Service Manager - Homes for Children (RI)

Service Manager - Homes for Children (Responsible Individual)

Lead exceptional homes. Shape outstanding futures.

At Plymouth City Council, we are ambitious for children and young people. We believe every child deserves the opportunity to thrive, feel safe, achieve their potential and experience the very best care and support.

We are seeking an experienced and inspirational leader to join us as our Service Manager, Homes for Children (Responsible Individual). This is a pivotal senior management role, providing strategic leadership across our children's residential homes and brokerage services while ensuring the highest standards of care, safeguarding and regulatory compliance.

This is an exciting opportunity to influence the future of residential provision in Plymouth, support the development of new children's homes, and drive high-quality, child-centred services that achieve exceptional outcomes for children and young people.

About the role

As the Responsible Individual for Plymouth City Council's registered children's homes, you will provide leadership, support and challenge to Registered Managers, ensuring our services are safe, effective and consistently deliver excellent outcomes for children.

You will:

• Provide strategic leadership and management to Registered Managers across our children's homes.
• Act as the Responsible Individual in accordance with the Children's Homes Regulations.
• Lead service development, improvement and expansion of our residential provision, including supporting the registration of new homes.
• Oversee quality assurance and regulatory compliance, including Ofsted readiness and performance.
• Lead and develop our Brokerage Team to secure high-quality, value-for-money placements.
• Manage significant budgets and contribute to the council's sufficiency planning and commissioning strategy.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues, partners, providers and families to improve outcomes for children across the city.

This is a highly visible leadership role requiring strategic thinking, sound judgement and a relentless focus on children and young people's experiences and outcomes.

About you

We are looking for a credible and knowledgeable leader with substantial experience in children's residential care and service management.

You will bring:

• Significant experience of leading and managing children's residential services.
• Strong knowledge of the Children's Homes Regulations, safeguarding and the Ofsted inspection framework.
• Experience of quality assurance, service improvement and driving positive change.
• A proven ability to lead, inspire and develop managers and teams.
• Experience of budget management and strategic resource planning.
• Excellent partnership-working, communication and influencing skills.
• The confidence to provide robust challenge while maintaining positive professional relationships.
• A recognised degree-level qualification in a relevant discipline and either a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care and Children and Young People's Services or a commitment to achieve this within the required timeframe. The successful candidate must be able to meet the requirements to undertake the Responsible Individual role and satisfy the relevant regulatory criteria.

Our commitment

Plymouth City Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

This post is subject to enhanced dult & Child DBS clearance and all relevant pre-employment checks.

Ready to make a difference?

If you are an experienced residential care leader who is passionate about delivering outstanding services for children and young people, we would love to hear from you.

Join us and help shape the future of children's residential care in Plymouth.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Victoria Whitman on Victoria.Whitman@plymouth.gov.uk

Closing Date: Monday 02 November 2026

Plymouth City Council is an equal opportunities employer. All applicants will be considered for employment regardless of age, care experience, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion/belief, sex or sexual orientation.

As part of our commitment to promoting equality we offer guaranteed interviews to those who meet the essential criteria and are considered disabled, care experienced or are an Armed Forces Service Leaver within the last two years.

**Please note, this role is not eligible for visa sponsorship and we can only consider applicants with existing right to work in the UK.

Plymouth City Council is proud to be an Age Friendly Employer. We encourage applications from talented people at every stage of their career.