We are seeking an experienced and inspirational leader to join Brighton & Hove City Council as a Residential Service Manager / Responsible Individual within our Specialist Community Disability Service (0–24). This is a senior and influential role with statutory responsibility as the Ofsted‑registered Responsible Individual for the Council’s residential homes for children and young people with disabilities. You will act on behalf of the organisation to ensure our homes meet all regulatory requirements, deliver outstanding, child‑centred care, and remain safe, nurturing and aspirational places for children and young people with complex needs. What you’ll be doing Acting as the Ofsted Responsible Individual, providing strategic oversight and assurance for registered residential provision. Ensuring full compliance with Children’s Homes Regulations, Ofsted standards, safeguarding expectations and council policies. Leading, supporting and holding to account Registered Managers and senior staff to maintain consistently high standards of care. Providing senior leadership on safeguarding, quality assurance, learning from practice, and continuous service improvement. Working closely with social care, health, education and families to ensure placement stability and positive outcomes for children and young people. Contributing to service development, inspection readiness, audits, and responses to regulatory or safeguarding concerns. What we’re looking for You will be a confident, values‑driven leader with substantial experience in children’s residential care, ideally supporting children and young people with disabilities and complex needs. You will bring: Significant management experience in children’s residential services. A strong understanding of Ofsted frameworks, statutory duties and safeguarding responsibilities. Proven ability to lead and influence senior managers, drive quality improvement and maintain regulatory compliance. A clear commitment to child‑centred, trauma‑informed and inclusive practice. Excellent leadership, communication and decision‑making skills, including confidence in managing risk and accountability. Why join us? At Brighton & Hove City Council, we are proud of our commitment to inclusion, kindness and high‑quality services for children and families. You will join a dedicated leadership team that values: Professional autonomy and trust Continuous learning and reflective practice A focus on staff wellbeing and supportive leadership The opportunity to shape and improve residential services at a strategic level Our commitment to inclusion We actively encourage applications from candidates who reflect the diversity of our city and communities. We are committed to being a disability‑confident employer and to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and supported. Encouraging a diverse workforce Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans. Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk). Why work for us? As a council, we want to: • be connected • be confident • be innovative and creative • be diverse and inclusive • be healthy and psychologically safe For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us which gives details of our wellbeing support, our benefits including leave and pensions as well as details of our training and development. Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme Disability Confident About Disability Confident A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident .