Head of Kent Services

Location: Pembury, with travel between services as required

Contracted Hours: Full time - 37 hours per week (Mon-Fri)

Salary: £55,000 - £65,000 per annum FTE

Application Deadline Date: Friday 24th May 2026 / Interviews to take place at Cornford Lane site (Pembury) on Wednesday 10th June.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

Equal Opportunity/Accessibility and Accommodations Statement: As a Disability Confident employer, Aspens Charities is committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for individuals with disabilities. We actively promote the recruitment, retention, and career development of people with disabilities, recognising the invaluable contributions they make to our organisation. We are dedicated to ensuring an accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Aspens’ mission is to provide high-quality care and support to individuals on the autism spectrum and with learning disabilities; meeting their needs and aspirations and empowering them to learn and grow through an integrated network of services across the South-East. We provide support and care to children, families and adults across Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Brighton and Hove, Surrey and the London Borough of Bexley. Our services include registered care homes; supported living; community outreach; day services, including pathways to employment; children and young people’s groups and support; specialist support; and free online support for families and carers across the South-East.

About the role: This is a tremendously exciting time to join Aspens. With our new Chief Operating Officer in place, we are actively shaping how we work to ensure we deliver the very best for the people we support. Her focus and ambition are centred on establishing consistent, high-quality practice across the organisation and ensuring that everything we do enhances, in a meaningful and measurable way, the lives of those we support.

The Head of Kent Services is a leadership role responsible for the strategic, operational, and financial oversight of services within Kent, currently residential services for adults with autism and/or learning disabilities, supported living services, and services for children and families across Kent. The postholder will ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality, person-centred care and support that promotes autonomy, dignity, inclusion, and positive outcomes for individuals and families. The Head of Kent Services will lead and develop a small team of locality managers ensuring regulatory compliance, financial sustainability, and continuous service improvement across the portfolio. The Head of Kent Services will be a member of the Inclusive Executive Leadership Team, working in collaboration with other leaders to drive the best outcomes for the People we Support and the Charity.

Knowledge and Experience:

• Significant senior management experience in health and social care.
• Proven leadership experience managing CQC Registered Managers.
• Strong knowledge of autism and learning disability support models.
• Experience managing budgets and financial performance.
• Demonstrable experience of regulatory compliance and inspection processes.
• Experience working with commissioners and local authorities.
• Experience managing large-scale change programmes.
• Significant experience in building team capability and managing complex employee relations.

Essential Skills & Competencies:

• Strategic thinking and operational delivery capability.
• Strong financial acumen.
• Experience overseeing impactful, outcomes-driven services at a strategic level.
• Strong project and programme management skills.
• Excellent leadership and people management skills.
• Excellent analytical and data interpretation skills.
• High-level communication and stakeholder engagement skills.
• Ability to manage complexity and drive change.
• Strong problem-solving and decision-making ability.
• Ability to build and sustain relationships, with trust and integrity.

Desirable:

• Relevant professional qualification in health or social care (Level 5 or above).
• Experience overseeing multiple residential and/or supported living services.
• Experience in service mobilisation or turnaround.
• Experience with Positive Behaviour Support at strategic level.

Core Values & Leadership Expectations:

• Commitment to person-centred, rights-based and autonomy approaches.
• Passion for inclusion, dignity, and empowerment.
• Dedication to safeguarding and promoting welfare.
• Evidence-informed decision-making.
• High levels of integrity, resilience, and accountability.
• Reflective, open to feedback and committed to continuous learning.
• Brings authenticity, empathy and a collaborative spirit.

What we can offer you:

• An exciting and rewarding role that you can really make your own.
• An opportunity to learn and grow in a supportive environment, with formal and informal training and development initiatives.
• Member of the Inclusive Executive Leadership Team.
• Hybrid working.
• Adjusted Hours or compressed working weeks.
• Fantastic paid training and career progression opportunities (including recognised qualifications in health and social care).
• Paid DBS.
• Annual Leave / Pro rata dependent on hours. Annual leave entitlement increases with length of service.
• Nest Pension and Death in Service Benefit.
• Dedicated Employee Assistance Programme and Access to Mental Health First Aiders.
• Aspens High Street Stores - 20% discount on all items for Aspens’ staff.
• Bluebell cafe - Discounted staff menu available.
• Refer a Friend scheme, so you can earn up to £250 for every person you refer to work for Aspens.
• Recognition schemes, including ‘Employee of the Month’.
• Wellbeing initiatives such as: no email/meeting Fridays, no meetings over lunchtime to ensure people can take a break, encouraged not to read or reply to emails outside of working hours, and access to counselling.

If shortlisted, we will contact you directly to schedule an interview. We strive to respond to all applicants; however, if you have not received a response within a reasonable timeframe, please feel free to contact us for a status update or feedback (where available). After the interview, you will be notified of the outcome. If successful, you’ll receive a formal offer in writing. Upon acceptance, we’ll guide you through the onboarding process, providing you with all the details you need. Please note, any offer of employment will be subject to Disclosure and Barring checks (which we will arrange on your behalf if you don’t already have one) and satisfactory employment references.