New Home · North Hampshire · Basingstoke / Andover area
£55,000 - £60,000 per annum
"You won't be handed a finished product. You'll be handed the keys and the trust to build something that children will call home."
This isn't a corporate giant. It's a tightly run, genuinely therapeutic organisation built by people with a passion for supporting young people, who know what good looks like and refuse to settle for anything less.
These homes support young people aged 5-18 who have experienced significant trauma, neglect, domestic violence, parental substance misuse, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), sexual abuse, and family breakdown. Many children arrive unable to attend school, struggling with self-harm, missing episodes, or with high emotional and behavioural support needs.
What this provider does differently is refuse to treat these children as cases. They use a love-led, therapeutic parenting approach. No sanctions. No punishments. No consequences. No outdated terminology. Just genuine, consistent, relational care, the kind that actually works.
THE ROLE
This is an RM position for a new home, opening within the next 9–12 months. You will be involved from the ground up. Contributing to the setup, culture, staffing, and feel of the home before the first young person arrives. You'll work closely with the Director (who has 18+ years' experience in residential care) and a Deputy Manager who will grow alongside you.
The expectation is straightforward: you will be the heartbeat of this home. You'll know every child inside out, know your staff deeply, and hold Ofsted standards with confidence because you genuinely believe in them, not because you're told to.
WHAT YOU'LL ACTUALLY DO
* Hold full Ofsted registration and compliance responsibility for the home
* Lead the recruitment, induction and development of your staff team from day one
* Build the culture of the home you set the tone, and it should feel like a family. The home should be a love led, therapeutic parenting, trauma-informed, no sanctions environment
* Develop and oversee therapeutic care plans in line with each child's individual needs
* Be the primary point of contact for the placing authority and multi-agency network
* Support your Deputy Manager to grow into their role over time
* Maintain impeccable records, safeguarding standards, and Regulation 44 readiness
* Attend and contribute to organisational leadership, your voice matters here
* Be present, visible and available not always at a desk
YOU ARE RIGHT FOR THIS IF...
* You hold a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care (or are working towards it)
* You have previous RM experience, or are a very strong Deputy ready to step up with a track record that speaks for itself
* You have a deep working knowledge of Children's Homes Regulations 2015 and the Quality Standards
* You understand therapeutic parenting at a gut level not just as a training module
* You are Ofsted ready and can evidence good outcomes for young people
* You live within approximately one hour of Basingstoke or Andover
* You are someone who stays when it gets hard and you understand why that matters
WHAT GROWTH LOOKS LIKE HERE
What growth looks like here is truly exciting. You’ll have direct influence over how new homes are designed, staffed, and positioned as the organisation expands, with real opportunities to progress into a Responsible Individual or group level role over time.
Your voice will matter, you’ll be actively involved in strategic decisions, with your ideas genuinely listened to and acted upon. Whether your passion lies in leadership or developing specialist expertise beyond the traditional management route, you’ll be supported to grow in a way that suits you. This is a chance to be part of something evolving and ambitious, where the organisation will look very different and much bigger in five years, and you’ll play a key role in shaping that journey.
Want to know more? Get in touch for a confidential discussion today
Salary description
£55000.00 - £65000.00 per year