Deputy Manager - Residential - College House

College House is a residential children’s home working within the pioneering Harbour model framework to support young people. College House is a home set on the edge of the beautiful new forest and supports young people through their journey in residential care with a high level of support to develop key skills enabling them to move into foster care or home.

What’s in it for you:

You will be part of our ever-improving Children’s Service making a difference to children in Dorset. Recently rated as GOOD by Ofsted, our approach to how we work with our children, families and communities is embedded in making Dorset a place where all children thrive.

You will be joining a supportive and inclusive Council who will provide you with support, invest and nurture you to enable you to thrive in your job. A comprehensive training programme is available to enable your professional growth and development.

You will by making a difference by ensuring that our children stay in Dorset, and they are given the best start in life through outstanding care, support and services. This includes the best education and training opportunities, which enable them to thrive, realise their potential and be the best they can be.

What you can expect to be doing:

As a Deputy Manager for College House you will provide on-the-ground support and drive change in finding solutions, building sustainable and meaningful relationships and manage the reduction of risk, whilst focusing on local placements with the clear objective of improving work with families and safely reducing the number of children entering care.

You will provide clear management and leadership direction using evidence-based models including Trauma Informed Model and Restorative Practice. You will work closely with the Residential Manager to oversee all aspects of management at College House. You will also lead the team in working with the most complex, high risk young people including at times of emergency.

You will improve work with families and communities to safely reduce the number of children entering care. You will work with partner agencies to improve social work practice and decision making so that the best choices are made for every child, and lives are improved.  

About you:

We are looking for an experienced, dynamic and motivated Deputy Manager who is ready to develop this service, you will lead from the front to generate a change in culture, systems, relationships, practice and ways of working together, whilst making a real difference to the lives of children, young people and families.

You must have prior experience in a senior worker or management role within the previous two years. You must have sound knowledge of the Children’s Home Regulations and Quality Standards along with a workable knowledge of the Ofsted Inspection Framework. It is desirable that you have your L5 in leadership and management (or working towards the qualification) or a Social Work qualification.

You will be a kind and caring person with a passion for improving lives, be aspirational in attitude and resilient and flexible in approach.

As an inspirational leader you will be passionate about improving the lives of Dorset children and create opportunities for them to thrive.

For an informal conversation to discuss this vacancy further, we welcome you to contact Claire Board: [email protected]

You must be able to work some evenings, weekends and bank holidays.

This post has a significant travel requirement and you are contractually required to have a vehicle (or transport deemed to be suitable by the council) available for use as required.

The role is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

We’re passionate about making Dorset a great place to live, work and visit. Working for us should be no exception.

At Dorset Council we:

• provide more than 450 services to over 300,000 residents
• have ambitious aspirations
• are excited about our future
• care about Dorset and all the people who live here
• know that all roles make a difference and that our employees are key to our success

You will:

• have access to a range of employee benefits
• be part of an organisation that supports each other to grow and succeed
• have access to range of training opportunities which will help with your personal development and career progression

We are challenging ourselves to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation. We recognise that recruitment and inclusion of individuals with diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds will bring real strength to the council and our communities. We have a commitment to equality and welcome applications from everyone.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We offer an interview to everyone who declares a disability and meets the essential criteria for the role.

We are keen to make our interviews accessible. Let us know on your job application if you have a disability and need any reasonable adjustments.

We also look for applicants who share our commitment to our behaviours. We will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process.

If appointed, the personal information we collect from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found at Cifas.

For further information on our policy on safeguarding children and young people please click here.

This post involves working with children or vulnerable adults and/or having access to significant information about them and will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check. Please refer to our policy on the employment of ex-offenders for further information. 

This role is UK based and we will need to establish your Right to Work as part of the appointment process.

We use generic job descriptions and person specifications. This means the job title on any attachments may differ from the job title in the advert. We may provide specific information in a context statement if relevant.