About the role:
Are you an experienced adult social care professional who understands what good day services should look and feel like for people with learning disabilities, autism, neurodiversity and complex support needs?
We are looking for an experienced and motivated Quality and Operational Lead to join Southampton Day Services. This is a hands-on operational management role with responsibility for the day-to-day running of the service. Working alongside the manager, you will provide visible leadership to the staff team, coordinate the effective delivery of the service and ensure that people receive safe, high-quality and person-centred support. A key part of the role is deputising for the manager, taking responsibility for operational decision-making and providing leadership and direction to the service in their absence.
You will need to understand what high-quality day services are about. Our services should be about much more than providing somewhere for people to spend their day. We want the people we support to have access to meaningful and purposeful activities and opportunities that reflect their individual strengths, interests, needs and aspirations.
This means supporting people to develop and maintain skills, increase independence, build confidence, make choices, develop relationships and participate in their local communities.
The role combines operational leadership with quality oversight. You will help ensure that good standards are translated into everyday practice, that staff are supported and accountable, and that issues affecting the safe and effective running of the service are identified and addressed.
What you will be doing:
As Quality and Operational Lead, you will: Take responsibility for the effective day-to-day running of the service, ensuring staffing, resources, support arrangements and operational priorities are managed effectively.
Deputise for the Manager, providing leadership, direction and operational decision-making in their absence.
Provide visible leadership and support to staff, ensuring safe, consistent and person-centred service delivery.
Support, supervise and develop staff, promoting good practice, accountability and professional growth.
Ensure activities and opportunities are meaningful, purposeful and linked to individual outcomes.
Promote independence, skills development, choice, inclusion and community participation.
Ensure care and support plans remain relevant and are translated into high-quality day-to-day support.
Support the effective management of staffing and resources to meet people's needs safely and effectively.
Monitor service quality, identifying areas for improvement in standards, practice and outcomes.
Contribute to quality assurance, audits, reviews and continuous service improvement.
Support effective safeguarding, risk management and safe working practices.
Build positive relationships with people who use services, their families, carers, colleagues and partner professionals.
Contribute to the ongoing development of Southampton Day Services, ensuring services remain responsive to changing needs and aspirations.
About you:
We are particularly interested in hearing from people who have practical experience of leading, supervising or coordinating within adult social care services and understand the realities of managing a service on a day-to-day basis.
You will have experience of working with people with learning disabilities, autism, neurodiversity and/or complex support needs and understand how good services can promote people's strengths, independence and individual outcomes.
You will be able to balance the practical demands of running a busy service with the need to maintain high standards of support.
You will be comfortable providing direction to staff, prioritising competing demands, addressing issues when they arise and stepping up to provide operational leadership when the manager is unavailable.
You will be: A confident and visible operational leader: Understands what good-quality adult day services look like.
Able to lead and support staff while maintaining clear expectations and accountability. Demonstrates a strong understanding of person-centred and strengths-based practice.
Passionate about delivering meaningful activities, developing skills and promoting independence.
Able to organise and prioritise effectively in a busy service environment. Recognises when practice or service delivery needs improvement and takes appropriate action.
Communicates confidently and positively with individuals, families, carers, staff and other professionals.
Committed to making a positive difference to both the people using services and the teams delivering them.
Why this role matters: The Quality and Operational Lead is an important link between the manager, staff team and the people who use our services. You will have a key role in making sure the service works well every day, supporting the manager with operational leadership while ensuring that the people who attend Southampton Day Services receive meaningful, safe and high-quality support.
Ultimately, this role is about turning plans, standards and people's individual outcomes into good everyday practice.
If you have experience of operational leadership in adult social care and share our ambition to provide meaningful day opportunities that enable people to develop, participate, achieve and be as independent as possible, we would like to hear from you.
What we can offer you: Salary: The salary band for this role is Grade 9 43,150 - 47,664The starting salary is 43,150 with annual progression through the salary bands. Here at SCC we have a range of different perks and benefits, a few examples can be found below. xgikmsk Excellent local government pension with 15.2% employer contributionDeath in service benefit of x3 salary, and optional salary sacrifice shared cost AVC (additional voluntary contribution)Generous holiday 25–34 days, based on role and serviceFlexible working options (role-dependent)Family-friendly policies - Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared/Unpaid Parental Leave, Time off for DependentsTraining and development, including coaching and mentoringHealth and wellbeing support - Employee Assistance Programme, Menopause Pledge, Mental Health First Aiders and access to a variety of staff networksVeteran-friendly employer with the Armed Forces CovenantRetail discounts and savings through the Southampton City Council benefits platformDiscounted memberships at local sports and fitness centresSustainable travel benefits - low emission car scheme, cycle to work, season ticket loansEmployee volunteering scheme with 2 paid days leave to volunteerFor further information on our benefits package please visit: Employee benefits ( .uk) Contact details for informal discussion: Please contact Beccie Dries, Service Manager, on or email contact details: Email: Tel: For more information about SCC please visit Southampton City CouncilFollow us on social media for regular updates on our featured jobs and latest news.
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Below covers everything you need to know about what this opportunity entails, as well as what is expected from applicants.
Southampton City CouncilService Area
Adult Social CareJob Location
Civic Centre, Civic Centre Road, Southampton, SO14 7LYContract Length
PermanentWork Hours
Full Time, 37 Hours per WeekSalary
43,150 - 47,664 Per annumSpecial Requirements
DBS will be required
Closing Date
12/11/2026
Job Reference
17281
Quality and Operations Lead employer: Southampton City Council
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