Join Inkfish

Who looks after you
while you’re looking after
everyone else?

Working in children’s residential care asks a lot of you.

See our opportunities Discover what we promise you

Join Inkfish

We will ask you to be patient when patience is difficult. Curious rather than judgemental. Consistent when a young person is testing whether you’ll still be there tomorrow. Brave enough to speak when something isn’t right.

If we’re going to ask that much from you, you should expect something from us too.

At Inkfish, we want you to be known, supported, heard and given the opportunity to progress.

Because progression, not containment shouldn’t only describe what we want for the children who live with us.

It should describe what happens to the people who work here too.

The Inkfish People Standard

We’re not building a family. We’re building an organisation that keeps its promises.

Lots of employers say, “We’re like a family.”

We’d rather tell you what you can expect from us, and let you hold us accountable for delivering it.

We call that the Inkfish People Standard.

1

Be known

You should never feel like just another name needed to complete a rota.

2

Be supported

When the work has been difficult, you shouldn’t have to carry it alone.

3

Be heard

The people closest to the children often see things first. Your voice matters here.

4

Progress

We want to know where you want to go, and help you build a route towards it.

5

Be recognised

Good work shouldn’t become invisible simply because it’s expected.

6

Have time to care

We’ll use technology to remove unnecessary friction, not human connection.

You deserve leaders who understand you, not just manage you.

No false promises

This work can be hard.

Two colleagues talking, one listening while the other speaks
Support after a difficult shift is a person, not a policy.
  • A young person may reject your help.
  • They may be angry with you.
  • They may test boundaries.
  • Yesterday may have been brilliant and today may feel like you’ve gone backwards.
  • There will be safeguarding responsibilities, paperwork, difficult conversations and shifts that take something out of you.
  • We won’t pretend otherwise to persuade you to apply.

We’ll expect you to show up for the children. You should expect Inkfish to show up for you.

Think differently

What are you wondering?

A young person has been angry with you for most of the evening.

They’ve sworn at you and told you they hate you.

Twenty minutes later, they quietly ask if you’ll make them some toast.

What goes through your mind?

At Inkfish, we’re interested in what happens before the answer.

We aren’t looking for people with perfect answers.

We’re looking for people willing to keep asking better questions.

  • Do you judge?
  • React?
  • Try to win?
  • Or do you become curious about what might be happening underneath the behaviour?

Who you are matters

We’re interested in who you are, not just where you’ve worked.

Experience matters. Character does too.

We’re looking for curiosity, warmth, emotional regulation, consistency, courage, humility and the ability to reflect.

You might already work in residential care. You might come from education, youth work, hospitality, sport or somewhere we haven’t thought of yet.

We can teach skills. We’re interested in the person we’ll be teaching them to.

The door should be open

Experienced care yourself?

Your experience won’t automatically make you right for Inkfish. But it won’t make you wrong for us either.

You won’t be expected to tell your story, and we won’t assume your future has to be in a care role. As Inkfish grows, we want pathways across care, operations, digital, quality, learning and leadership.

Your past should never define your ceiling.

Technology with a purpose

Automate administration.Systemise excellence.Never automate care.

More time to be human. Care involves paperwork, and some of it is essential. Friction isn’t. Technology should remove friction, not humanity.

We’re building digital and AI capability in from the start. Not to replace judgement, relationships or care, but to give our people more time for the things humans do best.

Progression, not containment

Nobody should accidentally spend five years standing still.

For some, progression looks like this.

  1. Residential Support Worker
  2. Senior Residential Support Worker
  3. Deputy Manager
  4. Registered Manager
  5. Multi-home and operations leadership

For others, it means going deeper, without having to become a manager.

Advanced practitionerMentorRelational practiceSafeguardingEducationQualityDigital improvementLearning and development

Progression, not containment. For the children who live with us. And for the people who work with us.

Our first home

Be there at the beginning.

Our first home is opening, which means the first people who join aren’t inheriting a culture somebody else created.

You’ll help shape it. Tell us what doesn’t work. Help us build better systems before bad habits become traditions.

Don’t just join the culture. Help us create it.

Join the founding team

Current opportunities

Where we are hiring.

1

Dudley, West Midlands

Our first home, and the first founding team we appoint.

Registered ManagerRecruitedDeputy ManagerRecruitedSenior Residential Support WorkerResidential Support Worker
2

South West Shropshire

Rural, so most roles need a driving licence.

Registered ManagerRecruitedDeputy ManagerSenior Residential Support WorkerResidential Support Worker
3

Staffordshire

Our next location. Roles will be announced here first.

Coming soon

The Inkfish Candidate Promise

Your time is valuable.

  • We’ll tell you what happens next.
  • We won’t leave you wondering.
  • If we interview you, we’ll tell you the outcome.
  • We’ll be honest about the difficult parts of the work.
  • We’ll assess the person, not the polish of the CV.
  • We’ll give you constructive feedback where we can.

How it works.

1

Say hello

A short application. Your work history, and three questions that tell us more than a CV can.

2

The Inkfish Conversation

With the Registered Manager and a senior leader. A real scenario, then your turn: ask us anything.

3

Checks, then a decision

Full safer recruitment checks. If you’re offered a role, you’ll hear it from a person first, not a form.

One last thing

We’re choosing each other.

If you apply to Inkfish, we’ll decide whether we think you’re right for us.

You should decide whether we’re right for you.

Ask us difficult questions.

  • Ask how we’ll support you after a difficult shift.
  • Ask how progression actually works.
  • Ask what our managers are measured on.
  • Ask what we’ve got wrong.
  • Ask us to prove the promises on this page.

Don’t just apply for a job. Come and find out what we’re building.

See current opportunities