Most care roles ask you to follow procedures and keep the peace. This one asks you to lead, shape practice, and be the person young people actually trust. If you've got the experience and the backbone to mentor junior staff while building real relationships with vulnerable teenagers, this senior post in Redbridge could be the step up that finally feels right
You'll be working in a residential home where your seniority actually counts. You're not just implementing support plans alongside social workers and parents; you're helping design them. You'll assess what each young person genuinely needs, not just what's easiest to deliver. That means real influence over outcomes, real accountability for welfare, and the kind of work that stays with you because you know it mattered
The Unit Manager will trust you to maintain the standards that keep this place running. You'll be accountable for safety, for culture, for the day-to-day environment that either builds these young people up or lets them slip further. That's not burden; that's responsibility that people with backbone actually want. You'll mentor the residential support workers around you, setting the tone for how care gets done on this team
This is a home where health, identity, religion and culture aren't tick-box exercises. The young people here need stability and someone who understands that safeguarding isn't just policy compliance; it's the foundation every vulnerable teenager deserves. If you've got the experience and the clarity to hold that standard, even when it's hard, this role rewards that commitment
What you will be doing
- Lead the design and implementation of individual support plans for young people, working alongside social workers, parents and significant others to identify real needs and build meaningful change
- Mentor and guide residential support workers on the team, modelling professional practice and ensuring safeguarding standards are consistently upheld across the home
- Assess each young person's needs, health, cultural identity and wellbeing, then contribute directly to the plans and decisions that affect their lives
- Maintain a secure, stable, supportive environment where young people's rights, culture, religion and identity are genuinely respected and promoted, not just tolerated
- Be accountable to the Unit Manager for high standards of practice and for ensuring the welfare of every child in the home is actively safeguarded and promoted
- Follow policies and procedures rigorously while using your senior judgement to navigate the grey areas that real care always presents
Why you will love working here
- A senior role where your experience and judgement are genuinely valued, not just your pair of hands
- Real accountability and influence over how support plans are designed and how young people's lives improve
- The chance to mentor and develop residential support workers, building a team you're proud to lead
- A position in a home committed to safeguarding, respect and cultural competence as genuine practice, not corporate language
Is this you?
- Are you an experienced residential support worker who's ready to step up and lead, not just follow?
- Do you have the experience and credibility to mentor junior staff and set the tone for professional practice on a residential team?
- Can you assess young people's needs holistically and contribute meaningfully to support planning alongside social workers and families?
- Are you someone who takes safeguarding and child welfare seriously enough to stay accountable for it, every single day?
- Do you understand the importance of respecting young people's culture, religion, identity and lifestyle, and can you embed that into how the home actually operates?
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.