Lead Family Practitioner
Salary: £40,000 per annum
Service: Residential Family Assessment Centre (Banstead)
Reports to: Deputy Manager / Registered Manager
Role Purpose
The Lead Practitioner / Pre-Management role is a senior operational and practice leadership position within this beautiful therapeutic residential family centre. The post holder acts as a bridge between frontline practice and management, providing consistent leadership across shifts while maintaining a strong therapeutic and assessment focus.
This role is designed for experienced practitioners who demonstrate readiness for management responsibility and the ability to oversee complex practice, safeguard babies effectively, and support the quality and consistency of assessment work across the service. The Lead Practitioner plays a critical role in ensuring that the organisations values, ethos, and regulatory requirements are embedded into daily practice.
Key Responsibilities
Operational Leadership and Shift Management
Lead shifts across the residential service, ensuring safe staffing levels, clear allocation of duties, and consistent routines
Coordinate rotas and staffing arrangements as required, responding flexibly to operational needs
Act as the senior point of contact during shifts for practice, safeguarding, and operational issues
Ensure the physical and emotional environment remains safe, calm, and therapeuticPractice Oversight and Quality Assurance
Practice Oversight and Quality Assurance
Provide oversight of assessment activity, ensuring consistency, quality, and adherence to the organisations outlined assessment framework
Review records, observations, and assessment evidence to ensure they meet organisational and regulatory standards
Identify themes, strengths, and areas for improvement within practice
Support the implementation of service improvements based on learning and quality assurance findings
Safeguarding Leadership and Risk Management
Act as a key escalation point for safeguarding concerns, incidents, or emerging risks
Exercise advanced professional judgement in managing complex safeguarding situations
Ensure safeguarding actions are implemented, recorded, and reviewed appropriately
Support staff to understand safeguarding thresholds, risk management strategies, and professional accountability
Staff Leadership, Development and Support
Provide leadership, guidance, and mentoring to Senior Practitioners and wider staff teams
Support staff development through coaching, reflective discussions, and practice modelling
Contribute to induction, training, and ongoing professional development activity
Support performance management processes under the guidance of senior management
Multi-Disciplinary and Professional Engagement
Liaise with external professionals, including social workers and partner agencies, as required
Support effective information sharing and professional communication in line with statutory guidance
Represent the service professionally in meetings or discussions under management direction
Governance, Inspection Readiness and Continuous Improvement
Support senior leaders with audits, monitoring, and service reviews
Contribute to inspection preparation and regulatory readiness
Support the embedding of learning from incidents, audits, and feedback
Promote a culture of transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement
Professional Standards and Conduct
Adhere to all of the organisations policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements
Maintain high standards of professional conduct, boundaries, and confidentiality
Uphold and actively promote the organisations values, therapeutic ethos, and professional standards
Demonstrate leadership behaviours consistent with the organisations expectations of future managers
Essential Requirements
Extensive experience within residential, assessment-based, or child and family services
Demonstrated leadership capability and readiness for management responsibility
Advanced safeguarding knowledge and professional judgement
Strong decision-making, organisational, and problem-solving skills
Ability to oversee complex practice while maintaining a therapeutic approach
High standards of written and verbal communication
Desirable Requirements
Formal leadership or management training
Experience contributing to audits, quality assurance, or service development
Aspiration to progress into a Deputy Manager or Registered Manager role
Additional Information
This role requires flexibility to work shifts, including evenings, weekends, and bank holidays
All appointments are subject to enhanced DBS clearance and safer recruitment checks
#J-18808-Ljbffr