An Exciting Opportunity for an Experienced Children's Home Manager

Care First UK Recruitment is working in partnership with a confidential client to recruit an experienced and dedicated Registered Manager for a solo children's residential home in London.

This is an excellent opportunity for a confident and passionate children's social care professional to lead a specialist residential setting supporting a young person aged 9–17 with complex emotional and behavioural needs.

The successful candidate will take responsibility for creating a safe, stable and nurturing home environment, ensuring care is tailored to the individual needs of the child and focused on achieving positive, long-term outcomes.

With a competitive salary, performance-related bonuses and a comprehensive support network, this role offers the opportunity to make a genuine difference while benefiting from hands-on guidance from an experienced senior leadership team.

The Role

As Registered Manager, you will have overall responsibility for the day-to-day management, safeguarding and quality of care within the home. You will lead staff practice, maintain regulatory compliance and ensure the service operates in line with the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and associated Quality Standards.

Key responsibilities will include:

• Safeguarding and Child Protection: Take overall responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child, ensuring robust safeguarding systems, risk assessments and incident management procedures are in place.

• Operational Management: Oversee the daily running of the home, ensuring care is safe, consistent, child-centred and delivered to a high standard.

• Staff Leadership and Development: Recruit, supervise, mentor and develop staff, promoting reflective practice, accountability and a positive team culture.

• Care Planning and Risk Management: Ensure individual care plans, risk assessments and support strategies reflect the child's needs, vulnerabilities and behaviours.

• Regulatory Compliance: Maintain compliance with Ofsted requirements, the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and relevant legislation, driving continuous improvement and high-quality practice.

• Multi-Agency Working: Build effective relationships with Local Authorities, social workers, education professionals and other partner agencies to support the child's development and wellbeing.

• Quality Assurance: Monitor care standards, staff performance and operational processes to ensure the home consistently meets regulatory and organisational expectations.

• Rota and On-Call Responsibilities: Manage your own working rota and participate in the on-call rota, ensuring appropriate support and leadership are available when required.

About You

We are looking for a committed and resilient leader with a strong background in children's residential care and the confidence to manage a specialist solo home.

To be considered, you will have:

• Experience managing staff teams within children's residential care or a comparable childcare setting.

• Strong knowledge of safeguarding, child protection and supporting children with complex emotional and behavioural needs.

• An understanding of the Children Act 1989, Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and associated Quality Standards.

• The ability to lead safeguarding practice, manage risk and respond effectively to incidents and challenging situations.

• Strong leadership, communication, organisational and decision-making skills.

• A genuine commitment to providing safe, nurturing and child-centred care.

• A relevant Leadership and Management qualification, or a willingness to work towards one.

• An NVQ Level 3 qualification in Caring for Children and Young People.

You will be passionate about improving outcomes for children and young people, with the ability to lead by example and maintain high professional standards.

What's on Offer?

• £52,000 basic salary, with the potential to earn up to £58,600 per annum, including bonuses.

• Ofsted performance bonuses: £3,000 for an Outstanding judgement and £1,500 for a Good judgement.

• Full occupancy bonus: £300 per month.

• Company car or £3,000 annual travel allowance.

• 32 days of annual leave, including bank holidays, with an additional day per year for the first three years.

• Workplace pension following successful completion of the six-month probation period.

• Company mobile phone.

• Local parking permit.

• Access to an experienced and supportive senior leadership team.

• Dedicated recruitment, HR, quality assurance, compliance, safeguarding, health and safety, and learning and development support.

• Opportunities for professional development, peer support and involvement in wider organisational initiatives.

The role includes a six-month probationary period. Appointment is subject to the necessary Ofsted approval and satisfactory pre-employment checks.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

This is an opportunity to lead a specialist solo children's home with access to established operational systems and a wider professional support network.

You will have the autonomy to lead the service, develop staff practice and establish a home environment where a child can feel safe, supported and able to thrive.

For an experienced Registered Manager looking for a rewarding leadership position in children's residential care, this could be an excellent next step.

Apply Today

If you are an experienced Registered Manager, Children's Home Manager or Residential Childcare Manager looking for your next opportunity in London, Care First UK Recruitment would love to hear from you.

Apply today for a confidential discussion about this opportunity and take the next step in your children's social care career.

This vacancy is being managed by Care First UK Recruitment on behalf of a confidential client.

The successful applicant will be required to complete an Enhanced DBS check. The employer is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment.

Contact information

James Maclean