Organisation: Avanti Homecare
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Direct Reports: Two Registered Managers (RMs)
Location: Derbyshire (multi-site role with regular weekly presence across both branches, typically two days in each branch and one day working from home)
Salary: £60,000-£65,000 depending on experience
Contract: Permanent - full‑time
About us
Avanti Homecare is a family‑run domiciliary care provider supporting older people and adults with diverse needs to live independently at home. We operate two registered branches across Derbyshire and plan to open a new branch within the next 12-18 months, alongside exploring new service lines (e.g., live‑in care and night sits). We use Access Care Planning and PeoplePlanner to underpin safe, consistent care delivery and governance.
Our ambition is to deliver consistently safe, person‑centred services while building a culture of continuous improvement that positions us as an Outstanding provider with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
As Avanti continues to grow, we’re also at an important stage of strengthening and developing our branches and leadership teams. We’ve recently gone through some management changes across our services, so this role will play a key part in bringing consistency, stability and strong operational leadership across both branches, while continuing to drive high-quality care and improvement.
Purpose of the Role
The Head of Care and Quality is the senior lead for care quality across Avanti. Reporting to the COO, they will:
- Provide strong operational leadership across Avanti’s branches, ensuring safe, stable, consistent and accountable service delivery.
- Lead through periods of operational change and support branches to move from reactive firefighting to stable, well-led operational management.
- Provide line management, coaching and accountability for our Registered Managers.
- Ensure we are inspection‑ready at all times and aligned to the CQC Single Assessment Framework (SAF) and Quality Statements.
- Lead the development and delivery of Avanti’s care strategy, driving improvement, innovation and service development.
- Give the COO and CEO high confidence that governance, compliance and risk are rigorously managed.
Reporting Lines & Authority
- Line management: Registered Managers are line-managed by, and report to, this role.
- Branch structure: RMs continue to line‑manage their branch teams, including Care Quality Managers (CQMs), Coordinators and Care Leaders.
- Regulatory accountability: RMs retain statutory accountability for their registered locations. This role sets the governance framework, holds RMs to account and assures group‑level quality.
Leadership & Management
- Line-manage, coach and support the two Registered Managers, helping them build strong operational leadership, accountability and well-organised branches.
- Drive consistency, structure and high standards across both services, supporting managers to move from reactive firefighting to calm, organised leadership.
- Build leadership capability within branch teams through coaching, support and continuous learning from incidents/complaints.
- Role-model Avanti values and help create an honest and accountable culture across the organisation.
Governance and Compliance
- Own the group governance framework; ensure evidence is mapped to SAF Quality Statements across both branches.
- Ensure governance processes lead to meaningful operational improvement, not just compliance activity.
- Design and oversee a monthly audit cycle (care plans, MARs/medicines, incidents, complaints, spot checks, supervision/training compliance, ensuring actions are followed through consistently.
- Maintain clear oversight of risks, trends and branch performance, providing regular assurance to the COO and CEO.
- Ensure robust implementation of core policies (e.g., Fit and Proper Persons, Carer Competencies Process, Performance Management) and consistency between both branches.
- Lead inspection readiness across the organisation, including mock inspections, evidence preparation and embedding learning into day-to-day practice.
Digital, Data and Insight
- Use Access Care Planning and PeoplePlanner to extract, analyse and interpret key operational and quality data (e.g., missed/late visits, MAR errors, call duration, client reviews, training/competency completion).
- Use data to identify patterns, operational risks, branch inconsistencies and areas needing improvement or leadership support.
- Improve data quality and utilisation; ensure RMs and CQMs use systems correctly and evidence improvements.
Strategy, Service Development and Expansion
- Shape and deliver the care strategy aligned to Avanti’s growth plans.
- Lead operational due diligence and governance set‑up for new branches and new service lines (e.g., live‑in care, night sits).
- Build external relationships (CQC, commissioners, stakeholders) and represent Avanti professionally.
Essential
- Extensive senior operational leadership experience within Health and Social Care, alongside strong quality, governance and compliance oversight experience within regulated services.
- Proven leadership and people‑management skills; able to hold managers to account while developing them.
- Comfortable working in a visible, hands-on leadership role with regular on-site presence across branches and flexibility to respond to operational pressures when needed.
- Strong operational judgement and the ability to remain calm, organised and decisive in fast-moving care environments.
- Demonstrable success leading services from Good to Outstanding (or equivalent measurable improvement).
- Hands‑on experience using and analysing data from digital care systems (e.g., Access Care Planning, PeoplePlanner or close equivalents).
- Deep knowledge of CQC regulations and the Single Assessment Framework and experience leading teams through inspections.
- Ability to think strategically while remaining hands-on and operationally focused.
- Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, with credibility across teams, regulators and external stakeholders.
Desirable
- Experience leading service expansion/diversification and opening new branches.
- Broader familiarity with digital tools for audit, BI/reporting or workforce management.
- Strong domiciliary/homecare leadership experience across multi-site or growing services.
Safeguarding, Vetting & Other Requirements
- Enhanced DBS (with Adults Barred List) prior to start; commitment to Safeguarding principles.
- Full UK driving licence and use of a vehicle; ability to travel between branches and to client locations as needed.
- Occasional out‑of‑hours presence for audits/assurance activities or other urgent governance matters
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Competitive salary
- The opportunity to shape Avanti’s care strategy, strengthen operational leadership across our branches and help lead us towards an Outstanding CQC rating.
- A supportive, values-driven environment that welcomes innovation over “how it’s always been done.”
- Full backing from the COO and CEO to drive meaningful, measurable change.
Founded in 2018, we are multi-award winning family run business based in Derbyshire. We have a branch located in Ilkeston and Long Eaton and Ripley. Our care team are very much at the heart of our business and we want to make sure you are supported, valued and listened to so that you are the best version of yourself and able to provide exceptional care to our clients.
