Service Manager

Avenues is a community where people smile, laugh, grow and achieve great things. Forest Lane, provides specialised support for individuals with learning disabilities, complex physical needs, and behaviours that may challenge. Having transitioned from long-term inpatient status with the NHS into a supported living model, Forest Lane has been successfully operating for one year across three bungalows. We are seeking a dynamic and experienced Practice Leader to join our newly established team. This is a pivotal role where your strong leadership will be essential in upholding high standards of care, fostering growth, and ensuring the best outcomes for the individuals we support. We are seeking an experienced  Service Manager with a strong background in Supported Living to continue to enhance this transition. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in leading and managing change and improving the quality of life for individuals with a learning disability. They will also demonstrate exceptional leadership to our recently established support team, including practice leadership skills, whilst ensuring the continued smooth transition for the people we support while maintaining high standards of care and compliance Our ideal Service Manager looks like this!

• Experience managing a medium to large supported living or residential/registered service.
• Experience supporting people who have learning disabilities and/or complex needs 
• Have a genuine desire to help, develop and maintain high quality service provision for the people we support in this service appropriate to their assessed needs.
• Have the skills and commitment to coaching and developing a new team, with an emphasis on Practice Leadership to develop and align best practices.
• Understands the balance between keeping people safe and positive risk taking.
• Has knowledge of the legal framework that apply in this service (e.g. DoLS, capacity and best interest requirements).
• Qualification to NVQ level 3, QCE level 5 or be willing to obtain this.
• Able to look at budgets and financial information to support the service remain financially viable.
• Be able to be a part of on an on-call rota. 
• Driver with full UK valid driving licence essential – ability to travel to the service location and drive the service vehicle/s.

For more details about the role, please have a look at the role profile.  Your values should match ours:

• Respect: We treat people as we would wish to be treated ourselves.
• Excellence: We don’t settle for okay, we are determined to achieve more.
• Integrity: We do the right thing, even if it takes more time and effort.
• Pride: The work we do is something we want to tell others we are part of.

Benefits you can expect:

• £37,080 per annum.
• High quality training that supports your career development.
• Paid enhanced DBS check.
• Flexible working.
• Shopping discount via Blue Light Card and The Bene£its website.
• Up to 28 days paid annual leave (pro rata).
• Contributory pension scheme with life assurance.
• Free and confidential 24/7 access to a health portal, counselling and support.
• Recommend a Friend scheme – earn up to £500.

About us: Avenues Group is a specialist charity provider of supported living, residential care and outreach services for people with autism, learning disability and complex needs. We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to be an active citizen and engaged in the community where they live. We work across Kent, London, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Shropshire. We know that well-supported people support people well, and we invest in our employees so everyone can thrive. We offer excellent career and development opportunities across the organisation. You’ll become part of our strong Avenues community, which is there to support you each day. We’re there for you, from your first conversation with our recruitment team, to day one of your induction, and throughout your career.  Apply or get in touch with us today! We look forward to hearing from you. As part of our commitment to the “Disability Confident Scheme”, candidates who declare a disability, and meet the key criteria for this role, will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at interview stage. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if a suitable candidate is found or experiencing a high volume of applications.