5 jobs found

Role/Job Title : Head of Kent Services Location: Pembury, with travel between services as required Contracted Hours Full time -37 hours per week (Mon-Fri) Salary : £55,000 - £65,000 per annum FTE Application Deadline Date : Friday 24th May 2026 / Interviews to take place at Cornford Lane site (Pembury) on Wednesday 10th June We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible. FULL JOB DESCRIPTION Equal Opportunity/Accessibility and Accommodations Statement: As a Disability Confident employer, Aspens Charities is committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for individuals with disabilities. We actively promote the recruitment, retention, and career development of people with disabilities, recognising the invaluable contributions they make to our organisation. We are dedicated to ensuring an accessible recruitment process for all candidates. If you require any accommodations during the application or interview process, please don t hesitate to reach out. Aspens mission is to provide high-quality care and support to individuals on the autism spectrum and with learning disabilities; meeting their needs and aspirations and empowering them to learn and grow through an integrated network of services across the South-East. We provide support and care to children, families and adults across Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Brighton and Hove, Surrey and the London Borough of Bexley. Our services include registered care homes; supported living; community outreach; day services, including pathways to employment; children and young people s groups and support; specialist support; and free online support for families and carers across the South-East. About the role: This is a tremendously exciting time to join Aspens. With our new Chief Operating Officer in place, we are actively shaping how we work to ensure we deliver the very best for the people we support. Her focus and ambition are centred on establishing consistent, high-quality practice across the organisation and ensuring that everything we do enhances, in a meaningful and measurable way, the lives of those we support. The Head of Kent Services is a leadership role responsible for the strategic, operational, and financial oversight of services within Kent, currently residential services for adults with autism and/or learning disabilities, supported living services, and services for children and families across Kent. The postholder will ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality, person-centred care and support that promotes autonomy, dignity, inclusion, and positive outcomes for individuals and families. The Head of Kent Services will lead and develop a small team of locality managers ensuring regulatory compliance, financial sustainability, and continuous service improvement across the portfolio. The Head of Kent Services will be a member of the Inclusive Executive Leadership Team, working in collaboration with other leaders to drive the best outcomes for the People we Support and the Charity. Knowledge and Experience: We re looking for someone who brings a combination of the following experiences, whether gained through formal roles, lived experience, volunteering or other pathways. We value diverse routes into leadership and welcome applications from individuals who may not have followed traditional career paths. Essential Experience: Significant senior management experience in health and social care. Proven leadership experience managing CQC Registered Managers. Strong knowledge of autism and learning disability support models. Experience managing budgets and financial performance. Demonstrable experience of regulatory compliance and inspection processes. Experience working with commissioners and local authorities. Experience managing large-scale change programmes. Significant experience in building team capability and managing complex employee relations. Essential Skills & Competencies: Strategic thinking and operational delivery capability. Strong financial acumen. Experience overseeing impactful, outcomes-driven services at a strategic level. Strong project and programme management skills. Excellent leadership and people management skills. Excellent analytical and data interpretation skills. High-level communication and stakeholder engagement skills. Ability to manage complexity and drive change. Strong problem-solving and decision-making ability. Ability to build and sustain relationships, with trust and integrity Desirable: Relevant professional qualification in health or social care (Level 5 or above). Experience overseeing multiple residential and/or supported living services. Experience in service mobilisation or turnaround. Experience with Positive Behaviour Support at strategic level. Core Values & Leadership Expectations: Commitment to person-centred, rights-based and autonomy approaches. Passion for inclusion, dignity, and empowerment. Dedication to safeguarding and promoting welfare. Evidence-informed decision-making. High levels of integrity, resilience, and accountability. Reflective, open to feedback and committed to continuous learning Brings authenticity, empathy and a collaborative spirit What we can offer you: An exciting and rewarding role that you can really make your own An opportunity to learn and grow in a supportive environment, with formal and informal training and development initiatives. Member of the Inclusive Executive Leadership Team. Hybrid working Adjusted Hours or compressed working weeks Fantastic paid training and career progression opportunities (including recognised qualifications in health and social care) Paid DBS Annual Leave / Pro rata dependent on hours. Annual leave entitlement increases with length of service Nest Pension and Death in Service Benefit Dedicated Employee Assistance Programme and Access to Mental Health First Aiders Aspens High Street Stores -20% discount on all items for Aspens staff Bluebell cafe- Discounted staff menu available Refer a Friend scheme , so you can earn up to £250 for every person you refer to work for Aspens Recognition schemes, including Employee of the Month Wellbeing initiatives such as: no email/meeting Fridays, no meetings over lunchtime to ensure people can take a break, encouraged not to read or reply to emails outside of working hours, and access to counselling If shortlisted, we will contact you directly to schedule an interview. We strive to respond to all applicants; however, if you have not received a response within a reasonable timeframe, please feel free to contact us for a status update or feedback (where available). After the interview, you will be notified of the outcome. If successful, you ll receive a formal offer in writing. Upon acceptance, we ll guide you through the onboarding process, providing you with all the details you need. Please note, any offer of employment will be subject to Disclosure and Barring checks (which we will arrange on your behalf if you don t already have one) and satisfactory employment references.

NOTE: Please include notice period and salary expectations in application letter. Job Title Communications Manager Location Home based (Home working with regular meetings in London) Salary £35,000+ Hours Full Time, permanent Reports to Chief Policy Officer About Parentkind As one of the largest federated charities in the UK, with arguably greater reach into the lives of families and educational settings than any other non-Government organisation, Parentkind is on a bold and urgent mission: to support, champion, and empower parents to be partners in their children s education and wellbeing. Although best known for our support of almost 24,000 Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), Parent Councils, and Schools, helping them build strong school communities whilst they raise approaching £140 million each year to enhance children s education, our work stretches far beyond the school gates. Parentkind is building a powerful movement that recognises parental engagement not as a nicety, but a necessity. Supporting parents beyond the school gate In recent years, families have faced a series of compounding challenges: the cost-of-living crisis, rising child poverty, and deepening educational inequality. These pressures have left many parents struggling to meet basic needs let alone feel confident engaging in their child s learning journey. Parentkind has responded to this moment with compassion, agility and purpose, through a series of transformative campaigns, resources, and partnerships. Our No Cold Child initiative with FatFace stepped in to address a stark statistic: over 150,000 children in the UK do not own a winter coat due to poverty. Through our trusted relationships with schools we distributed 10,000 warm, high-quality coats worth £600,000 to the children who needed them most. Winning the Business Charity Awards Fashion & Retail Award, and shortlisted for two further awards, the campaign has been praised not just for providing warmth, but for restoring dignity, inclusion, and school readiness to thousands of children. The All Dressed Up campaign developed with World Book Day and Rubies Masquerade confronted the often-overlooked issue of financial exclusion on key celebration days. More than 100,000 free dressing up costumes worth £1.34 million were delivered to children from low-income families. By enabling participation in events like World Book Day, we helped spark imagination, joy, and belonging for children who might otherwise feel left out boosting self-esteem and supporting a positive connection to learning. Furthermore, helping attract children into school on a day which often sees struggling parents keep their children at home. Alongside these national campaigns, Parentkind supports families year-round through a growing suite of programmes designed to inform, prepare and empower parents. Our Be School Ready programme offers crucial guidance and confidence to parents preparing their children for the leap into primary education. With a mix of practical advice, developmental tips, and reassurance, through the distribution of 150,000 copies of Be School Ready and an online campaign, it supports families at one of the most formative moments in their child s life. We also deliver a wide-ranging series of live expert webinars and parent-friendly resources, covering topics such as managing anxiety, supporting special educational needs, navigating school transitions, and building home-school partnerships. These resources, developed in consultation with experts and rooted in lived parent experience, equip families to feel informed and empowered, no matter what challenges arise. Our direct support of schools Our collaboration with Asda on Cashpot for Schools is another example of unlocking support at scale. This innovative community-led funding model allowed shoppers to nominate and fund their local schools simply through everyday spending. This campaign has generated £5.78 million for schools during the past twelve months, supporting everything from basic classroom supplies to vital extracurricular programmes and pupil wellbeing initiatives. Also shortlisted for a Business Charity Award, it is already a model for community-driven philanthropy. In April, we launched our Parent-Friendly Schools Accreditation Programme, designed to formally recognise schools that go above and beyond in fostering positive, inclusive relationships with parents. The accreditation celebrates schools that actively listen to parent voices, make engagement easy and accessible, and embed family partnership in their culture. It is a practical and inspiring tool to drive long-term change in the sector and offers a roadmap for schools wanting to strengthen their community. Our focus on Policy & Research Our work is grounded in evidence. Since 2023, we have conducted the UK s largest annual parent survey: the National Parent Survey. With approaching 6,000 participants providing 130,000 bits of data to provide invaluable insights into the struggles, concerns, hopes and fears of parents. The findings are fed directly into government consultations and have already informed national debates on school funding, attendance, mental health support, SEND provision, and curriculum reform. In each of the past two years the number of policymakers, educators, parents and researchers accessing the National Parent Survey exceeded seven thousand, and the survey featured in more than two hundred media outlets each year. Excitingly, the Times & Sunday Times are partnering with Parentkind to raise the profile even further in September 2025 and the survey will be launched at a lighthouse event featuring the Secretary of State for Education (Bridget Phillipson), the Ofsted Chief Inspector of Schools (Sir Martyn Oliver), the CEO of Mumsnet (Justine Roberts), the Children s Commissioner (Dame Rachel De Souza), and our own Chief Executive (Jason Elsom). In addition to the National Parent Survey, Parentkind undertakes representative polling of parents throughout the year on a variety of important topics, which increasingly find exposure in the media and policy discussion. Parentkind provides the secretariat for the Westminster APPG for Parents and the Stormont APG for Parental Participation in Education. Two very successful parliamentary groups bringing together policymakers and a variety of stakeholders to consider the challenges faced by parents and act as a voice for them through a variety of policymakers. Our Media Engagement Since becoming recognised as the UK s largest parent charity, with likely more groups and frontline volunteers than the Scouts or Girlguiding, Parentkind has gained increasing prominence in the media. Beyond the reach of the National Parent Survey and our regular polling, Parentkind receives frequent requests for quotes of reflection and input by media in relation to their journalism and from Government and non-Government entities in support of policy announcements. Beyond this, the Parentkind community of volunteers and PTAs share local or regional media announcements of their own. Whether or not it celebrating the completion of large projects they have invested countless hours and thousands of pounds into realising, or the community event they have worked into the night to deliver for their school communities. It will be your role to take this much further, gaining increasing exposure for the work of Parentkind, its community, and parents more broadly. If you believe, like we do, that when parents matter, children succeed, we d love to hear from you. What we are looking for Someone with a nose for news and an understanding what makes a newsworthy opinion poll that will hit the headline and go big on social media. We are a small, fast paced team, there are no line management responsibilities attached to the role. We re looking for someone with a roll up your sleeves up and get on with it mentality. Being able to demonstrate you can sell our parent voice research and amazing existing data to media across broadcast, social media and print media Being able to lead and deliver a plan to raise our profile on social media, broadcast and in print media A good understanding of the challenges faced by children and families, education debates and education policy, we are the voice of parents. We are a cross party charity and we work with all parties, we want someone who understands that approach and brings it to their work. Someone who can to respond to social media debates at pace and make sure are part of the debate. Experience of writing compelling written documents when 100 words would make a stronger case than 1,000. You can bring evidence to life and make an argument to convince. Someone with experience of appearing on broadcast media and willing to be a talking head for Parentkind as required. This is not essential, but it would be great to have someone willing to do this. Your mission is to massively increase our online, in print and social media presence with a specific focus on policy, research and impact, to make us the highest profile parent charity in the UK. We have a huge amount of data on what parents think and we need you to get it seen. This is a great job for someone who wants to grab hold of a comms function and make it their own. Parentkind is a UK wide charity, you will be expected to support our work in other parts of the UK where necessary.

We're looking for a kind, compassionate and resilient Employee Relations Specialist located at our Head Office in Islington. £50,000.00 per annum, working 35 hours per week. Want to feel like you're making a difference? You'll feel at home here. Our benefits include: Annual leave increasing up to 30 days with length of service Free DBS 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 A generous pension - we will contribute up to 4% and life assurance cover up to £10,000 (T&Cs apply) 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. What you'll do: The Employee Relations Specialist is responsible for building strong working relationships across the business and advising, coaching and training stakeholders and the People team on best practice on all aspects of HR case work. This includes (but not limited to) disciplinary, grievances, absence management, probations, restructures and TUPE as well as training and coaching managers to enable them to successfully manage their teams whilst effectively managing risks. 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 About you: Offering best practice and pragmatic advice on all areas relating to HR Case work with the outcome of aiming to manage risks and reach successful resolution Working with managers and staff to resolve conflict and grievances at the lowest level of formality possible Addressing employee raised issues/concerns Coaching and advising managers on policies/procedures, best practice and identifying risks/costs Ensuring compliance with employment law and policy and processes Ensuring all casework is dealt with in a timely and pragmatic way Facililate change - supporting and advising on restructures, TUPE etc Being a 'trusted advisor' to the business on all aspects of employee relations Support on succession mapping: Provide support in identifying current and future skills requirements, succession gaps. Support on HR induction and other HR related training Building a good working relationship with the wider People team to ensure the effective working of the whole team Ensure people management practices reflect employee brand, values and expected behaviours Health & Wellbeing: Provide guidance to business on best practice approach to dealing with and supporting life events and issues relating to health and wellbeing, including reasonable adjustments and referral to Occupational Health. Essential: Excellent HR experience with a strong emphasis on Employee Relations Ability to effectively influence, challenge and negotiate within their business area on a range of people/HR issues Ability to build effective relationships with people at all levels in the organisation, to understand business needs and consider and be aware of wider organisational and external impact Ability to give sound HR advice to managers on all aspects of HR issues Excellent understanding of employment law, regulations and good practice Ability to think outside of process where necessary and take full accountability Excellent stakeholder engagement and customer service with all managers and staff across the Organisation Desirable: Social Care sector Ideally have operated in a multi-site and unionised HR role TUPE experience For our full job description please visit our website 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.

Registered Manager - OFSTED Children's Residential Home Salary: Competitive + Benefits Location: London Job Type: Permanent What We Offer: Competitive salary Company car Birthday treats 31 days holiday (including bank holidays) 24/7 access to an On-Demand GP service About the Role: Are you a seasoned childcare professional with a passion for leading high-quality care in an OFSTED-regulated setting? We're seeking a dedicated Registered Manager to lead our children's residential home, ensuring a nurturing, safe, and empowering environment for young people. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who has previously held roles such as OFSTED Children's Residential Home Manager or Children & Young Persons Home Manager. What You'll Need: To be considered, candidates must have: Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health & Social Care - Children & Young People's Services (or equivalent) Proven experience managing a children's residential care home Strong understanding of OFSTED standards, safeguarding procedures, and regulatory frameworks Key Responsibilities: Ensure full compliance with OFSTED regulations and Quality Standards Lead, mentor, and support your team with consistency and compassion Build trusted relationships with families, local authorities, and external agencies Champion best practices in safeguarding, care planning, and reporting Drive continuous improvement and maintain a homely, child-centred environment Why Join? A well-established care provider with a deep commitment to excellence. You'll be part of a passionate team that believes every child deserves to feel safe, supported, and inspired to thrive. Essential Qualifications & Experience: Level 5 Diploma in Leadership & Management for Children & Young People's Services (or equivalent) Recent experience in residential childcare within the last 5 years Experience supervising, managing, or mentoring staff In-depth knowledge of relevant legislation: Children's Homes (Quality Standards 2015) Children's Homes Amendment Regulations 2011 Care Standards Act 2000 OFSTED frameworks and policies Easily Commutable From Nearby Towns and Cities: North West London, which includes areas like Cricklewood, Dollis Hill, and parts of Willesden and Neasden.St Albans, Hatfield, Harpenden, Hemel Hempstead, Watford, Welwyn Garden City, Berkhamsted, Hertford, Stevenage, Luton, Radlett, Borehamwood, Rickmansworth, Tring. London, Cambridge, Oxford Ready to Make a Difference? If you're ready to take the next step in your leadership journey and make a lasting impact on young lives, we'd love to hear from you. Apply today!