Deputy Manager

This is a Gloucestershire County Council job.
 

Job Title: Deputy Manager - Children's HomeJob Location: Gloucester Salary: £39,186 - £44,428 per annumHours per Week: Contract Type: Permanent Closing Date: /10/2025 Job Requisition Number: This post is open to job share 

Do you want to be at the forefront of practice and take a lead role in developing a new service within which you are able to model excellent needs-led support with children in care and care leavers? Are you passionate about getting it right by working alongside the Registered Manager and supporting a staff team who champion innovative interventions alongside young people who are preparing to transition into the community and adulthood? Well, here is your opportunity to do so because we're looking for a Deputy Manager to work as part of the management team and lead our 3rd new children's homes which we're currently preparing to register with Ofsted.

Our 3rd Home is a short to medium-term children's home for up to four young people aged 14–17. We will provide intensive, trauma-informed care in a warm, stable, and therapeutic environment where children can begin to heal, grow, and build trusting relationships. Our goal is to support each child toward a positive, planned transition, whether to family, foster care, or another long-term setting, through collaborative, child-led approaches.

Guided by the values of Enabling, Enhancing, Enriching, we offer personalised care rooted in relational practice, cultural sensitivity, and therapeutic understanding.

To see more information on our new children's homes, click here.

Right Child, Right Support, Right Time, Every Time

Gloucestershire's vision is 'Working together to support families and communities to give every child the best chance of a happy and rewarding life, especially those who need more help'. Implementation of our ambitious improvement and transformation plans are creating the optimum conditions within which our staff can make a real difference and improve outcomes for children. The investment we've made in our in-house residential strategy demonstrates our commitment to getting this right for our children and young people.

About us

In line with our needs analysis, we are opening children's homes which cater for a mix of age ranges (from 10 years upwards) and needs. These include homes caring for those who need a period of stability in a group care environment to enable them to move back to a family setting, to those for older young people, who need to be supported for a longer period in a children's home and supported into independence.

All our homes will offer a service to those children and young people for whom residential care is a placement of choice and are assessed to be the most appropriate resource to enable them to fulfil their potential. We're committed to working with our statutory partners as part of a trauma-informed, integrated approach which focuses holistically on what needs to change in order to achieve timely permanence. Our health partners have actively invested in our vision.

About you
 

We are seeking a candidate who demonstrates:

at least 6 months of experience of working as a Senior Residential Practitioner or Team Leader in a children's home.a reflective and proactive approach to staff development, supervision, and continuous improvement.a positive, strengths-based leadership style that motivates and empowers the team.skilled in staff supervision, coaching, and development, promoting continuous learning and growth.confidence in managing day-to-day operations, ensuring the home runs smoothly and safely.strong understanding of safeguarding, compliance, Children's Homes Regulations, including quality standards.experience in supporting staff to deliver individualised, therapeutic care to young people.commitment to collaborative working with professionals, carers, and families.resilience and adaptability in responding to challenges and supporting staff wellbeing.passion for enabling, enhancing, and enriching both the team and the service.

As well as your experience of working in children's homes, there are some things we require of you to be successfully appointed to this post:

Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare (or equivalent)evidence of continued professional development.a full driving licence and willingness to drive.DBS clearance

About the role

You will be an integral member of the management team and will be supporting the Registered Manager in the day-to-day operations and management of the home. This includes leading on key functions to ensure the smooth running of the service. You will be required to deputise in the absence of the Registered Manager, and be responsible for establishing, overseeing, and participating in a rota system and an on-call system. You'll oversee daily operations, ensure compliance with safeguarding and regulatory standards, and support staff through supervision, coaching, and development.

This is a rewarding opportunity for someone who is passionate about enhancing team performance, driving service excellence, and making a meaningful impact in the lives of children through effective leadership.

You will be:

actively engaging with children in the ongoing development of the serviceproviding leadership and guidancecontributing to the support of those residing in, and newly admitted to, the homeconducting regular supervisions with staff to ensure a high quality of care is continuously delivered.

Interviews will be held on 4th November 2025

For an informal chat about this role, please email or call

We reserve the right to close an advertisement earlier than the stated closing date if we receive a suitable number of applications.

The council is not currently able to offer sponsorship in this role. Candidates will need to have right to work that enables them to commit to at least 6 months employment. Right to work is not transferable from a sponsored role held with another employer. 

Under the terms of our Safer Recruitment Policy, if you are invited to interview, we will take up safeguarding references prior to your interview to understand your suitability to work with vulnerable children. These references will then be discussed in your interview. Please give details of at least two referees, one of whom must be your present and/or last employer and the other from a previous employer(s). These will need to cover the last three years of employment/education. In the case of applicants leaving full time education or not having worked since doing so, the Head of School, College or University should be one of the named referees. We do not accept references from friends or family members or workplace colleagues (who are not more senior). To ensure we process your application in a speedy and efficient way, we will contact your referees by DocuSign. Where appropriate, please inform them of your application.

Additional Information

To access the Job Profile for this role, please follow the link below:

Deputy Manager Children's Home Job Profile

This position is subject to a DBS check. 

Gloucestershire County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people or vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

We want to be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining excellent people to work for us, so that we can best serve all of Gloucestershire's diverse communities.  Our promise to you is that we will provide an inclusive and supportive working environment that enables you to bring your whole self to work and realise your full potential.

It is a legal requirement, under the Immigration Act 2016, that anyone appointed to a 'customer facing role' must be able to demonstrate an ability to fulfil all spoken aspects of the role with confidence in fluent English.

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