At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead a children's residential home, ensuring safety and emotional support for young residents.
- Company: Join Aetheria Group, a leader in innovative social care.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, casual dress, company events, and employee mentoring.
- Other info: Flexible working patterns and clear career progression opportunities await you.
- Why this job: Shape a new home from the ground up and make a real difference in children's lives.
- Qualifications: Experience in residential care and a relevant qualification in social work or related fields.
The predicted salary is between 40000 - 40000 £ per year.
Deputy Manager — Children's Residential Home working with Frontline Social Care | Part of Aetheria Group
Gloucester (two new homes, ten minutes apart) Permanent, full-time | Days with senior on-call responsibility £37,500 – £40,000 per annum
Lead a home worth being proud of. From day one.
You already know what good residential care looks like.
You know what it takes to hold a team together on a hard day, to sit with a child who is struggling and not flinch, and to run a shift that stays calm, purposeful and safe even when it doesn't feel that way, So now lead it.
We're opening two new Ofsted registered children's homes in Gloucester, ten minutes apart, and we're looking for a Deputy Manager to help shape one of them from the ground up.
Culture, practice, standards, team, built with you, not handed to you.
This is the rare opportunity to build, not inherit.
Clinical infrastructure built in, not bolted on.
Our therapeutic model, grounded in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, PACE and Secure Base principles, is supported by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Therapeutic Practitioner embedded in the service.
Reflective practice supervision is a structural commitment, not an aspiration.
A new registration means you help set the standards.
No entrenched habits to undo, no culture inherited from a previous regime.
You'll help establish how this home operates, its rhythms, its expectations, its relationships with children, families and placing authorities.
Deliberate consistency. Small, stable teams built for relational continuity. Children in our homes have adults who know them, stay with them, and mean it.
A genuine career pathway.
Clear progression toward Registered Manager and beyond, across Frontline Social Care and the wider Aetheria Group.
Working toward your Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management?
We'll support you to complete it.
Trusted leadership. Delegated authority is real here. You'll have the autonomy to lead, not simply relay decisions made elsewhere.
The Role
Working in close partnership with the Registered Manager, you will
- Support safeguarding oversight, quality assurance, workforce supervision and care planning governance, acting as senior on-site decision-maker in the Registered Manager's absence.
- Mentor, develop and performance-manage the staff team, building capability, confidence and a culture of reflective, child-centred practice.
- Maintain inspection-ready standards across the home, covering recording quality, care plan currency, risk management, and the evidence base for each child's progress.
- Hold the Designated Safeguarding Lead function when required, ensuring referrals, notifications and multi-agency communications meet statutory requirements under Working Together to Safeguard Children (2026) and the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015.
- Share the senior on-call rota, providing 24/7 safeguarding escalation and management support.
- Contribute to the home's engagement with placing authorities, social workers, Independent Reviewing Officers and each child's wider professional network.
Above all, you'll set and sustain the emotional tone of the home: calm, consistent, boundaried, and relentlessly focused on what each child needs to feel safe, valued and able to move toward something better.
- What You'll Bring
- A warm, grounded steadiness under pressure, and leadership that brings a team with you
- A deep, practical grasp of safeguarding and trauma-informed practice, including developmental trauma, attachment disruption, and the impact of adverse childhood experiences
- Confidence in an Ofsted-regulated environment and an understanding of what inspection-ready practice looks like day to day, not just when notice is given
- The belief, held without sentimentality, that every child in residential care can move toward a more stable and hopeful future
- Level 3 Diploma in Residential Childcare, Level 3 Health and Social Care (Children and Young People pathway), or a degree-level qualification in Social Work, Childhood Studies, Youth and Community Work, Psychology, Criminology, Education, Nursing or a closely related discipline.
Candidates with substantial, clearly transferable experience from children's residential care, fostering, education, youth justice, family support, NHS, mental health or other regulated care settings will also be considered.
- Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare, held, in progress, or committed willingness to work towards (desirable)
- Demonstrable experience of leading shifts, supervising staff and carrying safeguarding and care planning responsibilities in an Ofsted-registered children's home or directly comparable regulated setting.
- Aged 21 or over (a Genuine Occupational Requirement under Schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010)
- Right to work in the UK (we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role)
- Full UK driving licence.
- Flexibility across working patterns including evenings, weekends and sleep-in duties as required by the rota.
Benefits
- Casual dress
- Company events
- Company pension
- Employee mentoring programme
- Free on-site parking
Frontline Social Care is unconditionally committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
This role constitutes regulated activity with children.
Every appointment is subject to an enhanced DBS disclosure with Children's Barred List check, full identity and qualification verification, a minimum of two satisfactory professional references (including most recent employer) verified before appointment, and a values-based interview with safeguarding scenario assessment.
Our safer recruitment process is fully aligned with Working Together to Safeguard Children (2026), Keeping Children Safe in Education (2024), and the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015, Schedule 2.
We are an Equal Opportunities Employer, committed to anti-discriminatory and anti-racist practice, and we actively welcome applications from all communities, backgrounds and identities.
If you need any adjustment to the recruitment process, tell us and we will make it without question.
We are shortlisting on a rolling basis and will move quickly for the right candidate.
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Deputy Manager in Gloucester employer: Frontline Social Care
Frontline Social Care is an exceptional employer that prioritises the well-being and development of both its staff and the children they care for. With a strong commitment to trauma-informed practices, employees benefit from a supportive work culture that encourages professional growth and collaboration within a dedicated team. Located in Hertfordshire, this role offers the unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the lives of vulnerable children while working in a nurturing and innovative environment.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Deputy Manager in Gloucester
✨Dive into Local Community Groups
Social work thrives on community connections, so get involved in local groups or forums specific to your interests. Whether it’s volunteering at local shelters or joining community action boards, these are great ways to boost your visibility and make direct contacts that could lead to opportunities like the one at Frontline Social Care.
✨Attend Social Work Events and Workshops
Keep an eye out for workshops, seminars, or conferences in social work. These events are fantastic for meeting professionals in the field, learning about emerging trends, and spotting job openings. Plus, you might just bump into someone from Frontline Social Care!
✨Showcase Your Passion and Expertise
Use platforms like Instagram or LinkedIn to share your journey and insights into the social work sector. Whether it’s writing about your experiences or sharing relevant articles, this helps to establish you as an engaged professional. Potential employers, like Frontline Social Care, will notice your enthusiasm!
✨Leverage Your Network
Don’t hesitate to reach out to professors, mentors, or even past colleagues who are in social work. They might have inside knowledge about openings at Frontline Social Care or be able to connect you with someone who’s hiring. Networking is key, especially in a full-time role where relationships matter.
We think you need these skills to ace Deputy Manager in Gloucester
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Your Passion for Social Work:In your cover letter, let us see your passion for social work shine through! Talk about the experiences that made you want to pursue this career—whether it’s volunteering, personal experiences, or academic projects. We want to know why this field matters to you.
Emphasise Relevant Qualifications:Make sure your CV highlights any relevant qualifications, like degrees in social work or certifications like a DBS check. If you've done any workshops or training, don’t forget to include those as well. We're keen to see your commitment to your professional development!
Detail Your Experience with Clients:Since this is a hands-on field, detailing any direct experience you have with clients is crucial. Whether it's internships, volunteer roles, or previous jobs, highlight those experiences in your CV to show us you've got the practical skills necessary for the job!
Tailor Your Application to Frontline Social Care:Before hitting send, make sure to tailor your application specifically to Frontline Social Care! Research our mission and values, and refer to them in your cover letter. This shows us that you understand our work and are genuinely interested in being a part of our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Frontline Social Care
✨Understanding the Role of Empathy
In social work, understanding and demonstrating empathy is key. Be prepared to share personal experiences or scenarios where you effectively showed compassion and support. This helps show that you genuinely care about the well-being of others, which is crucial in social work.
✨Demonstrating Knowledge of Frameworks
Familiarise yourself with the frameworks and models used in social work, such as the Strengths-Based Approach or the Ecological Perspective. Be ready to discuss how these frameworks apply to your work, especially if you can tie them into real-world examples or case studies you've encountered.
✨Showcasing Your Multi-Disciplinary Skills
In a full-time social work role, you'll often collaborate with healthcare professionals, educators, and law enforcement. Be prepared to describe your teamwork experiences and how you've effectively communicated with other disciplines to achieve the best outcomes for clients.
✨Preparing for Scenario-Based Questions
Expect questions that put you in hypothetical social work situations, such as dealing with a crisis or managing a complex case. Think through your thought process for these scenarios beforehand, considering how you'd assess the situation and what steps you'd take, as this demonstrates your critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
