This is not simply another children’s home management role. It is an opportunity to become part of an organisation that truly values its young people and the teams dedicated to supporting them.
- Are you an experienced leader within children’s residential care, ready to take responsibility for a small, specialist home?
- Are you currently a Registered Manager or an experienced Deputy Manager prepared to progress into your next leadership role?
- Is your leadership grounded in meaningful relationships, therapeutic engagement and consistently high standards of care?
If this sounds like you, we would be delighted to hear from you.
Illuminate Care Group puts the needs of each child at the centre of its decisions. Its homes are shaped by warmth, stability, authentic relationships and excellent care, rather than being driven solely by targets or commercial results. The organisation is committed to helping every young person feel secure, appreciated and genuinely at home, while giving managers and their teams the guidance and support they need to achieve this.
This role offers the successful person the freedom to lead and develop a small, specialist home, supported by an accessible senior leadership team that listens, understands and stays actively involved.
If so, we’d love to hear from you.
About Illuminate Care Group
Illuminate Care Group delivers residential care and education services for children and young people. The organisation creates safe, supportive and empowering environments where each young person is given the opportunity to thrive.
Its approach is love-led, relationship-based and trauma-informed. Teams seek to understand behaviour as communication, meet young people where they are and provide the warmth, stability and authentic relationships needed to make each setting feel like a genuine home.
Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) is central to Illuminate’s approach to emotional regulation, crisis prevention and positive behaviour support. Colleagues are trained to prevent and safely de-escalate incidents, while using reflective practice to continually strengthen the care they provide.
Illuminate is seeking a Registered Manager to lead a small, solo-placement children’s home in Doncaster. The home supports a young person with emotionally and behaviourally complex needs and has a staff team of approximately 10.
What will the role involve?
As Registered Manager, you will hold overall responsibility for the leadership, quality, development and daily operation of the children’s home.
You will provide the direction needed to maintain a safe, stable and child-centred environment, while supporting the team to deliver consistent, confident and therapeutically informed care.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Taking responsibility for the daily operation and continued development of the home.
- Leading, supporting and developing a team of approximately 10 staff, creating a positive and consistent culture centred around the young person.
- Ensuring the home remains compliant with Ofsted requirements, safeguarding legislation and the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015.
- Overseeing Regulation 40 notifications and ensuring that actions arising from Regulation 44 and Regulation 45 reports are completed.
- Maintaining oversight of care plans, risk assessments, behaviour support plans, safeguarding procedures and statutory records.
- Embedding Illuminate’s love-led, relationship-based approach, natural therapeutic interactions and TCI principles throughout everyday practice.
- Developing effective relationships with the young person, their family, social workers, education providers, local authorities and other professionals.
- Managing staffing levels, rotas, resources, budgets and on-call arrangements.
- Leading audits, quality assurance activity and continuous improvement across the home.
What are we looking for?
This role may suit an experienced Registered Manager or an established Deputy Manager who can demonstrate that they are ready to take the next step and assume overall responsibility for a children’s home.
To be considered, you will need:
- Significant experience working within children’s residential care.
- At least two years’ relevant experience within the last five years, including a minimum of one year supervising and managing care staff.
- Essential experience supporting children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties, including complex or challenging presentations within a residential environment.
- Strong working knowledge of the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015, Ofsted Quality Standards, safeguarding and safer recruitment.
- Experience of care planning, risk management, quality assurance and regulatory inspections.
- Proven leadership skills, with the ability to develop a confident team, maintain high standards and create a constructive workplace culture.
- A naturally empathetic, emotionally aware and relationship-focused approach.
- The ability to remain calm, make considered decisions and communicate effectively during challenging situations.
- A Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare.
- A Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare, or the willingness and ability to work towards this qualification with Illuminate’s support.
- A full and valid UK driving licence, with the ability to travel reliably to the Doncaster home.
What’s on offer?
- A salary of £50,000–£55,000 per year.
- 38 days’ annual leave, as well as an additional day off for your birthday.
- Comprehensive private medical insurance through Aviva, covering medical treatment, dental care and optical care.
- A workplace pension and access to employee wellbeing support.
- A thorough induction, regular supervision and continued professional development.
- Support to complete the Level 5 qualification where required.
- Guidance from an experienced senior leadership team.
- The opportunity to influence and develop a small, specialist children’s home.
- Free on-site parking and a casual dress environment.
- The chance to join a growing, values-led organisation and make a meaningful difference to a young person’s life.
Further information about the appointment
Illuminate Care Group is looking to appoint as soon as possible but welcomes applications from candidates with a range of notice periods.
The successful applicant will be required to register with Ofsted as the Registered Manager of the home. Start dates and appointment arrangements will be discussed openly and may vary depending on whether the appointed candidate is already a Registered Manager or is progressing from a Deputy Manager position.
This is an active residential childcare role that includes participation in the on-call rota. It may also require involvement in physical interventions where necessary and appropriate, in line with Illuminate Care Group’s Therapeutic Crisis Intervention framework.
Safeguarding and safer recruitment
Illuminate Care Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
The successful candidate will be required to undertake an enhanced DBS check, reference verification, right-to-work checks, a confidential pre-employment health assessment and all other relevant safer recruitment checks.
Candidates who reach the final stage will be asked to complete Illuminate Care Group’s application and safer recruitment documentation. This includes providing a full employment history, explanations for any gaps and suitable referee information relating to relevant regulated settings.
Next steps
Following a review of the application questions, the first stage of the recruitment process will be a short Teams conversation lasting approximately 15 minutes.
Please note that this vacancy has been advertised under multiple job titles as part of the same recruitment campaign. We kindly ask that you submit only one application, as duplicate applications are not required.
Oliver King Consulting is managing this recruitment campaign on behalf of Illuminate Care Group. We kindly ask that recruitment agencies do not contact the organisation directly regarding this vacancy.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £50,000.00-£55,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Free parking
- Health & wellbeing programme
- On-site parking
- Private medical insurance
- Store discount
Application question(s):
- Thank you for your interest in this opportunity. Please tell us about your current role and what has prompted you to begin looking for a new position.
- What appeals to you about Illuminate Care Group and this Registered Manager opportunity?
- Please briefly outline your experience within children’s residential care, including any management or senior leadership responsibilities.
- Please confirm which relevant qualifications you hold, including whether you have completed, or are working towards, the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare.
- Ofsted requires relevant residential childcare and management experience. Please confirm whether you have worked for at least two years in a role relevant to the residential care of children within the last five years, including at least one year supervising and managing staff in a care role.
- Have you previously worked for, or applied for a role with, Illuminate Care Group? If yes, please briefly provide the approximate date and role.
- This role requires a full UK driving licence, reliable travel to Doncaster and participation in an on-call rota. Please confirm whether you can meet these requirements.
Work Location: In person
