Regional Compliance & Quality Assurance Manager (Care Homes)

Job summary

Regional Compliance & Quality Assurance Manager (Care Homes)

Job Title: Regional Compliance & Quality Assurance Manager
Reports to: Directors
Location: South Yorkshire – Travel across assigned homes required
Hours: Full Time with flexibility according to service needs

Job Purpose

The Regional Compliance & Quality Assurance Manager is responsible for overseeing quality, governance, regulatory compliance, and operational standards across a portfolio of care homes. The role is focused on ensuring homes consistently deliver safe, effective, responsive, caring, and well-led services in accordance with CQC standards, legislation, and best practice.

The post holder will provide hands-on support to Home Managers and clinical teams, driving continuous quality improvement, preparing homes for inspections, supporting underperforming services, and embedding robust governance systems.

This is a highly operational and field-based role requiring extensive travel between services. The successful candidate must be willing and able to spend prolonged periods of time within individual homes where additional support, improvement, stabilisation, or management oversight is required.

The Regional Compliance & Quality Assurance Manager may also be required, where necessary, to temporarily oversee or register with a service until a substantive Registered Manager is appointed.

Key Responsibilities

Quality Assurance & Compliance

• Lead and oversee compliance, governance, and quality assurance systems across multiple care homes.
• Ensure all services operate in accordance with CQC regulations, the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations, safeguarding legislation, and company policies.
• Monitor compliance against key regulatory frameworks including CQC Keylines of Enquiry (KLOE):
• Conduct regular quality audits, mock inspections, compliance reviews, and governance visits.
• Review and monitor action plans to ensure identified concerns are addressed promptly and effectively.
• Support services in achieving and maintaining Good or Outstanding CQC ratings.
• Ensure robust systems are in place for:
  • Medicines management
  • Infection prevention and control
  • Care planning and documentation
  • Safeguarding
  • MCA and DoLS compliance
  • Health & Safety
  • Incident and accident management
  • Complaints management
  • Risk assessments and risk management

CQC Inspection & Improvement Support

• Lead inspection readiness programmes across services.
• Support managers during CQC inspections, local authority visits, safeguarding investigations, and quality assurance reviews.
• Develop and implement detailed improvement plans following inspections, audits, complaints, or safeguarding concerns.
• Provide practical and hands-on support to services requiring improvement or stabilisation.
• Support services subject to embargoes, increased monitoring, safeguarding concerns, or compliance challenges.

Regional Operational Support

• Work closely with Home Managers to ensure consistent standards of care and governance.
• Provide mentoring, coaching, and guidance to Home Managers and Deputy Managers.
• Support recruitment and induction of Home Managers where required.
• Be willing to provide increased operational oversight in homes requiring additional support.
• Remain site-based for reasonable periods where a service requires focused quality improvement, leadership support, or operational stability.

Interim Management & Registration Support

• Be prepared to temporarily manage or oversee services during periods of management absence or vacancy.
• Where necessary, be willing to act as a temporary Registered Manager or support registration processes with CQC until a permanent manager is recruited.
• Support homes through registration changes, variation applications, and regulatory correspondence.

Safeguarding & Risk Management

• Oversee safeguarding investigations and ensure appropriate action is taken.
• Ensure learning from incidents, complaints, whistleblowing, and investigations is embedded across services.
• Promote a culture of openness, transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement.

Stakeholder Management

Develop and maintain positive working relationships with:

• CQC Inspectors
• Local Authorities
• Safeguarding Teams
• Integrated Care Boards (ICBs)
• Commissioners
• Healthcare Professionals
• Residents and Families

Represent the organisation professionally during inspections, provider meetings, safeguarding enquiries, and quality reviews.

Person Specification

Essential

• Significant senior management experience within the UK care home sector.
• Previous experience overseeing multiple care homes or supporting regional operations.
• Strong working knowledge of CQC regulations, inspection frameworks, and compliance requirements.
• Proven experience in quality assurance, governance, service improvement, and inspection preparation.
• Experience managing safeguarding concerns, complaints, whistleblowing investigations, and quality improvement plans.
• Strong knowledge of:
  • MCA and DoLS
  • Safeguarding
  • Medication management
  • Care planning
  • Infection control
  • Health & Safety
• Ability to support homes through improvement, turnaround, or stabilisation periods.
• Excellent leadership, coaching, and communication skills.
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively across homes.
• Flexibility to stay at individual services for prolonged periods where operational or quality support is required.
• Full UK Driving Licence and access to a vehicle.

Desirable

• Previous Registered Manager experience.
• Experience supporting homes through CQC improvement journeys or regulatory challenges.
• Registered Nurse qualification (RGN/RMN/RNLD) with active NMC PIN desirable.
• NVQ Level 5 in Leadership for Health & Social Care or equivalent.
• Experience in elderly care, nursing, dementia, mental health, and/or complex care services.
• Experience acting as interim management support or temporary registration lead.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• CQC compliance and inspection outcomes
• Audit completion and quality assurance standards
• Action plan completion and regulatory compliance
• Reduction in safeguarding concerns and repeat incidents
• Improvement in care quality indicators
• Inspection readiness across all services
• Staff competency, governance, and quality outcomes
• Resident wellbeing and quality of care standards