Relief Service Manager - South East (Supported Living)

Job Description

The Opportunity

Impactful Leadership: Step into a dynamic role where you’ll provide leadership to services during pivotal times, ensuring continuity and high standards of care while managing multisite teams. If you are a Service Manager or a Residential Manager with aspirations to become an Area Manager or gain a peripatetic skillset - this is the role for you!

Career Flexibility: This is a home-based role, offering the flexibility of remote work, but will require travel across the regions, including occasional overnight stays during weekdays. All accommodation and travel expenses will be covered and planned in advance.

Quality-Focused Environment: As part of Lifeways’ transformation journey, you will contribute to our mission to be the provider of choice, focusing on delivering safe, effective care that not only meets but exceeds regulatory expectations.

Continuous Improvement: Be part of a culture that values innovation, feedback, and growth, where you will lead initiatives to improve service quality, compliance, and outcomes for the people we support.

You’re not just anyone, and this isn’t just any role. As a Relief Service Manager at Lifeways, you create spaces where people can thrive, with every decision helping to shape someone’s future. See why it matters in our latest video: You're Not Just Anyone

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide time-limited leadership and management across services experiencing prolonged absence of managers, ensuring seamless delivery of care.
• Lead teams in delivering safe, effective, and person-centred support, driving quality improvement initiatives to meet and exceed CQC standards.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, embedding Lifeways’ values and ensuring that all services under your leadership excel in care delivery.
• Engage with external stakeholders, families, and health professionals to ensure the well-being and safety of the people

What You’ll Bring

About You: You are an experienced Service Manager or Registered Manager with a proven track record of delivering high standards of care in social care settings. You are passionate about quality improvement and have the leadership skills necessary to inspire teams to deliver person-centred support. Flexibility, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to making a positive impact are key to your success in this role.

• A minimum Level 3 qualification in Health & Social Care with Level 5 being desirable (or working towards it)
• Strong experience in operational and people management
• A valid UK driver’s licence and willingness to travel locally
• A genuine passion for quality care — and the ability to lead by example

We’re looking for individuals who embody empathy, courage, honesty, equality, and passion. If that sounds like you, we’d love to welcome you to the team.

Why Join Lifeways?

When you join Lifeways, you step into a leadership role in a company that values and invests in its people. Our shared values guide everything we do:
Caring – Honest – One Team – Innovative – Courageous – Equal

You’ll get:

• Leadership development programmes & progression pathways
• A supportive, inclusive workplace culture
• Matched contribution company pension scheme
• Wellbeing resources and mental health support
• Reward and Recognition Schemes
• Discounts on shopping, tech, travel, and more through CHOICE Rewards

Why Now?

We are on a bold journey to become the Care Provider of Choice — and this is an exciting time to join us.

We listen closely to our team members through surveys and forums and act on their ideas, continuously improving how we support both our people and the individuals in our care.

As a leader, you’ll have the authority, resources, and support to shape your team’s culture and the quality of care they deliver. We invest in your growth through leadership development and promote a workplace where wellbeing, diversity, and inclusion are more than just words — they’re lived values.

At Lifeways, you’re not just anyone. You’re a leader who can make a difference every single day.

We are not using agencies for this recruitment. Any CVs sent to anyone in Lifeways from a recruitment agency will be treated as a gift.

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