Area Manager - Supported Living - Leicester

Area Manager

Location: Leicester or North London
Sector: Supported Living, Mental Health, Learning Disabilities, Autism and Complex Needs
Salary: Competitive, dependent on experience

Our client is looking to appoint experienced Area Managers to support a portfolio of services across Leicestershire and surronding areas.

This is a senior operational role suited to someone who understands regulated care, can lead managers properly, and is confident operating between frontline services, senior leadership, commissioners, professionals and CQC.

You will hold overall responsibility for several services, including line management of Service Managers, quality oversight, compliance, safeguarding, staffing stability, service improvement and external stakeholder engagement.

All Area Managers within this division are also Registered Managers, so you must be confident with CQC expectations, inspection readiness and regulatory governance.

What the role involves

You will be responsible for:

Operational leadership

Managing and supporting Service Managers across your area, ensuring services are safe, compliant, well-led and stable.

Quality and compliance

Reviewing audits, incidents, care documentation, dashboards and service performance to identify what is really happening behind the numbers.

CQC readiness

Maintaining strong regulatory oversight, preparing services for inspection and ensuring action plans are followed through properly.

People leadership

Developing Service Managers, deputies, team leaders and frontline staff through supervision, appraisal, coaching and structured development plans.

Stakeholder engagement

Working with commissioners, families, professionals, internal quality teams and senior leaders to keep services moving in the right direction.

Service presence

Spending time in services, observing culture, supporting managers directly, challenging poor practice and helping teams improve.

The right person

This role would suit someone who has:

Experience managing services within regulated care

Ideally supported living, mental health, learning disabilities, autism, complex needs or similar.

Managed managers before

This is not just about managing staff. You need to be able to support, challenge and develop Service Managers.

Strong CQC knowledge

You must understand quality, compliance, safeguarding, MCA, risk, inspection standards and what good governance looks like in practice.

A calm, practical leadership style

The role needs someone who can stay composed under pressure, make decisions, and support services through difficult situations.

A hands-on approach

This is not a desk-only role. Presence in services matters.

Level 5 Leadership in Health and Social Care

Ideally completed, or you must be willing to work towards it. Higher-level leadership development would also be welcomed.

Why this role is worth considering

This is a strong opportunity for someone who wants more than a standard Area Manager post.

You will be joining a large national provider with significant infrastructure, established systems and complex operational scope. The role gives you real exposure to service turnaround, quality improvement, manager development, commissioner engagement and CQC-facing leadership.

For the right person, this is a platform to step into a serious senior leadership pathway.

Apply

To discuss the role confidentially, contact Ignis Solutions