About the Company

Our client is a therapeutic children’s home based in Muswell Hill, North London, founded on a clear and uncompromising belief: children in residential care deserve more than containment, compliance, or survival. They deserve relationships that change the direction of their lives. Their purpose is to break the cycle that too often defines outcomes for young people in care: repeated placement breakdowns, criminalisation, homelessness, and drug or alcohol dependency. We exist to offer a different future.

Their work is underpinned by Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) and the principles of PACE. With an understanding of behaviour as communication and recognise that many of the young people they care for have learned to survive in a world that has not kept them safe. They aim to replicate healthy attachments through everyday relationships that feel like family: the reliability of a parent, the protection of a sibling, and the safety of being emotionally held, day after day. This is not easy work, and it is not for everyone.

About the Role

This is a senior leadership appointment, and we are deliberately selective. As a Registered Manager you will require a fundamentally different way of thinking, organising, and leading. Excellence in practice does not automatically translate into excellence in leadership.

Responsibilities

• Organise themselves strategically and work with foresight
• Prioritise, plan, and make sound decisions under pressure
• Lead through systems rather than constant presence
• Hold oversight of safeguarding, quality, and compliance without becoming reactive
• Develop, retain, and lead senior staff and future leaders
• Create stability for children through calm, consistent leadership

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• Level 5 Diploma in Leadership & Management for Residential Childcare (or working towards)

Required Skills

• Experience as a Registered Manager (or demonstrable readiness for registration)
• Confident engaging with Ofsted and external scrutiny
• Thinks systemically rather than operationally alone
• Understands that leadership is about organisation, foresight, and culture
• Can hold both authority and empathy without becoming controlling or distant

Preferred Skills

• Experience leading Ofsted inspections
• Trauma-informed or therapeutic care experience (DDP, attachment-based, or similar approaches)
• Evidence of staff development and retention
• Strategic organisational ability (service improvement, systems thinking, operational leadership)

Pay range and compensation package

They offer a competitive salary of up to £80,000, dependent on experience.

In addition;

• Strong senior leadership partnership and support
• Genuine autonomy and professional trust
• Therapeutic consultation and reflective supervision
• Realistic expectations and sustainable leadership models
• Outcome-focused flexibility rather than presenteeism

For the right candidate, they will offer a relocation package, including temporary accommodation, to support a smooth transition from elsewhere in the country.

Equal Opportunity Statement

This is a role for leaders who want to build something meaningful and who understand that ambition, growth, and leadership only matter when young people remain at the centre of every decision. If you recognise yourself in this description, we would welcome a conversation.