CQC Registered Manager Community Service-Mental Health, Autism & LD

Location: Sussex

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Salary: £38,000 £40,000 per annum
Contract: Permanent, Full-time
Lead a community service that's genuinely person-centred. Not a building. Not a unit. People's actual homes, across Sussex.
About Unicare Unicare Complex Care Specialist Ltd is a CQC-registered provider of supported living and complex care services across Sussex, Surrey, Berkshire, and South London. We were founded by two clinicians-turned-operators who built this business on a single principle: that adults with mental health needs, autism, and learning disabilities deserve services designed around their lives not services they have to fit themselves into.
We're now expanding our Sussex Community Service and looking for a Registered Manager who shares that conviction and has the operational discipline to deliver it.
The opportunity This is a full CQC Registered Manager role. You will be named on our CQC registration and hold accountability for a community-based service supporting adults with mental health needs, autism, and learning disabilities in their own homes across Sussex including Brighton & Hove, Lewes, and surrounding areas.
You will report directly to the Head of Operations and work alongside our in-house CPN/PBS Specialist, Clinical Governance & Quality Lead, and Business Development team.
This is a strategic role, not a paperwork role. You will be expected to grow the service, shape its clinical model, build relationships with Sussex commissioners, and develop the next generation of community team leads.
What you'll actually do Regulatory & clinical governance Hold CQC registration. Lead audits, evidence quality against the Single Assessment Framework, and prepare the service for inspection. Own safeguarding, MCA/DoLS, medication management, and incident oversight in line with Sussex Safeguarding Adults Board procedures and CQC Regulations 12, 13 and 17.
Operational leadership Run a dispersed workforce delivering variable-hour community packages. Manage rosters, capacity, on-call, and clinical risk. Stand up new packages from referral to first visit. Be the person commissioners trust to pick up the phone when something complex lands.
Clinical model Embed Positive Behaviour Support, trauma-informed care, and the principles of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training across the community team. Work with our CPN/PBS Specialist on individual support plans, behaviour support plans, and crisis frameworks.
Growth Build the service. Develop commissioner relationships across West Sussex, East Sussex, Brighton & Hove, and NHS Sussex ICB. Contribute to tender responses, fee uplift submissions, and the service development plan.
About you You're someone who has done this work in the community not just in a care home or supported living building. You understand the operational reality of delivering personalised care across dispersed addresses: the rota maths, the lone-worker risk, the safeguarding nuances, the relationship-building with families who have often been let down before.
We need you to bring:
Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health & Social Care (held or actively working towards funded completion available)
A minimum of 2 years' management experience in adult social care
Direct experience supporting adults with mental health needs, autism and learning disabilities in community, domiciliary or supported living services
Working fluency with CQC Fundamental Standards, the MCA 2005, the Care Act 2014, and PBS principles
Confidence managing safeguarding referrals, serious incidents and Reg 13 reporting under Sussex SAB procedures
A full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle
The right to work in the UK (we are unable to sponsor for this role)
You'll stand out if you have:
Existing or previous CQC Registered Manager status
Oliver McGowan Tier 2 certification
A PBS Coach or PBS Practitioner qualification
Established relationships with Sussex commissioners
Experience standing up a community service from scratch or scaling one significantly
What we offer £38,000 £40,000 per annum, DOE
A genuine seat at the leadership table direct working relationship with both founder-CEOs and Head of Operation
Funded Level 5 completion, Oliver McGowan Tier 2, PBS, and Safeguarding Lead CPD
28 days' annual leave including bank holidays
Pension scheme
Mileage at HMRC rate
A growing organisation with clear progression we're scaling across the South of England and building out our complex care division
The professional satisfaction of running a service that does this work properly
Apply Submit your CV via TotalJobs. Suitable candidates will be contacted within 5 working days for a two-stage process: competency interview with the CEO, then a scenario-based panel including our Responsible Individual.
Unicare Complex Care Specialist Ltd is an equal opportunities employer. xwzovoh We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds and particularly encourage applications from those with lived experience of the communities we serve.