ROLE PURPOSE

As Compass Community continues its growth and strengthens its national reputation, the Senior Residential Placements Officer plays a critical role in ensuring the smooth, responsive and child-centred management of day-to-day placement activity.

This role leads the operational coordination of referrals, overseeing administrative processes, inbox management, data accuracy and workflow across the placements function. The postholder ensures that every referral is handled efficiently, professionally and in line with safeguarding standards, while supporting strong matching decisions and positive commissioner experiences.

Working closely with the Head of Residential Placements and operational colleagues, the Senior Residential Placements Officer ensures that systems, processes and administrative oversight enable timely placement decisions, high occupancy levels and exceptional stakeholder communication – always aligned with Compass’s values and commitment to children.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Operational Management of Referrals

Oversee the day-to-day management of all incoming residential referrals from initial enquiry through to outcome.

Ensure inboxes are monitored consistently and that referrals are logged, acknowledged and allocated within agreed timescales.

Coordinate referral distribution across the team, balancing workload and ensuring responsiveness.

Track referral progress, proactively following up on outstanding information to avoid delays.

Escalate complex, high-risk or strategically significant referrals to the Head of Residential Placements appropriately.

Ensure clear communication with commissioners throughout the referral journey.

Administrative Leadership & Coordination

Lead and oversee the administrative function within the placements team.

Ensure accurate data entry and record keeping across all systems, including CRM and internal databases.

Maintain organised digital records that are audit-ready and compliant.

Standardise templates, documentation and tracking tools to promote consistency and professionalism.

Support the onboarding of new placement team members in administrative processes and systems.

Identify inefficiencies in workflow and implement practical improvements.

Matching & Service Coordination

Support effective placement matching by ensuring referral information is comprehensive, well-presented and shared promptly with operational colleagues.

Coordinate information flow between Registered Managers, Regional Operations Managers Assistant Directors and the placements team to enable informed decisionmaking.

Track internal vacancies and service availability to support accurate matching.

Ensure placement start-up processes are well coordinated, including documentation, financial confirmation and commissioning communication.

Promote internal step-up/step-down pathways by maintaining oversight of available capacity across services.

CRM & Data Management

Support the embedding of CRM systems as a core operational tool within placements.

Ensure referral data is accurate, up to date and consistently recorded.

Generate routine reports on referral activity, response times, conversion rates and occupancy trends.

Provide data insights to the Head of Residential Placements to inform performance discussions.

Monitor compliance with data integrity standards and address gaps promptly.

Performance & Quality Assurance

Monitor key operational KPIs including:

• Referral response times
• Referral-to-placement conversion rates
• Time from referral to decision
• Accuracy of administrative records

Identify trends or performance risks and escalate appropriately.

Contribute to continuous improvement initiatives within the placements function.

Support preparation for audits or inspections where placement documentation is reviewed.

Partnership & Stakeholder Engagement

Act as a professional and responsive first point of contact for commissioners and local authorities in day-to-day placement communication.

Maintain positive working relationships with internal operational leaders to ensure smooth referral transitions.

Support the coordination of information required for commissioner meetings or service reviews.

Ensure communications reflect Compass’s values and therapeutic offer.

Safeguarding, Compliance & Governance

Ensure all placement activity complies fully with safeguarding standards, regulatory frameworks and internal policies.

Maintain strict confidentiality in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR requirements.

Ensure safer decision-making processes are followed when handling sensitive information.

Maintain clear, accurate and defensible records across all placement systems.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Experience

Experience working within children’s residential services, fostering, or a placements environment.

Strong understanding of the needs of looked after children and the importance of stable, well-matched placements.

Experience managing high-volume administrative workflows.

Experience coordinating referrals or admissions processes.

Experience using CRM systems or case management systems.

Experience producing performance reports or working with operational data.

Experience supporting or supervising administrative colleagues (desirable).

Attributes

Highly organised with strong attention to detail.

Calm and efficient under pressure.

Confident communicator, both written and verbal.

Systems confident and data-literate.

Child-centred in approach while operationally disciplined.

Solution-focused and proactive.

Collaborative and supportive of colleagues across functions.

SUCCESS IN THIS ROLE LOOKS LIKE

Referrals are acknowledged, logged and progressed without delay.

Administrative systems are accurate, organised and audit-ready.

Commissioners experience professional, timely communication.

Placement workflows run smoothly with minimal bottlenecks.

Operational leaders receive clear, timely information to support decision-making. Referral data is visible and reliable, enabling strong performance oversight.

Children experience timely, well-coordinated placement processes that prioritise stability and suitability.

ABOUT COMPASS COMMUNITY

Transforming lives through Integrity, Courage and Care

Compass Community exists to create a future of strength and opportunity for every child. Across fostering, residential care and education, we use a therapeutic, innovative approach that puts children first. Our mission is to be the UK’s #1 children’s services provider – reaching more children, being the best place to work in children’s services, and helping to transform the sector for good.

Our values, Integrity, Courage and Care guide how people work here. We listen properly, challenge each other well, and get on with fixing what needs to be fixed, together. When something goes wrong, we deal with it. When something goes well, we celebrate it. That's the work of Life Changers, and we look forward to welcoming you to the team.