General Manager - Fote : Job Details

General Manager

Friends Place, Calcot, Reading

Salary: Circa £65,000 per annum

Permanent - Full Time (37.5 hours per week)

Monday to Friday (including some evenings and weekends).

Friends of the Elderly (FotE) is a charity dedicated to providing excellent care with a family feel. We have been supporting older people for 120 years, offering care home and day care services, as well as a grants programme for those in financial difficulty.

We are searching for a General Manager to lead the opening and running of our brand-new care home, Friends Place, in Calcot, Reading. Our state-of-the-art care home will feature:

• 66 luxury bedrooms with ensuite wet rooms.
• A cinema for residents to enjoy movie nights and entertainment.
• A stylish salon offering professional pampering.
• A peaceful library for reading and reflection.
• A vibrant bar for socialising and relaxation.

Our modern facilities are designed to create a warm and homely environment where residents feel safe, valued, and supported. Friends Place will be a vibrant, welcoming community, providing exceptional residential, dementia, and respite care.

About the Role

At Friends of the Elderly, we pride ourselves on delivering personalised, compassionate care. We are seeking a General Manager to lead our new care home, promoting a caring environment where everyone is treated with respect, dignity, and their rights to privacy, independence, and choice are upheld.

You will be the Registered Manager with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), responsible for driving and maintaining occupancy within budget, and effectively managing, motivating, and developing staff. Your day-to-day duties will include:

• Overseeing all aspects of the care home, including standards and quality of care, marketing, recruitment, and training.
• Building and maintaining a good working relationship with the team, ensuring the premises remain in excellent repair and comply with regulatory requirements.
• Recognising and assessing individuals’ needs, involving relevant professional agencies and relatives to develop personalised care plans.
• Complying with statutory and legal requirements, including Health & Social Care Act, Health and Safety, HACCP, and COSHH.
• Controlling and monitoring the budget and expenditure of the home., Ensuring all legislative and regulatory requirements are met.
• Maintaining up-to-date and correct care, legal and statutory records.
• Marketing the care home to meet occupancy targets, using traditional and digital marketing channels, and working closely with the central marketing team.

About You

We are looking for someone qualified to NVQ 4 or 5, or QCF 5 in Health & Social Care, or holding a Nursing Qualification. An academic qualification in Management or Leadership is desirable. You must have at least two years of experience managing a care home for older people and have good experience effectively managing a team.

Ideally, you have experience in opening a care home and are willing to embrace the challenge once more. This is a unique opportunity to lead our fantastic team and help shape the future of Friends Place.

A team player and problem solver, you are dedicated, resilient, and approachable. You will be well versed in sales and marketing principles to ensure the home is marketed appropriately to meet occupancy targets, and skilled in recruitment and retention of staff.

With a strong understanding of the Health and Social Care Act and CQC regulations, you have knowledge of HR policies and processes, including investigations, grievances, and disciplinaries.

You are passionate about providing quality person-centred care for people who are living with dementia.

This isn’t just a job; it’s about making a difference to older people’s lives every day.

Why Join Friends of the Elderly?

• Group Pension Plan, with a 6% contribution from us.
• Generous annual leave.
• Wellbeing support through various initiatives, including an employee assistance programme.
• Learning, development, and progression opportunities.
• Monthly prize draw, with 3 prizes to be won.
• Retail discount schemes to make your salary go further.
• Access to loans at affordable rates, saving directly from salary and advance pay already earned.
• Health cash plans for you and your family.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Long service awards that increase with length of service.
• Refer a friend to work for us and receive a £200 bonus.
• Free DBS checks.

Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion

Friends of the Elderly strives to treat all staff equally and be a diverse and inclusive workplace, where everyone can be themselves and everyone accepts each other’s differences. Our ambition is to ensure equality and celebrate diversity, all working together to create an inclusive workplace that attracts and retains the best people. People that care and can make a difference.

We currently do not provide sponsorship, but we welcome applications from those who have the right to work in the UK.