Job Description:
Job Title: Group Commercial & Care Development Manager
Field: Elderly - Dementia Care / Residential Care
Reports to: Managing Director / Directors
Location: Across the Group's Residential Care Homes located in Slough, Bracknell, Cambridge, Hatfield and Worthing, with regular travel between all homes.
Salary: Will be Discussed
Purpose of the Role
The Group Commercial & Care Development Manager will provide strategic and operational leadership for all commercial admissions across the Group. The postholder will combine extensive experience in residential care management with strong commercial judgement to ensure that each admission contributes positively to both resident outcomes and the financial sustainability of the organisation.
The successful candidate will personally undertake complex pre-admission assessments, evaluate dependency levels, determine staffing implications, negotiate appropriate fee levels with Local Authorities, Integrated Care Boards, brokerage teams and private families, and oversee the entire admissions journey from initial enquiry through to successful placement.
This role will also be responsible for developing and implementing a Group-wide commercial admissions strategy, establishing structured pricing frameworks, introducing dependency-based fee models and ensuring consistency across all homes in relation to admissions, occupancy management and commercial decision making.
Working closely with the Directors and Home Managers, the postholder will act as the organisation's lead expert on care dependency, occupancy management and funding negotiations while maintaining strong relationships with commissioners, hospital discharge teams, social workers, families and other key stakeholders.
The Group Commercial & Care Development Manager will be responsible for maximising occupancy and revenue across all five care homes by leading:
- Commercial admissions
- Fee assessments and negotiations
- Council funding negotiations
- Private fee negotiations
- Occupancy management
- Referral pipeline management
- Development of pricing policies
- Clinical assessment of prospective residents
This role bridges clinical knowledge with commercial decision-making, ensuring every admission is financially viable while remaining appropriate for each home's capabilities.
Key Responsibilities
The Group Commercial & Care Development Manager will assume overall responsibility for developing and leading the commercial performance of admissions across all five homes.
The role requires a thorough understanding of residential care, care dependency, local authority commissioning arrangements and the financial implications associated with varying levels of care.
The postholder will lead the assessment process for all significant admissions, undertaking detailed pre-admission assessments either within hospitals, in residents' own homes or within the care homes. Assessments will consider physical health, mental health, cognitive impairment, dementia, behavioural needs, mobility, continence, nutrition, medication requirements, communication, safeguarding concerns, risks to other residents and staffing implications. These assessments will be used not only to determine whether a placement is clinically appropriate but also to establish the true cost of delivering safe and effective care.
Rather than accepting standard funding rates offered by Local Authorities or brokerage teams, the postholder will critically evaluate each referral and determine whether the proposed fee accurately reflects the assessed level of dependency. Where additional funding is justified, the postholder will prepare evidence-based submissions, negotiate enhanced fee levels and professionally challenge funding decisions where appropriate. This will require a detailed understanding of care planning, staffing ratios, dependency scoring, local authority funding frameworks and negotiation techniques.
The successful candidate will become the Group's lead negotiator for all privately funded placements. They will meet with prospective residents and their families, explain the services available, discuss care requirements, present fee structures with confidence and sensitivity, and negotiate sustainable fee levels that reflect the quality of care provided by the organisation. Throughout the admissions process, they will build trust with families while ensuring transparency and fairness in all financial discussions.
A key responsibility of the role will be the development of a comprehensive commercial pricing strategy across the Group.
The postholder will introduce structured dependency-based pricing models which consider the complexity of each resident's needs, the level of staffing required, behavioural support, dementia care, falls risks, moving and handling requirements, nutritional support, one-to-one supervision, room type and regional market conditions. This will provide Home Managers with clear guidance regarding minimum acceptable fees, target fee levels and enhanced pricing for higher dependency placements, ensuring consistency across all five homes.
The Group Commercial & Care Development Manager will also be responsible for maximising occupancy throughout the organisation. Working alongside Home Managers, they will oversee enquiry management, monitor occupancy levels, analyse future vacancies, maintain waiting lists and ensure that available rooms are marketed effectively. They will develop systems for tracking enquiries, assessing conversion rates, identifying reasons why enquiries are lost and implementing strategies to improve admissions performance. The objective will be to maintain consistently high occupancy across all homes while ensuring that every admission is appropriate for the home concerned.
The postholder will work closely with all the Registered Managers to ensure admissions are planned safely and that care teams are fully prepared before a resident's arrival. They will provide guidance regarding staffing requirements, dependency planning, care transitions and risk management to ensure new residents receive safe and effective care from the moment they move into the home.
As a senior member of the leadership team, the successful candidate will establish and maintain strong professional relationships with Local Authorities, hospital discharge teams, Integrated Care Boards, brokerage services, social workers, Continuing Healthcare teams, General Practitioners and community professionals. They will represent the organisation during funding discussions, commissioning meetings and partnership events, promoting the Group's reputation for delivering high-quality residential care.
The role will require the preparation of detailed monthly commercial reports for the Directors covering occupancy levels, enquiry volumes, admissions performance, fee negotiations, average weekly fees, enhanced funding achievements, projected vacancies and overall commercial performance. Using this information, the postholderwill identify trends, recommend improvements and contribute to the wider strategic development of the organisation.
The Group Commercial & Care Development Manager will also lead the development of policies, procedures and guidance relating to admissions, fee negotiations, dependency assessments and occupancy management. They will ensure that all admissions comply fully with Care Quality Commission regulations, the Care Act 2014, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, safeguarding legislation and all relevant statutory guidance.
Commercial Leadership
· Develop and implement the Group's commercial strategy to maximise occupancy and profitability.
· Maintain occupancy above agreed Group targets (95%+).
· Create annual pricing strategies.
· Review competitor pricing.
· Develop fee benchmarking across each geographical area.
· Prepare monthly commercial reports for Directors.
· Identify opportunities for revenue growth.
Admissions Management
Manage all enquiries from:
- Private families
- Local Authorities
- Hospitals
- NHS
- Brokerage Teams
- Social Workers
Ensure every enquiry is professionally handled.
Manage the admissions pipeline from enquiry through to move-in.
Reduce void periods across the Group.
Coordinate admissions between homes where appropriate.
Care Assessments
Undertake comprehensive pre-admission assessments.
Review:
- Care Needs Assessments
- Local Authority Assessments
- Continuing Healthcare Assessments
- Hospital Discharge Assessments
- Occupational Therapy reports
- Risk Assessments
Determine:
- Whether the resident is suitable
- Staffing implications
- Dependency level
- Clinical complexity
Provide recommendations regarding:
- Weekly fee
- Staffing ratio
- Additional one-to-one support
- Risks to the home
Fee Negotiations
Lead commercial negotiations with:
Local Authorities
Negotiate enhanced weekly rates based upon:
- Dependency
- Behavioural needs
- Mobility
- Double-handed care
- Continence
- Falls Risk
- Complex Dementia
- End of Life needs
- Staffing requirements
Challenge standard Local Authority rates where care needs justify enhanced fees.
Ensure every placement is financially sustainable.
Private Residents
· Meet families.
· Explain fee structures.
· Negotiate private weekly fees.
· Present value proposition.
· Manage fee increases.
· Ensure transparent communication.
Pricing Strategy
Develop a Group Fee Matrix considering:
- Dependency levels
- Care hours
- Staffing requirements
- Nursing input (if applicable)
- Behavioural support
- Dementia complexity
- Room type
- Location
- Market conditions
Create internal guidance for:
§ Minimum acceptable fees.
§ Target fees.
§ Premium fees.
§ Enhanced dependency fees.
Occupancy Management
· Maintain occupancy forecasts.
· Review weekly vacancies.
· Develop marketing strategies with Home Managers.
· Monitor enquiry conversion.
· Analyse lost enquiries.
· Reduce empty bed days.
· Produce occupancy dashboards.
· Ability to introduce new Management systems for
Dependency-Based Fee Matrix: A standardized assessment tool that links residents' care needs (mobility, cognition, behaviours, continence, nutrition, falls risk, one-to-one support, etc.) to minimum, target, and premium fee bands. This ensures private fees are consistent and provides evidence to justify higher fees to councils.
Council Funding Negotiation Framework: A structured process requiring every council-funded referral to be clinically assessed before accepting the offered rate. The manager would prepare evidence-based requests for enhanced funding where the assessed care needs exceed the council's standard rate.
Group Occupancy & Pipeline Management System: A centralised dashboard tracking enquiries, assessments, conversions, occupancy, notice periods, waiting lists, and forecast vacancies across all five homes, allowing residents to be placed in the most appropriate home while maximising occupancy and revenue.
Relationships
Build excellent relationships with:
- Local Authorities
- Brokerage Teams
- Hospital Discharge Teams
- Social Workers
- Community Teams
- GP Practices
- Families
- Commissioners
Represent the Group professionally.
Operational Support
· Support Home Managers on:
· Commercial decisions.
· Admissions.
· Complex placements.
· Fee negotiations.
· Occupancy planning.
Compliance
Ensure admissions comply with:
· CQC Regulations
· Mental Capacity Act
· Care Act
· Health & Social Care Act
· Safeguarding legislation
· Data Protection
Essential Experience
Applicants must have:
- Previous Registered Manager experience in a Residential Care Home.
- Strong understanding of CQC regulations.
- Proven experience achieving Good or Outstanding CQC ratings.
- Minimum five years' management experience in elderly care.
- Experience negotiating fees with Local Authorities.
- Experience negotiating private fees.
- Experience carrying out care assessments.
- Experience managing occupancy.
- Experience managing admissions.
- Commercial budgeting experience.
- Strong understanding of care dependency.
- Excellent knowledge of safeguarding.
- Experience working with social workers and commissioning teams.
Desirable Experience
- Multi-site management experience.
- Regional Manager experience.
- Business Development experience.
- Commissioning new services.
- Marketing experience.
- CRM experience.
- Tendering experience.
- NHS Continuing Healthcare knowledge.
Skills Required
- Commercial negotiation
- Financial awareness
- Excellent communication
- Clinical assessment
- Occupancy management
- Leadership
- Relationship management
- Report writing
- Influencing skills
- Problem-solving
- Presentation skills
- Data analysis
- Strategic thinking
Qualifications
Essential:
- NVQ Level 5 in Leadership for Health & Social Care (or equivalent).
- Registered Manager experience (Required - with proven Track record)
- Full UK Driving Licence.
Desirable:
- Nursing qualification (RGN) (not essential).
- Management & Leadership qualification.
Personal Attributes
We are looking for someone who is:
- Commercially astute.
- Passionate about quality care.
- Confident in negotiations.
- Credible with Local Authorities.
- Able to challenge funding decisions professionally.
- Highly organised.
- Analytical and data driven.
- Relationship-focused.
- Results-oriented.
- Ethical and compassionate.
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time
Experience:
- Residential Care Home Management - Registered Manager: 5 years (Preferred)
- Care Home Operations Manager / Compliance management: 3 years (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
Pay: £50,000.00-£60,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
