Job Title: Senior Team Leader (Quality and Management Support Responsibilities)
Location - Heathside & Heathside Mews
Responsible to: Service Manager and Deputy Manager
Responsible for: Service colleagues when on duty and allocated areas of quality assurance
Hours: 24 flexible hours per week, working Monday to Friday
Pay : £15.75
Job Summary
To work as part of the Team Leader team, with specific delegated responsibilities for supporting the Service Manager and Deputy Manager with the quality assurance, auditing and compliance arrangements of the service. The post holder responsible for allocated audits, care plan reviews, medication reviews, health and safety checks and the monitoring of related action plans.
The post holder will promote high standards of safe, effective and person-centred care, support colleagues to improve practice and ensure that records and evidence are maintained to organisational, contractual and regulatory standards. The role will ordinarily be worked flexibly across Monday to Friday and will include protected time for management support and quality assurance duties. The post holder remains a Team Leader and may be required to provide operational or shift cover from time to time where necessary.
Our Values
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Supporting rights, needs, choices & dreams.
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Seeing the possibility to make a difference in all that we do.
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Being financially responsible and economically sustainable.
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Embracing new technology and innovation.
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Appreciating every colleague's contribution.
Our Employee Benefits
As a charity, we do what we can to show our teams that we value them and the lifechanging work they do, so we offer the following:
Welcome Bonus: Receive a £250 bonus - £50 after 4 weeks of service and £200 after completing 2 months. Not eligible if we pay to sponsor you to work in the UK-
Training and Development: We offer access to both inhouse and accredited courses. We cover the cost of your qualification, and on completing Level 2 or above, you'll receive a £150 bonus (with an additional £50 for passing the care certificate).
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Health and Wellbeing Support: offering health and wellbeing support including 24/7 access to GP.
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Blue Light Card and other discount schemes: We cover the cost of your card, unlocking various discounts for you. Enjoy discounts on childcare, shopping, and a wide range of online training courses.
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Night Enhancement: An additional £1 per hour enhancement for all hours worked between 8pm and 8am, whether regular contracted hours, bank hours, or overtime.
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Free Meals: Available to all staff working 12hour shifts, ensuring you stay energized with a hot or cold meal.
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Refer a Friend: You can earn a £200 bonus for referring a friend who successfully joins WCL.
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Christmas Enhancement (Double Time): Enjoy doubletime pay for allocated Christmas hours worked.
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Ongoing Technological Advancements: Benefit from our investment in new technology, including care plan and Rota apps, with full training provided.
Key Responsibilities
Leadership
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Work collaboratively with the Service Manager, Deputy Manager and other Team Leaders to support the effective day-to-day running of the service.
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Provide leadership, guidance and support to colleagues when on duty, promoting dignity, respect, accountability and person-centred practice.
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Lead by example and support colleagues to understand and meet expected standards of care, recording and professional conduct.
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Contribute to the delivery of the Service Development Plan and service improvement objectives.
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Maintain an awareness of changes in legislation, regulation, best practice and organisational requirements relevant to the role.
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Escalate risks, concerns, missed actions or deteriorating standards promptly to the Service Manager or Deputy Manager.
Quality Assurance and Auditing
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Take delegated responsibility for completing allocated monthly, quarterly and annual audits in line with the organisational audit schedule.
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Support the Service Manager and Deputy Manager to coordinate the service audit programme and ensure that audits are completed accurately and within required timescales.
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Review audit findings, identify gaps, themes, trends and recurring issues, and report these to the management team.
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Develop, update and monitor action plans arising from audits, checks, incidents, complaints, internal reviews and external visits.
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Follow up allocated actions and provide assurance to the Service Manager and Deputy Manager that evidence of completion is available.
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Maintain accurate audit trackers, quality records and supporting evidence in the agreed systems and locations.
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Support preparation for internal quality reviews, commissioner visits, local authority monitoring and CQC inspection activity.
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Promote continuous improvement and share learning from audits with the wider staff team.
Care Planning and Documentation
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Review care plans and associated risk assessments to ensure they remain person-centred, accurate, current and reflective of assessed needs, preferences and outcomes.
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Complete or support scheduled care plan evaluations and ensure changes in need, incidents, professional advice and learning are reflected promptly.
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Check the quality and consistency of daily records, monitoring charts and other care documentation.
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Identify omissions, contradictions or poor-quality recording and support colleagues to make the necessary improvements.
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Ensure care plan reviews include appropriate involvement of the person, relatives or representatives and relevant professionals where applicable.
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Escalate significant changes in need, risk or capacity to the Service Manager, Deputy Manager and appropriate professionals.
Medication Governance
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Complete allocated medication audits and medication record reviews in line with WCL procedures.
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Monitor MAR records, PRN protocols, stock balances, storage arrangements, returns and other medication documentation for accuracy and compliance.
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Review medication errors, omissions and near misses with the management team, supporting identification of causes, learning and required actions.
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Monitor completion of medication-related actions and escalate repeated or significant concerns.
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Support medication competency assessments and coaching where appropriately trained and delegated.
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Continue to maintain medication competence and support operational medication duties when covering shifts, where required.
Health and Safety and Environmental Compliance
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Complete allocated health and safety, fire safety, infection prevention, environmental and equipment checks in accordance with the service compliance schedule.
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Monitor the completion and quality of routine checks undertaken by colleagues and follow up gaps or concerns.
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Report defects, hazards and maintenance concerns promptly and monitor actions through to completion.
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Support reviews of accidents, incidents and near misses, identifying trends and learning for the service.
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Ensure relevant records, certificates, checks and supporting evidence are maintained and readily available.
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Support the Service Manager and Deputy Manager to maintain a safe environment for the people we support, colleagues and visitors.
Colleagues
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Support the induction, retention and development of colleagues in accordance with legislation and WCL procedures.
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Provide coaching, guidance, observations and competency support within the boundaries of the role.
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Complete supervision or other delegated colleague-development activities where requested by the Service Manager.
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Share audit findings, learning and required improvements with colleagues in a constructive and supportive manner.
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Promote effective communication and ensure important information is shared appropriately across the team.
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Contribute to team meetings, reflective learning and service improvement discussions.
Operational and On-Call Responsibilities
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Work 24 flexible hours per week. Hours will ordinarily be worked Monday to Friday and may be arranged to suit the responsibilities of the role, for example across shorter working days such as 10.00am to 2.00pm.
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Use allocated management-support time effectively to complete agreed audits, reviews, checks, follow-up actions and associated records.
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Remain available to provide operational leadership or shift cover from time to time when required to maintain safe service delivery.
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When providing shift cover, undertake the full responsibilities expected of a Team Leader, including coordinating care, supporting colleagues, responding to incidents and maintaining effective handover arrangements.
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Participate in the management on-call rota, currently approximately one week in every three weeks, in accordance with the WCL On-Call Policy.
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Respond appropriately to out-of-hours concerns, emergencies and service-continuity issues within the scope of the role, escalating where necessary.
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Work flexibly to complete allocated audits, reviews, meetings and compliance activities. Any requirement to work outside the agreed Monday to Friday pattern will be reasonable, occasional and discussed in advance wherever possible.
Business
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Follow WCL Financial Procedures and use resources responsibly and sustainably.
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Support the Service Manager and Deputy Manager to ensure the service complies with contractual, regulatory and organisational requirements.
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Contribute to effective use of staffing and resources while recognising that rota management and budget accountability remain with the management team unless specifically delegated.
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Use organisational systems and technology appropriately to maintain accurate, secure and accessible records.
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Support service development and improvement while maintaining a clear focus on the needs and outcomes of the people we support.
The People We Support
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Promote a caring environment delivered in accordance with current guidance, best practice, legislation and regulatory requirements.
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Ensure high standards of care are maintained and that the assessed needs, rights, choices and preferences of the people we support are reflected in practice.
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Support effective communication with the people we support, relatives, representatives, colleagues and external professionals.
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Ensure that feedback from the people we support and those important to them is considered within care planning and service improvement.
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Support the Service Manager and Deputy Manager to respond appropriately to complaints, concerns and compliments in accordance with WCL policy.
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Maintain positive and professional relationships with relatives, professionals, commissioners and external agencies.
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Understand and implement safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards requirements relevant to the service.
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Provide direct care and support when covering shifts or where reasonably required, maintaining dignity, choice and independence.
Safeguarding
To complete required safeguarding and Mental Capacity Act training and understand and implement WCL safeguarding, Mental Capacity Act and related policies and procedures. The post holder must take immediate and appropriate action in response to concerns, including reporting and escalating safeguarding matters to the senior person on duty, Service Manager or on-call manager in accordance with organisational procedures.
Health and Safety
As an employee of WCL, the post holder has a duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to:
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Take reasonable care of the health and safety of themselves and all other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work.
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Co-operate with WCL to ensure compliance with health and safety legislation and organisational policies and procedures.
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Not intentionally or recklessly interfere with or misuse anything provided in the interests of health, safety or welfare.
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Support the management team to ensure adequate measures are taken to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people we support, colleagues and visitors.
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Complete required food hygiene and allergen awareness training and follow relevant procedures when handling or serving food.
Data Protection
Respect the confidentiality, integrity and security of information in accordance with UK data protection legislation and WCL policies and procedures. Information must only be obtained, accessed, recorded, used, shared and retained for legitimate work purposes and only with authorised persons or organisations. Any suspected loss, inappropriate disclosure or security incident must be reported immediately in accordance with WCL procedures.
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This list of duties and responsibilities is not exhaustive, and the post holder may be required to undertake other relevant and appropriate duties reasonably required within the scope and level of the role.
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This job description is subject to regular review and appropriate modification following consultation.
Residential Team Leader Person Specification
Qualifications
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Level 3 qualification in Adult Care/Health and Social Care, or an equivalent relevant qualification.
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Current or previous competence in the core responsibilities of a care-home Team Leader.
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Willingness to complete further development relevant to auditing, governance and management support.
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Level 4 or Level 5 qualification in Adult Care or Leadership and Management.
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Relevant auditor, medication, health and safety or quality-assurance training.
Experience
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Experience working in an adult social care service.
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Experience providing guidance or leadership to colleagues.
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Experience of reviewing care plans, risk assessments or care records.
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Experience of completing or contributing to audits, checks and action plans.
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Experience supporting safe medication practice.
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Experience responding appropriately to incidents, concerns and changing needs.
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Experience supporting internal or external inspections and monitoring visits.
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Experience completing colleague supervision or competency assessments.
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Experience reviewing trends arising from incidents, medication errors or audit findings.
Knowledge and Technical Skills
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Good understanding of person-centred care and the CQC Fundamental Standards.
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Working knowledge of safeguarding, the Mental Capacity Act, health and safety and infection prevention requirements.
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Ability to assess the quality of records and identify gaps, risks and inconsistencies.
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Ability to complete audits accurately, maintain trackers and follow actions through to completion.
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Good written communication, numeracy and IT skills.
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Ability to organise and prioritise a flexible workload and meet deadlines.
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Understanding of confidentiality and data protection responsibilities.
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Knowledge of quality-governance systems in a residential care setting.
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Ability to analyse themes and trends and present findings clearly.
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Experience using electronic care-planning, medication or audit systems.
Personal Qualities
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Understands that the role remains at Team Leader level and works collaboratively with other Team Leaders without creating an additional hierarchy.
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Self-motivated, organised, accurate and able to work with limited supervision.
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Confident to challenge poor practice constructively and escalate concerns appropriately.
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Able to build effective and credible relationships with colleagues, the people we support, relatives and professionals.
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Consistent, reliable and accountable, with a professional approach.
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Able and willing to provide flexible operational or shift cover when required.
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Willing and able to participate in an out-of-hours on-call rota, currently approximately one week in every three weeks.
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Committed to learning, continuous improvement and WCL values.
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Able to support others through coaching and reflective learning.
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Demonstrates initiative in developing practical improvements to service systems and quality.
Ready to Change Lives? Apply Now!
If you are passionate about making a genuine impact and enriching the lives of others, then we would love to hear from you. We receive a high volume of applications each day, and if your application passes our pre-screening stage, a member of our friendly team will be in touch to guide you through the next steps!
More About We Change Lives
We Change Lives (WCL) is a remarkable charity based in Northwest England, dedicated to empowering individuals with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, older people, those with dementia, and individuals experiencing mental health issues. Our mission is to enable people to lead their best lives in purposeful, healthy, and fulfilling ways. We achieve this by providing compassionate support through our residential homes, supported living schemes, and various community-based services.
