Deputy Manager - Tide House in Northam

£40,000 - £46,000 (dependent on skills and experience - enhanced salary and amended role responsibilities may be considered for a suitably experienced Registered Social Worker)

Role type: Office based, with limited home working by agreement where appropriate to the duties being undertaken
Reporting to: Registered Manager

About Tide House

Tide House is a Residential Family Assessment Centre rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted (August 2025).

We undertake parenting assessments for up to five families placed with us, providing ‘expert evidence’ to support families, local authorities and care proceedings.

Families have self-contained accommodation of 1-3 bedrooms, allowing us to support families with multiple parents and children.

Tide House utilises relational approaches to support families to care for their children in a safe and consistent way, alongside undertaking the required assessment of them, as directed by the Local Authority or Court.

The Role

As Deputy Manager, you will provide senior operational leadership across Tide House, with a primary focus on safeguarding children, maintaining high standards of practice and supporting the Registered Manager with the safe and effective running of the service.

You will provide day-to-day leadership to the staff team, supporting Family Key Workers and Assessment Support Workers to deliver safe, consistent monitoring and high-quality recording.

You will also contribute to the assessment work led by the Social Worker, helping ensure that children’s needs are met throughout the assessment period and that emerging risks are responded to promptly.

This is a senior role within the service.

You will help ensure that practice remains consistent with placement plans, risk assessments, policies, procedures, National Minimum Standards and regulatory expectations.

You will support staff to understand what is required of them, maintain oversight of daily practice and promote a calm, consistent and child-focused approach across the centre.

The Deputy Manager will also deputise for the Registered Manager when required and appropriate.

This may include supporting service oversight, staff supervision, quality assurance, safeguarding decision-making and operational responses to urgent matters.

Deputising does not replace the Registered Manager’s regulatory responsibility for the service, but it does require confidence, professional judgement and the ability to provide clear leadership when needed.

You will be joining a multi-disciplinary team that includes Social Workers, Therapists, Assessment Support Workers and Family Key Workers.

The team are highly skilled and experienced in supporting families with a wide range of needs, including mental ill health, substance use, learning disabilities, domestic abuse and past trauma.

This role has an important safeguarding responsibility, both for the families you directly work with and as a contributor to the wider safeguarding culture throughout the organisation.

Close support, clear communication, professional curiosity and regular recording all support us to ensure children at Tide House are kept safe and their wellbeing promoted.

This role is, by default, undertaken fully in the office; however, limited hybrid working may be agreed where appropriate to the duties being undertaken at the time.

Working hours are typically 8am - 4pm (Monday - Friday), alongside participation in the second on-call rota.

Flexibility will be required to respond to operational need, safeguarding issues, staffing pressures, placement transitions, meetings and urgent matters where Deputy Manager oversight is required.

We will consider alternative working patterns, including part time, alternative hours or some weekend working, providing this meets the needs of the service.

Registered Social Worker Applicants

We would particularly welcome interest from candidates who are Registered Social Workers.

Where a candidate is suitably experienced and Social Work England registered, we would be open to discussing whether the role could be amended to make best use of their professional registration, skills and experience.

This may include consideration of amended responsibilities and an enhanced salary package.

The successful candidate will have

• Applicants should be willing to work towards, or already hold, a relevant Level 5 leadership and management qualification, where this is required or agreed as part of the role.

Social Work England registration is welcomed, but is not essential, unless amended responsibilities are agreed for a suitably experienced Registered Social Worker.

• Experience of providing leadership, supervision or operational oversight within a children’s social care, residential, safeguarding or family support setting.
• A strong understanding of safeguarding children and the ability to make clear, proportionate and timely decisions.
• Experience of supporting staff to work consistently with placement plans, risk assessments, policies and procedures.
• The ability to maintain high standards of recording, professional communication and practice oversight.
• Confidence in responding to incidents, emerging risks and changing family circumstances.
• The ability to work collaboratively with Social Workers, Therapists, Family Key Workers, Assessment Support Workers and external professionals.
• A relational, trauma-informed approach to working with families, while maintaining a clear child focus.
• The ability to provide calm, visible and consistent leadership across the staff team.
• Excellent organisational skills, emotional resilience and the ability to manage competing priorities.
• A commitment to professional development, reflective practice and continuous service improvement.

What we offer at Tide House

• A warm, person-centred organisation making a real difference
• A homely, nurturing environment where people feel valued.
• Small enough for strong relationships, big enough for real opportunities.
• A supportive culture focused on improving lives every day.
• Clear values and meaningful purpose
• Everything we do is centred around safety, wellbeing and getting it right for families.
• A commitment to delivering the best possible outcomes for families through consistent, high quality and relational practice.
• A shared vision that everyone is part of and contributes to.
• Supportive, visible and experienced leadership
• Managers who listen, guide and actively support you.
• A collaborative multidisciplinary approach.
• Friendly and approachable leadership team.
• Regular 1:1 and group supervision.
• Robust, supportive induction
• Structured induction programme to help you feel confident in your role.
• Hands-on learning and guidance from experienced staff.
• Shadowing shifts and ongoing mentoring.
• Support for your career progression
• We invest in developing your skills and career.
• Training and qualifications funded (by agreement).
• Pathways for progression into different roles.
• Meaningful rewards
• Competitive salary.
• Paid annual leave.
• Paid sick leave.
• Private healthcare.
• Company pension.
• Paid car parking (for this position).
• Paid Social Work England registration fees (if social work qualified).
• Paid flu vaccine.
• Paid eye care.
• Annual staff celebration and social event.
• Excellent IT systems
• Bespoke, in-house case management system.
• Responsive, in-person IT support.
• Easy-to-use systems that help you succeed in your role.
• Tools designed to make your work smoother and more efficient.
• A great working environment
• A calm, positive and well-maintained office setting.

• Tea, coffee and biscuits, as needed!

• A team culture built on kindness, respect and collaboration.
• A supportive atmosphere where everyone looks out for each other.
• Safeguarding

Tide House is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults.

Safer recruitment practices are followed to ensure all candidates are suitable to work with vulnerable individuals.

This includes robust vetting procedures, comprehensive pre-employment checks and an expectation that all staff uphold our safeguarding policies at all times.

This role, as it involves regulated activity, will require an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, verification of identity, scrutiny of employment history and the gathering of suitable references.

Equal Opportunities

Tide House is an equal opportunities employer.

We are committed to ensuring that no applicant or employee is discriminated against directly or indirectly as a result of any protected characteristic.

If you would like an informal discussion about this opportunity, please contact Karl Knill on 01237 237120.

• Other Details
• Occupational Group Social Care & Health Management & Senior Management
• Salary Details £40,000 - £46,000 (dependent on skills and experience - enhanced salary and amended role responsibilities may be considered for a suitably experienced Registered Social Worker)
• Job Term Permanent
• Appointment Type Full Time
• Hours part time or alternative working patterns may be considered where these meet the needs of the service
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