Children's Home Manager in Ruabon

Rooted in Care. Giving Change a Chance. Arbour Healthcare Group provides specialist residential care for children and young people with complex emotional, behavioural, learning disability and trauma needs.

As a Registered Children’s Home Manager you will be responsible for the safe, effective and compliant running of the home. You will lead your team to deliver high‑quality, child‑centred care that aligns with CIW expectations, statutory requirements, safeguarding responsibilities and Arbour Healthcare Group’s values. You will embed the RESET Care Model, develop your staff team, maintain high standards of care, drive quality improvement and ensure every young person feels seen, heard, safe and understood. You will also manage the operational, financial, regulatory and people‑management duties that come with leading a residential children’s home. This is a hands‑on leadership role; you will be present, visible and actively involved in practice.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and manage the day‑to‑day operation of the residential children’s home.
• Ensure the home is safe, nurturing, well‑led and compliant with CIW standards.
• Embed the RESET Care Model and reflect trauma‑informed practice in daily care.
• Champion safeguarding, child protection and professional curiosity across the service.
• Lead, supervise, support and develop the Deputy Manager and Residential Children’s Support Workers.
• Ensure care plans, risk assessments and placement plans are implemented, reviewed and kept up to date.
• Promote positive outcomes for young people across emotional wellbeing, education, health, relationships, life skills and independence.
• Build effective relationships with social workers, families, schools, health professionals, local authorities and external agencies.
• Manage incidents, safeguarding concerns and crisis situations calmly, professionally and decisively.
• Oversee rotas, staffing levels, supervision, appraisals, training and workforce development.
• Maintain accurate records and ensure high standards of digital documentation.
• Lead on quality assurance, audits, service improvement and preparation for inspections.
• Participate in the on‑call rota.
• Role‑model best practice on the floor and create a culture of accountability, learning and reflection.

What we are looking for

• At least 2 years experience working with children in a residential care environment within the last 5 years.
• At least 1 year experience in a senior role, such as Team Leader, Deputy Manager or equivalent.
• Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care and Children and Young People’s Services, or a commitment to work towards this (qualification paid for).
• Strong knowledge of safeguarding, child protection and safer care practice.
• Good understanding of Ofsted and/or CIW regulations, inspection frameworks and compliance expectations.
• Experience leading, supervising and developing staff teams.
• Ability to manage challenging situations, incidents and crisis responses safely and professionally.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Confidence using digital systems, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and paperless care‑recording systems.
• Clear commitment to working flexibly, including some evenings, weekends, nights and on‑call responsibilities where required.
• Ability to lead with warmth, boundaries, consistency and accountability.

What will make you successful

• Ability to balance care with compliance, warmth with boundaries and ambition with professional discipline.
• Ability to hold the whole home in mind – the young person, the staff team, the rota, the budget, the records, the risks, the regulators and the outcomes.
• Leadership to notice when standards drift, step in when practice needs support and challenge anything that does not serve the best interests of the young person.
• Experience leading a Progress Project with or for a young person, driving a meaningful piece of work that demonstrates positive change.

Why join Arbour Healthcare Group?

• Permanent full‑time leadership role.
• Opportunity to lead a specialist solo‑occupancy children’s home.
• A values‑led organisation with a clear therapeutic care model.
• Leadership development and progression opportunities.
• Bespoke training linked to trauma‑informed care, safeguarding and residential childcare.
• Enhanced annual leave allowance.
• Company pension scheme.
• Meals and essentials provided while on shift.
• Supportive senior leadership structure.
• A genuine sense of community and shared purpose.
• A chance to shape a home, develop a team and change the direction of a young person’s life.

Our expectations

This is a senior leadership role, and the expectations are high. You will be expected to be visible, proactive, organised and accountable. You will need to lead on the floor, not just from the office; own your service, understand your young person, develop your team and ensure the home is always inspection‑ready. You will need to use digital systems confidently, as Arbour Healthcare Group operates paperless services. You will need to participate in the on‑call rota and fully understand the needs of your service across all shift patterns. Most importantly, you will need to believe that change is possible, even when progress is not immediate.