Children's Residential Quality Assurance, Learning and Development Senior ManagerCouncil

Children’s Residential Quality Assurance, Learning and Development Senior Manager

Children’s Residential Services – Lancashire County Council
Salary: £68,525 - £74,531
Location: County Hall, with regular work across Lancashire’s children’s homes
Contract: Full Time | Permanent

Shape Quality. Influence Practice. Make Improvement Happen.

This is not a role where you simply review practice, write a report and move on.

We’re looking for an experienced and credible senior leader who can get alongside our residential teams, understand what is really happening and help turn challenge into meaningful, lasting improvement for children.

As our Children’s Residential Quality Assurance, Learning and Development Senior Manager, you will help shape the future of Lancashire’s in-house residential service. You’ll lead our approach to quality assurance, regulatory readiness, learning, practice improvement and service development across our residential homes.

You’ll have the authority, professional confidence and organisational reach to influence what changes, how it changes and how we know it has made a sustainable difference.

About the Role

Children living in our homes deserve care that is safe, consistent, relational and ambitious. Achieving that takes more than monitoring compliance.

This is a strategic leadership role with a strong operational presence. You’ll spend time within our children’s homes, working directly with managers and teams to understand challenges, strengthen practice and embed improvement.

You’ll lead our approach to regulatory and inspection readiness, using learning from Ofsted inspections, Regulation 44 visits, Regulation 45 reviews, audits, complaints, incidents and safeguarding activity to identify patterns, emerging risks and areas for improvement.

But you won’t stop at identifying what needs to change. You’ll help create the solution, support its implementation and test whether it has delivered the change children need.

You’ll provide authoritative advice and constructive challenge to senior leaders, represent the service with Ofsted and safeguarding partners, and lead our Children’s Residential Learning, Development and Improvement Officers.

This is not a desk-based audit post. It’s an opportunity to connect children’s everyday experiences with the bigger picture of leadership, workforce, safeguarding, regulation, resources and service strategy.

Because children’s lives do not operate solely Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, there will be occasional evening and weekend work, planned flexibly around the needs of our homes and wider service.

About You

You’ll bring substantial leadership experience from children’s residential services or a closely related statutory children’s social care setting, with a strong track record in quality assurance, service-wide improvement or organisational change.

You’ll understand the realities of services where safeguarding, workforce, quality, regulation and resources are closely connected. You’ll also bring strong knowledge of the Children’s Homes Regulations 2015, Quality Standards, Social Care Common Inspection Framework and Ofsted expectations.

You’ll be confident identifying patterns, assessing risk and turning complex evidence into clear action. You’ll know how to influence experienced managers and senior leaders, provide respectful but robust challenge and make high-impact decisions when required.

You’ll hold a relevant degree-level professional qualification alongside a Level 5 or higher leadership or management qualification, or equivalent advanced leadership development.

Most importantly, you’ll combine professional authority with humility, curiosity and a genuine commitment to children. You’ll know when to support, when to challenge and when decisive action is needed.

Why Join Us?

A workplace built on trust, balance and flexibility

You’ll join the Residential Senior Leadership Team and work directly with the Head of Children’s Residential Services. You’ll be trusted to use your professional judgement, influence decision-making and help direct improvement capacity where it can make the greatest difference.

Development that grows with you

This is an opportunity to operate strategically while staying connected to frontline residential practice. Your work will influence children’s outcomes, workforce capability, regulatory assurance, service development and the long-term sustainability of our residential service.

A culture grounded in inclusivity

Our values are Supportive, Innovative, Respectful and Collaborative. We want someone who can build leadership confidence, encourage professional curiosity and create a culture where learning leads to action and improvement is something we do with our teams, not to them.

How to Apply

Please use your application to demonstrate how you meet the criteria outlined in the Job Description and Person Specification. Attach a supporting statement and resume.

If you are an experienced residential or children’s social care leader who can combine strategic thinking with practical action and turn insight into sustainable improvement, we would love to hear from you.

For an informal conversation about the role, contact Amanda Barbour, Head of Children’s Residential Services, at [email protected].

Closing Date: Sunday 6th December 2026
Interviews: Tuesday 15th December 2026

The post you are applying for is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). If successful you will be required to apply to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for a 'disclosure'. Further information can be found on the 'Our Recruitment Process' tab.

You will be required to provide a car for use in connection with the duties of this post and must be insured for business use. However, we may consider you if you cannot drive because of a disability.

In return Lancashire County Council offers a range of benefits, which can be found on LCC Vacancies website.

We reserve the right to close down a vacancy early, before the closing date, if we receive sufficient applications.

Job Description and Person Specification