The Head of Care is a senior leadership role responsible for the strategic and operational management of care services, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, safe, and person-centred care. The post holder will provide direction, leadership, and oversight to care teams, driving continuous improvement and ensuring services meet regulatory standards, organisational values, and the needs of service users.
Working across a group of six specialist college sites. Lancaster, Blackpool, South Lake, Carlisle , Billingshurst and Cardiff. The position requires regular travel across these education services
Working closely with senior stakeholders, the Head of Care will lead on service development, quality assurance, workforce planning, and performance management. The role requires a strong focus on governance, compliance, and innovation to enhance outcomes and maintain excellence across all areas of care provision.
Key priorities include fostering a positive, inclusive culture; ensuring effective safeguarding practices; managing resources efficiently; and delivering sustainable, high-performing services aligned with organisational objectives.
Job Responsibilities for Head of Care
1. Strategic Leadership & Service Development
Develop and implement a care strategy aligned with organisational and educational priorities.
Lead the integration of care and education to ensure cohesive learner pathways, reflecting the model of close liaison between education and residential services.
Promote innovation in care delivery, including person-centred approaches and assistive technologies.
Contribute to executive decision-making and long-term organisational planning.
Extensive travel nationally supporting both pre-school primary, secondary and P19 provisions within the division.
2. Quality, Compliance & Clinical Governance
Ensure all services meet CQC, Ofsted, and safeguarding standards, always maintaining inspection readiness
Establish robust quality assurance frameworks, including audits, service reviews, and continuous improvement cycles.
Oversee the development and audit of person-centred care plans and clinical protocols, ensuring consistency and quality across services.
Lead systems that ensure safe practice in areas such as medication, infection control, and delegated healthcare tasks.
Provide senior oversight of systems supporting learners with complex health needs, including enteral feeding, epilepsy care, respiratory support, moving and handling, intimate care, continence support, dysphagia management, medication administration and delegated clinical tasks, ensuring that staff are appropriately trained, assessed as competent and regularly reviewed.
Work with nursing, therapy and external health professionals to ensure that clinical delegation, competency sign-off, escalation pathways and emergency protocols are robust, current and consistently implemented.
Lead implementation and optimisation of digital care systems, reporting platforms, and data dashboards.
Ensure data integrity and real-time oversight of service performance.
3. Safeguarding & Risk Management
Provide executive oversight of safeguarding across the organisation, building on the expectation that care leaders hold DSL/DDSL responsibilities.
Ensure robust systems for risk assessment, behaviour support, and safe care practices are implemented and monitored.
Promote a strong safeguarding culture aligned with statutory guidance and best practice
4. Operational Leadership
Provide oversight and direction to service leads across the portfolio.
Ensure effective delivery of care services that meet individual learner needs, health requirements, and personal outcomes.
Lead on admissions, transition, and compatibility decisions, ensuring accurate assessment of needs and provision capacity.
Act as the senior escalation point for complex care issues, families, and external stakeholders.
5. Workforce Leadership & Culture
Lead the recruitment, development, and retention of a skilled multidisciplinary workforce, including nurses, care staff, and support workers.
Ensure effective supervision, appraisal, and competency frameworks, reflecting expectations for ongoing training and practice checks.
Drive a culture of accountability, excellence, and continuous professional development.
Address underperformance and support staff progression through structured HR processes.
Provide oversight of safe staffing models across complex care provision, ensuring that staffing levels, skill mix, training, supervision and deployment are matched to learner need and risk.
6. Integration with Education
Ensure care provision actively supports learning, communication, and Preparing for Adulthood outcomes.
Promote approaches that enable student voice, independence, and participation in their own care.
Work collaboratively with education leaders to align care strategies with EHCP outcomes and curriculum delivery.
7. Multi-Disciplinary & Stakeholder Engagement
Lead effective collaboration with therapy teams, healthcare professionals, commissioners, and families.
Represent the organisation in external forums, inspections, and partnership meetings.
Ensure strong communication systems that enable consistent, high-quality service delivery.
8. Performance, Reporting & Governance
Monitor and report on service performance, quality metrics, and learner outcomes.
Ensure high-quality documentation and reporting for regulators, commissioners, and senior leaders.
Use insight and data to drive service improvement and innovation.
This job description should not be seen as all encompassing, and the post holder will be expected to undertake any other responsibilities appropriate to the post as identified by the company.
Knowledge, skills and competency for Head of Care
Experience
Senior leadership experience in education, residential care, or integrated services
Proven ability to deliver high-quality, compliant services in complex care environments
Experience leading multidisciplinary teams and large-scale service delivery
Knowledge & Expertise
Strong understanding of CQC and Ofsted frameworks, safeguarding, and health & social care regulation
Expertise in person-centred care planning, clinical governance, and quality assurance
Knowledge of Preparing for Adulthood and specialist education settings
Leadership Capabilities
Strategic thinking and system leadership
Strong communication and stakeholder engagement skills
Ability to drive cultural change and continuous improvement
Role Impact
This role extends by:
Providing portfolio-wide leadership and strategic direction
Ensuring consistent standards across multiple services
Embedding integration between care, health, and education
Holding accountability for quality, compliance, safeguarding, and outcomes at scale
Qualifications for Head of Care
Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management
Social care degree including adults young people and children.
Salary for Head of Care
£65,000 plus performance bonus
For more information on the role of Head of Care Education Division
Contact Mick Hull Fieldview Care Recruitment Solutions
Salary description
£65000.00 - £75000.00 per year