstanding standards of care, while providing the leadership, support and appropriate challenge needed to help each service succeed.

• Providing leadership and oversight across up to 5 children’s residential homes.
• Supporting, developing and appropriately challenging Registered Managers.
• Ensuring services remain compliant with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015, Quality Standards and Ofsted expectations.
• Monitoring safeguarding, quality, incidents, complaints and overall service performance.
• Conducting regular quality assurance visits, audits and reviews.
• Identifying areas for improvement and ensuring effective action plans are implemented.
• Ensuring the wishes, feelings and individual needs of children and young people remain at the heart of decision-making.
• Working closely with senior leadership and external professionals.
• Supporting the development and growth of existing and future services.
• Providing leadership and support outside normal working hours when required.

Who am I looking for?

This role needs someone who knows children's residential care inside out.

You'll ideally have:

• Previous experience as a Responsible Individual and/or Area Manager within children's residential care.
• Experience overseeing multiple children's residential services.
• A Level 5 qualification in Leadership and Management for Children and Young People's Services.
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding, children's residential regulations and Ofsted expectations.
• Proven experience supporting and developing Registered Managers.
• Strong quality assurance, auditing and service improvement experience.
• The confidence to provide both support AND challenge to senior managers.
• Excellent leadership, communication and decision-making skills.
• A full UK driving licence and the ability to travel between services.
• Flexibility to provide out-of-hours support when required.

Why this opportunity?

Because this is about more than simply managing a portfolio of homes. The organisation is continuing to develop, and they are looking for someone who can help shape what comes next. You'll be working with experienced people, influencing standards across multiple services and helping ensure that children and young people receive the very best possible care. For the right person, there is also genuine scope to become a key figure within the organisation as it continues to grow.