Deputy Manager Children’s Home

Community Care Live; Greater London; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading charity for children and young people seeks a Deputy Manager for their Children’s home in Croydon. The position involves leading a professional team to create positive outcomes for young lives, overseeing staff management and care quality. You must have a relevant degree, a willingness to pursue further qualifications, and at least 2 years' experience in residential care. This full-time role offers a salary up to £50,000 depending on experience, along with multiple benefits including career development opportunities and a supportive work environment.

Benefits

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Industry leading training programme

Contributory pension scheme

Employee assistance programme

Cycle to work scheme

Qualifications

• At least 2 years’ experience in residential children’s homes.
• At least 1 year’s experience of staff supervision and management responsibility.
• Understanding of the regulatory framework for residential services.

Responsibilities

• Assist the manager in safeguarding high-quality care for every child.
• Manage the home including staff, budget, and resources.
• Lead a team committed to transforming young lives.

Skills

Ability to develop one-to-one relationships with young people

Numeracy skills to manage budgets

Understanding of trauma-informed practice

Mentoring skills

Education

Degree in Psychology, Social Work, or relevant discipline

Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management (willingness to undertake)

Job description

Deputy Manager – Children’s Home – Croydon

Salary: up to £50,000 depending on experience and qualifications

Hours: 40 hours per week including evenings, weekends and bank holidays

Contract: Permanent

Location: East Croydon (Sanderstead Station)

We have a fantastic opportunity to join St Christopher's fellowship as a Deputy Manager for our new specialist Children’s home in Croydon. You will work alongside the Registered Manager to lead and support a professional team staff committed to transforming young lives and creating positive outcomes. You will be supported by Team Leaders, experienced Residential Practitioners, as well as our Wrap Around and Education Teams.

About Us

St Christopher's is a leading charity for children and young people. We are proud of our history of providing fostering, children's homes and innovative leaving care services across the UK & Isle of Man. We have a commitment to our young people, placing them at the centre of everything we do. We provide positive life experiences for young people who are unable to sustain a placement in their parental or foster home.

We are an equal‑opportunity employer keen to develop an inclusive workforce where people feel they belong. We hope to attract applications from under‑represented groups, including people from different cultures, nationalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, ages, disabilities, religions, faith, sex, orientation, childcare responsibilities, and gender‑diverse identities.

About the Role

As Deputy Manager, you will lead and support a professional team of staff committed to transforming young lives and creating positive outcomes. You will be supported by a Registered Manager, Deputy Manager, Team Leaders, and the team of residential staff.

Key aspects of the role:

• Assist the manager in safeguarding and ensuring every child receives high quality care as measured by Ofsted.
• Assist the manager in the management of the home, including staff, external relationships, budget, resources and building fabric.

Requirements

• A degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. Psychology, Social Work, Mental Health Nursing, Youth Work etc).
• A willingness to undertake a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare, if only holding a Level 3 qualification relevant to the role.
• At least 2 years’ experience in residential children’s homes.
• At least 1 year’s experience of staff supervision and management responsibility.
• Ability to develop appropriate one‑to‑one relationships with young people and employ mentoring skills that empower them to achieve their goals.
• Numeracy skills to manage budgets efficiently.
• Understanding of the regulatory framework relevant to the provision of residential services for children and young people.
• Aware of issues facing young people such as bullying, gangs and exploitation and how these impact behaviour.
• Understanding of trauma‑informed practice.
• Ability to work shifts including weekends, bank holidays and undertake sleep‑ins.
• Willingness to be part of an on‑call rota overseeing multiple homes.

Benefits

• Starting salary up to £50,000 depending on experience and qualifications.
• Opportunities to develop your career and become a Registered Manager.
• A friendly working environment, a fun, open and honest culture.
• 25 days holiday rising to 27 days after 3 years’ service, plus Bank Holidays, pro‑rata.
• Industry leading training programme including access to level 3 qualifications, children’s rights, participation, CSE, empowerment, mental health and social pedagogy.
• Contributory pension scheme, enhanced maternity and company sick scheme.
• UK Life Assurance (Death in service) to the value of 3 times your annual salary.
• BUPA employee assistance programme, offering counselling, financial advice and legal support.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Bluelight card; discount shopping scheme at hundreds of retailers across the UK.
• Discretionary funded training programmes.
• Employee awards based on performance and length of service.
• Fantastic opportunities to develop your career within our range of services.

Recruitment Process

At St Christopher’s we are committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people in our care. During the recruitment process you will be expected to complete an online application form to ensure we capture essential information to meet legislation, best practice and vetting requirements.

Applicants will ideally already be on the DBS Update Service; if this is not the case St Christopher's will carry out a DBS (police) check prior to starting.

Your online application must include a supporting statement addressing the criteria stated in the Person Specification. The full Job Description and Person Specification can be found in the recruitment pack; CVs will not be accepted.

For more information or assistance during the application process, please contact [e-mail]