POST: Associate Quality Director (Children and Education) 

REPORTS TO: Group Quality Director 

LOCATION: Home working with travel across England and Wales 

The Role 

The Associate Quality Director plays a critical leadership role within the quality management system. This position supports the organisation to ensure that our children’s care and education services meet internal standards and regulatory requirements, delivering enhanced impact across the Group. Under the direction of the Director, oversee the quality performance of Keys Group services and ensure the delivery of the Quality Strategy and Quality Plan for the Group’s Children’s Division. 

The ideal candidate: 

• Experience of strong leadership in inspiring and motivating a quality team within social care or education.
• Relevant professional qualification (nursing, social work, health and social care or equivalent).
• Previous experience of working within a regulated environment (CQC (Care Quality Commission)/Ofsted/CIW/Estyn).
• Possess excellent communication skills with the ability to communicate at strategic level.
• Driving License and access to a car.
• Ability to travel throughout UK, including overnight stays, as frequent travel is required.

Duties and Responsibilities  

• Leading and inspiring a divisional Quality Team, part of the Quality Department, driving continual quality improvement in line with the vision, company strategy and values.

• Applying in-depth knowledge from The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015, Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act 2016 and The Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the Regulations’) including all relevant legislation and best practice across the sector.

• Supporting and working alongside all operational services to achieve regulatory compliance of good or above.

• Leading initiatives to improve quality performance across the children’s division and the wider Group.

• Being central to the Groups objectives in transforming children’s care and education through the use of digital technology and in particular digital care records.

Quality Improvement 

To ensure quality services are being consistently delivered by: 

• Delivering and responsible for the Quality Strategy, Quality Policy and Departmental Plan.

• Developing and maintaining a plan for overseeing and monitoring progress of quality improvement across operational services.

• Managing, maintaining and continually improving the quality management system to aggregate actions resulting from internal monitoring.  Identifying themes to take forward preventive, corrective actions and direct the priorities of the Quality Team.

• Driving forward quality projects, based on best practice and in conjunction with relevant internal and external stakeholders.

• Managing specific projects from inception and project planning through to project outcome realisation.

• Overseeing the management of serious and complex complaints, ensuring that company policy is followed and implementing lessons learned.

Monitoring 

• Measuring, analysing and reviewing data, providing recommendations to the Group Leadership team to continually improve services and functions.

• Overseeing, maintaining and reviewing the quality management system to ensure it is fit for purpose, identifies risks and seeks to establish controls and further improvement.

• Monitoring all requirements and recommendations arising from regulatory inspection or any external monitoring activity and ensuring there are systems that support service compliance with actions taken forward both locally and at company level.

• Responding to commissioner requests for information, including tender responses and in liaison with the Business and Marketing Departments..

• Arranging and carrying out internal audits in line with protocol as required.

• Monitoring the overall quality of service provision and having systems in place that effectively identify services that are falling below the required standards.  Effectively keeping track on the progress of improvement and alerting senior leaders to relevant service and regulatory risks.

Regulatory Knowledge and Expertise (Ofsted/CIW/CQC/Estyn [as appropriate] 

• Providing active support, advice and guidance to services on any changes to legislation, regulation and sector guidance.

• Assisting, guiding, coaching and mentoring services in preparation for inspection.

• Considering proposed and drafted changes to regulations and legislation and identifying and reporting the potential impact.

• Working collaboratively with learning and development colleagues to ensure that training and personal development opportunities are in accordance with external regulatory and internal standards.

Digital Technology 

• Supporting Children’s services in the ongoing implementation of digital care records – through Nourish (Digital Care Records Platform).

• In conjunction with other relevant departments, supporting the ongoing maintenance and future development needs of Nourish.

Collaboration 

• Working closely and in collaboration with all other teams and departments in relation to quality and regulatory matters. 

• Influencing and communicating quality improvement opportunities to the learning and development team and operational colleagues.

• Working closely with Project Support and Associate Director – Risk management in maintaining the compliance and incident reporting system – RADAR.

• Arranging and delivering quality led workshops/events.