Registered Service Manager - Hackney – Look Ahead Care and Support, Hackney

We’re looking for a kind, compassionate and resilient Registered Service Manage to join our Mental Health Service located in Hackney.

£45,000.00 per annum, working 40 hours per week.

Want to feel in control of your career? You’ll feel at home here.

Making you feel at home here means helping you thrive in every way. That’s why we offer a wide range of benefits, award-winning Learning & Development and a culture that welcomes all. These aren’t token gestures - we’ve thought long and hard about how best to support our team. After all, our people are doing something amazing: helping to transform lives every day.

Our benefits include:

• Annual leave increasing up to 30 days with length of service
• Free DBS 
• A generous pension – we will contribute up to 8% and life assurance cover up to 3x Pensionable Salary (T&Cs apply)
• Exclusive discounts and cashback via Reward Gateway® and opportunity to buy a Blue Light Card
• Fully paid induction programme and further training
• ILM courses and Apprenticeship Programmes
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme for 24-7 confidential support
• Online wellbeing resources
• Quarterly Staff Awards to reward & recognise our amazing staff’s commitment and contribution

All applicants must be legally eligible to work in the UK by the start of employment as Look Ahead are not able to offer sponsorship.

The Registered Manager will hold direct responsibility for the effective leadership, management, and delivery of a CQC regulated mental health residential care home in Hackney. The postholder will ensure the service delivers safe, high-quality, recovery-focused support and care to residents with mental health needs, in line with CQC regulations, contractual requirements, and organisational standards.

This is a leadership role requiring strong operational oversight, effective people management, and the ability to build positive working relationships with residents, families, commissioners, external professionals, and CQC regulators.

The Registered Manager will lead the staff team to ensure the home is safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led, while continuously driving improvements in quality, outcomes, and service performance. The role also includes responsibility for financial oversight, compliance, safeguarding, health and safety, and staff development

What you’ll do: 

This is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities that may be required from time to time and is subject to change in accordance with the needs of Look Ahead.

Service Specific Responsibilities

• Hold responsibility for the day-to-day management and leadership of the registered mental health care home.
• Ensure the service remains fully compliant with CQC regulations and demonstrates thecharacteristics of being safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led.
• Maintain and develop positive working relationships with CQC inspectors, commissioners, local authorities, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders.
• Ensure high standards of person-centred care planning, risk management, safeguarding, and support delivery across the service.
• Lead, supervise, and support staff teams, ensuring staff are competent, motivated, appropriately trained, and effectively supervised.
• Ensure staffing levels are safe and sufficient to meet the needs of residents.
• Monitor the quality of support provided and implement improvement plans where required.
• Oversee incident reporting, safeguarding concerns, and statutory notifications, including reporting to CQC where appropriate.
• Ensure medication systems and procedures are safely managed and compliant with organisational and regulatory requirements.
• Promote recovery-focused practice, independence, social inclusion, and positive outcomes for residents.
• Ensure effective management of admissions, discharges, referrals, and resident transitions.
• Implement and maintain service-specific policies, procedures, and best practice guidance.
• Manage the service budget effectively, ensuring financial sustainability and value for money.
• Monitor service performance using organisational reporting systems and quality frameworks.
• Participate in audits, inspections, and quality assurance process

General Responsibilities

• Plan, organise, and prioritise service operations to ensure effective and efficient delivery of care and support.
• Lead on quality improvement initiatives and ensure action plans are completed and sustained.
• Produce and submit regular management reports to senior management and performance teams.
• Ensure accurate and timely recording of KPI data, incidents, safeguarding, and operational performance information.
• Develop and maintain effective working relationships with internal departments and external agencies.
• Ensure staff use all relevant IT systems, recording systems, and organisational frameworks competently.
• Manage petty cash and financial processes in accordance with organisational procedures.
• Participate in the organisation’s on-call rota as required.
• Ensure Health and Safety policies and procedures are fully implemented within the service.
• Ensure safeguarding concerns are managed and escalated appropriately in line with safeguarding protocols.
• Ensure compliance with all organisational policies and procedures.
• Carry out additional management duties commensurate with the role as reasonably required.

About you: 

• Enjoys social interaction and encouraging resident involvement.
• Warm, approachable, and professional in manner.
• Works effectively as part of a team and promotes collaborative working.
• Calm, resilient, and able to make sound decisions under pressure.
• Well organised with a practical and logical approach.
• Adaptable and able to work effectively in dynamic environments.
• Confident, motivated, and committed to continuous improvement.
• Respectful, articulate, and sensitive in communication style.
• Able to positively manage challenging situations and behaviours.
• Committed to delivering high-quality, person-centred care and support.

What you’ll bring: 

Essential:

• Must have previously held CQC registration as a Registered Manager within a regulated adult social care or mental health service.
• Must be willing and able to successfully undergo and satisfy the CQC Fit Person Interview requirements.
• NVQ Level 5 in Management
• Experience managing a CQC regulated care service, ideally within mental health services.
• Strong understanding of CQC regulations, safeguarding, and mental health support practices.

Desirable:

• Other relevant professional memberships and/or specialist qualifications.
• service, ideally within mental health services.
• Strong understanding of CQC regulations, safeguarding, and mental health support practices.
• Experience leading, supervising, and developing staff teams.
• Ability to manage service performance, quality assurance, and continuous improvement.
• Experience managing budgets and understanding financial performance.
• Strong organisational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to build positive relationships with residents, commissioners, families, and professionals.
• Experience managing incidents, complaints, safeguarding, and risk.
• Good IT and report writing skills.

About us:

Look Ahead is a leading, not-for-profit care and support provider in London and the South East. Our vision is to build better lives through social care and housing in local communities. As an organisation we deliver over 100 services, providing support to thousands of customers each year. Our mission is to co-design and deliver services that offer innovative social care solutions and support people to thrive. We work across mental health, homelessness and complex needs, young people and care leavers and learning disabilities so there are plenty of opportunities to grow and progress your career with us.

We have a strong social purpose and we live and work by our values:

• We focus on Excellence and innovation.
• We are Caring and Compassionate.
• We are Inclusive and Trusted.
• We work in Partnership and are One-Team.

Look Ahead is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk, and expects all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment.

If your application for this role is unsuccessful, but we feel that you would be suitable for another role, we may contact you to discuss alternative opportunities. If this occurs you would not need to submit another application for the alternative role.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we are able to appoint to the vacancy before the advertised closed date.

We are committed to diversity and inclusion at work and are accredited with Silver in the Inclusive Employers Standard 2021. We are a proud member of the Employers Domestic Abuse Covenant and encourage applications from a diverse range of applicants of all backgrounds.