Most Team Leader roles in residential care feel like you're drowning in paperwork while the actual work with young people gets squeezed into the margins. This one is different: you'll spend your days alongside the kids doing what matters - taking them to football, supporting family visits, building real relationships - while still having the leadership role and career progression you deserve. This is what great residential care leadership actually looks like
Picture your Sunday: you're at football with a young person who arrived at the home terrified of people, too anxious to attend school. Now he's thriving, confident, playing well. You see that transformation happen because you're there. You go for breakfast together, you do the paperwork, you support a tricky family visit that actually goes well this time. You're not managing from an office - you're leading from the thick of it, where the real impact happens
The home runs on trust and knowing your team inside out. You'll be doing health and safety checks, managing the to-do list from the deputy manager, keeping the weekly systems tight so everyone knows what they're doing and why. But you'll also be the person who notices when a young person needs picking up on the way home, who understands the texture of each kid's week, who builds a culture where Sunday dinner together and games console time feel like part of something real, not just ticking boxes
You'll lead a team that actually respects you because they see you doing the work alongside them. You're not separate - you're modelling what good residential care looks like every single day. This role asks you to be both: hands-on practitioner and leader. That's rare. That's why it attracts people who genuinely love this work
What you will be doing
- Be present and active in the lives of the young people - taking them out, supporting activities, building relationships that show them what trust looks like
- Lead and manage the team, setting the tone for how care is delivered day to day and making sure everyone knows what's expected
- Handle the essential admin and compliance work - health and safety checks, weekly tasks, managing priorities from the deputy manager - so the home runs smoothly
- Support young people through difficult moments like family visits, working through what comes up and keeping them safe while they navigate complex relationships
- Step in across the rota to cover shifts when needed, staying flexible and showing your team what commitment to the young people means
Why you will love working here
- A Team Leader salary that reflects the responsibility and hands-on expertise you bring, with genuine progression available as you grow in the role
- The rare chance to lead a team while staying actively involved in the young people's lives - no desk job, no distance between you and the impact you're having
- Training and development that takes your career seriously, so you can build towards senior positions if you want them
- A team and a home that genuinely values you showing up, doing the work, and modelling what good care looks like - your leadership will be felt and respected
Is this you?
- You have solid experience working in residential care with children or young people, and you've shown you can step up into a leadership role
- You're comfortable with both the relational side of care and the administrative side - you don't shy away from paperwork but it doesn't stop you from being present with the kids
- You have the emotional resilience to hold complexity - you can celebrate a young person's progress while also managing the stress of family visits that don't always go to plan
- You believe in leading from alongside your team, not from above - you'll roll your sleeves up and do the work you're asking others to do
- You're organised and reliable, the kind of person who keeps a to-do list and actually works through it, and the young people and staff can count on you being there
Applications close on 12 October 2026. Great roles like this are filled quickly, so the sooner you apply the better.
Safeguarding: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All roles are subject to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.