Most deputy manager roles in residential care feel like you're drowning in admin while watching the real work happen on the floor. This one is different: you'll lead a team, shape lives, and actually develop into a registered manager with proper support behind you. If you've got senior residential care worker experience with young people showing challenging behaviours or SEMH needs, and you're ready to step up, this is the role that changes your career trajectory
Picture yourself as the second-in-command of a residential home where young people actually feel safe enough to heal. You're not just covering when the manager's away - you're genuinely supporting them, managing the team, and being the consistent adult who helps these kids find their footing. Every day you're promoting their physical, emotional, social and mental health, creating that stable, caring environment where they can actually develop and flourish
You'll work a 48-hour rota across six days including weekends and sleep-ins, which means you're embedded in the rhythms of the home and the lives of the young people. You'll attend case conferences, liaise with social workers and health professionals, contribute to care planning, and sit alongside your manager during Ofsted inspections. This is real responsibility - budget oversight, staff management, wage submissions - the kind of work that builds your credibility for the registered manager qualification
The home invests in you properly: induction, CPD opportunities, regular supervisions, and training tailored to the individual needs of the young people you're supporting. You're not expected to wing it. You'll work within a non-sanction-led ethos, which means you're teaching boundaries through relationship and consistency, not punishment. Your role models the behaviour and values you want to see in both staff and the children in your care
What you will be doing
- Support the manager and team in day-to-day operations, stepping into their shoes when they're absent and bringing the same care and oversight
- Directly support children and young people in the home, promoting their sense of security through positive, trusting relationships
- Manage staff teams, support them through inspections, and model the professional standards you expect from them
- Liaise with placing authorities, social workers, health professionals, education providers and youth offending teams; attend meetings and contribute to care planning and statutory reviews
- Oversee monthly wage submissions, ensure medical records are maintained, and manage budgets to keep the service running smoothly
- Bring concerns immediately to the manager or senior team, and respond to reasonable requests from the manager or organisation leadership
Why you will love working here
- Proper career progression: this role is your bridge to registered manager status, with senior management and the provider behind your development
- Genuine training and support: induction, CPD opportunities, and regular supervisions so you're never guessing
- A 48-hour rota over six days (including weekends and sleep-ins) that gives you genuine presence in the home and real connection to the young people
- The chance to lead a team and shape practice around a non-sanction-led ethos, where your leadership actually influences how care is delivered
Is this you?
- Are you a senior residential care worker with proven experience in a children's home, ideally supporting young people with SEMH needs or challenging behaviours?
- Do you have the emotional intelligence and resilience to inspire staff and young people, even when things are difficult?
- Can you manage budgets, supervise staff, and handle administrative responsibility without losing sight of the human core of the work?
- Are you clear about safeguarding, confident working within Home Regulations 2018 and the Ofsted framework, and committed to putting the child at the centre of every decision?
- Do you want to grow into a registered manager role and are you willing to put in the work - both the study and the lived experience - to get there?
Applications close on 12 October 2026. Great roles like this are filled quickly, so the sooner you apply the better.
Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All roles are subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.