Responsible Individual – Children’s Residential Services
Location: London – Multi-site / Hybrid
Contract: Full-Time or Part-Time considered
Salary / Package: Competitive and dependent on experience and availability
Recruitment: Daytime Healthcare is recruiting on behalf of organisations operating children’s residential services
About the Opportunity
We are seeking an experienced, commercially aware and ambitious Responsible Individual to support a portfolio of children’s residential homes across London.
This is an opportunity for a senior residential childcare professional with a strong Ofsted track record to work closely with both new and experienced Registered Managers, providing oversight, coaching, challenge and practical support to help services achieve consistently positive outcomes for children and young people.
The role will suit someone who combines strong regulatory knowledge with the ability to develop people, strengthen services and support sustainable organisational growth.
Both full-time and part-time availability will be considered.
The Role
As Responsible Individual, you will provide effective oversight and support to Registered Managers across a number of children’s homes.
You will work closely with managers to ensure homes remain well-led, compliant and focused on delivering high-quality, child-centred care.
A significant part of the role will involve coaching and mentoring Registered Managers, particularly those who are newer to registration, helping them build confidence, strengthen leadership practice and develop the systems required to achieve positive Ofsted outcomes.
You will provide constructive challenge where standards are not being met and work with managers to develop practical improvement plans that translate into sustained improvements.
You will maintain oversight of safeguarding, quality assurance, staffing, regulatory compliance, placement stability and outcomes for children and young people.
You will also support organisations with service development, mobilisation, Ofsted readiness and the continued growth of their residential care portfolio.
About You
We are looking for someone with substantial experience in children’s residential care and a proven record of senior leadership within Ofsted-regulated services.
Previous experience as a Responsible Individual, Registered Manager, Operations Manager, Head of Service or similar senior leadership role is highly desirable.
You should be able to demonstrate a strong track record of supporting children’s homes to achieve and maintain Good or Outstanding Ofsted judgements, alongside evidence of developing Registered Managers and improving service quality.
You will have an excellent working knowledge of the Children’s Homes Regulations 2015, Quality Standards, safeguarding, Regulation 44 and Regulation 45 requirements and Ofsted expectations.
The successful candidate will be confident working with both experienced managers and those progressing into their first Registered Manager role.
You should be commercially astute and able to balance strong care quality with operational sustainability, staffing considerations, placement management and organisational growth.
You will need to be comfortable travelling between services across London and Kent as required.
The Person
We are looking for someone who is credible, supportive and appropriately challenging.
You should enjoy developing other leaders and be able to coach managers without taking over their role.
You will be expected to identify emerging risks early, offer practical solutions and hold managers accountable for agreed improvements.
Strong judgement, communication skills and professional integrity are essential.
Most importantly, you should share the belief that strong leadership and effective governance should ultimately translate into better experiences, greater stability and more positive outcomes for children and young people.
Why Consider This Opportunity?
This role offers the opportunity to influence multiple services rather than being confined to a single home.
You will work with organisations at different stages of development, including new services establishing their foundations and more experienced homes seeking to strengthen practice and achieve consistently high standards.
For the right individual, this provides the opportunity to combine regulatory leadership, coaching, service development and commercial growth in a flexible senior role.
Both full-time and part-time arrangements will be considered for candidates able to demonstrate the experience and availability required to provide meaningful oversight across the services
