Registered manager jobs and recruitment
A registered manager runs a care service day to day and answers to the regulator for it. They lead the staff team, keep people safe, manage the budget and rota, and are the named person inspectors speak to.
We recruit registered managers for care homes, nursing homes, home care, supported living and children’s homes. This is permanent recruitment: we search, screen and interview, and you make the appointment.
Register for management roles Send a registered manager vacancy
The registered manager role at a glance
- Duties
- Leading the service, quality and safety, staffing and rotas, budgets, complaints and safeguarding, and working with the regulator, commissioners and families.
- Shifts
- Weekday daytime hours with some evenings and weekends, and usually a share of on-call.
- Checks
- Identity and right to work, the criminal record check for the nation, references from recent management posts, qualifications, and registration history with the regulator.
- Pay basis
- Salaried, set by the service.
- Qualifications
- Usually a Level 5 leadership and management qualification, with a registration requirement that differs by nation.
What a registered manager does
The registered manager is responsible for the quality and safety of the service. They recruit and supervise staff, make sure care plans are right, handle complaints and safeguarding concerns, and prepare for inspections.
In England, a provider registered with the CQC must have a registered manager for each regulated activity it carries on, so a vacancy puts pressure on the whole service. That is why we start manager searches quickly and keep you told at every stage.
Manager registration and qualifications in each nation
Every nation expects managers to be qualified and registered, in different ways:
- England
- The manager registers with the CQC as the registered manager for the service. Services usually look for the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Adult Care. Children’s home managers need the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare within three years, and register with Ofsted.
- Scotland
- SSSC registration as a manager, with a qualification of at least SCQF level 7 and a level 9 qualification within five years.
- Wales
- Social Care Wales registration before starting in the post, and the Level 5 qualification within three years of registering.
- Northern Ireland
- NISCC registration and a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care, the one qualification that is currently mandatory for social care staff in Northern Ireland.
Checks we run for registered managers
For manager candidates we check everything we check for care staff, and also:
- references from their most recent management posts, including their line manager or responsible individual
- their qualifications, and the dates for any they are still completing
- their registration history and any conditions, and the inspection outcomes of services they have managed, which are public
- the reasons they left each recent management post
Hours registered managers usually work
Registered managers mostly work weekday daytime hours, with the evenings, weekends and on-call a service needs.
- Day to
How registered manager pay is set
Registered managers are salaried. The service sets the salary and benefits, and we tell candidates the full package before they apply.
For permanent recruitment the service pays our fee under the terms agreed before we start. Candidates never pay us anything for finding them work.
As for every worker, the legal floor is the National Living Wage, £12.71 an hour from 1 April 2026 for workers aged 21 and over according to GOV.UK, and manager salaries are set by the employer above it.
Services that need registered managers
Every registered care service needs a manager the regulator has approved.
- Care homes Residential homes where people live with care and support around the clock.
- Nursing homes Care homes that provide nursing care, with registered nurses on the rota day and night.
- Home care Visits to people in their own homes to help with personal care, meals and medicines.
- Supported living People with their own tenancies and a support team who help them live the way they choose.
- Children’s homes Residential homes for children and young people who cannot live with their families.
- Learning disability and autism Support for autistic people and people with a learning disability, in any setting.
Questions about registered manager recruitment
Can you find us an interim manager while we recruit?
Tell us what you need. We can look for an experienced manager for a fixed period while the permanent search goes on, and we will be clear about what they can and cannot take on while they are not yet registered.
I’m a deputy ready for my first manager’s post. Can you help?
Yes. Tell us about the services you have helped run, your qualifications and the kind of service you want to lead, and we will look for posts where a first-time manager is welcome.
Talk to us about a manager’s post
Whether you are hiring or looking, call the office for a confidential conversation, or send your details in writing.