Operations & Compliance Manager
Children's Residential Care
Location: Croydon (with regular travel to properties)
Salary: £25,000 – £30,000 per annum (depending on experience)
Hours: Full Time – 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday
Contract: Permanent
Requirement: Must hold a full UK driving licence, have access to your own vehicle, and hold business insurance for work travel (mileage reimbursed)
About the Role
We're a growing children's residential care organisation — currently running two homes, opening our third, and with plans for a fourth. As we move into a larger office, we're looking for a second admin person to join us and help build a strong, capable team as we scale.
It's an exciting time to join us, with lots of ideas in motion and real opportunity to help shape how we grow. We're looking for someone who loves turning ideas into reality — someone who takes ownership, sees things through, and gets genuine satisfaction from a job well finished.
You'll be joining a supportive leadership team who will help you settle in and get to grips with our properties, systems and processes. Beyond that initial induction, we're looking for someone confident enough to work things out, make good decisions, and take the pressure off our Registered Managers, who are busy running their homes day to day. The right person will pick things up quickly and settle in well, becoming someone the team can rely on.
Above all, we support some of the most vulnerable children in the country, and everything we do has to reflect that. We're looking for someone genuinely compassionate — a real team player who cares about the quality of life and experience our children have, not just someone looking for a back-office role.
Key Responsibilities
Property & Compliance
- Searching for and assessing potential new properties as we expand
- Project managing renovations from start to finish, including sourcing and managing contractors
- Owning all property compliance: gas safety certificates, electrical (EICR) certificates, emergency lighting, fire safety, and other statutory servicing schedules
- Keeping a live tracker of renewal dates so nothing is ever left to expire
- Ensuring properties are always inspection- and Ofsted-ready
Staff Training Management
- Applying for and booking all mandatory and specialist staff training across homes (e.g. safeguarding, first aid, medication, physical intervention, and any role-specific courses)
- Managing the full training calendar, ensuring courses are booked in good time and no certifications are allowed to lapse
- Maintaining accurate training records for every staff member, tracking completion, renewal dates, and outstanding requirements
- Working with Registered Managers to identify training needs and ensure every home is always compliant and inspection-ready
Supporting Registered Managers
- Working alongside Registered Managers at each home to support compliance checks and audits
- Helping prepare homes for regulatory inspections
- Flagging and resolving compliance gaps before they become problems
- Becoming a trusted, capable point of support for managers — someone who takes things off their plate rather than adding to it
Quality of Life & Enrichment for Children
- Supporting managers in organising trips, activities and experiences that genuinely improve outcomes and quality of life for the children in our care
- For example, independently organising a holiday for a child — booking transport, arranging accommodation (such as an Airbnb), and planning a full week's itinerary — while working closely with the home manager on risk assessments and safeguarding considerations
- Approaching every task with the child's best interests and wellbeing at the centre of the decision
Budgeting & Finance
- Supporting budgeting and cost tracking across properties, projects & staff expenses
- Managing supplier and contractor spend, and finding cost-effective solutions without compromising quality
- Sourcing quotes, negotiating with suppliers, and making sensible spending decisions independently
Recruitment & People
- Supporting recruitment campaigns and shortlisting candidates
- Conducting or co-conducting interviews
- Managing onboarding, safer recruitment checks, and compliance documentation for new starters
General Operations
- Acting as a key problem-solver across the business as we scale
- Carrying ideas through from concept to completion, so things get properly finished rather than left half done
- Managing multiple sites and priorities simultaneously without losing track of detail
- Bringing your own ideas and improvements to the table — we genuinely want someone who adds value, not just completes tasks
- Taking full ownership of tasks from start to finish with minimal day-to-day supervision
About You
- Experience in property management, facilities, compliance, or operations within a regulated environment (children's residential care, social care, or similar is a strong advantage)
- A genuinely compassionate team player who cares about the outcomes for the young people we support
- Calm and capable under pressure — you take things in your stride rather than feeling overwhelmed
- A natural finisher — someone who enjoys following things through rather than losing steam halfway
- Confident managing contractors, negotiating, and holding people to account, always professionally
- Strong working knowledge of property compliance requirements (or a fast learner keen to get up to speed properly)
- Comfortable with budgets, numbers, and cost management
- A quick learner who settles in well and works independently and confidently
- Recruitment or interviewing experience is a plus
- Full UK driving licence and own vehicle essential — this role involves regular travel between properties and to view potential new sites
What We Offer
- £25,000 – £30,000 per annum, depending on experience
- Mileage covered for business travel
- A supportive leadership team invested in helping you succeed
- Real autonomy and trust once you're settled in — this isn't a role where every decision needs sign-off
- The chance to genuinely shape the operational backbone of a growing organisation
- Exciting career progression as we expand from 2 homes to 4 and beyond
Pay: £25,420.00-£30,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Application question(s):
- Do you own your own vehicle?
Work Location: In person
