Nursery Manager
Responsible to: Head of Region
Responsible for: Deputy Managers, Senior Practitioners, Practitioners & Support Staff
Key Role: Leadership of Quality, Compliance, People & Operational Performance Across Multiple Nurseries
Hours: 40 hours per week, over 4 or 5 days per week.
Salary: from £40,000 per annum
Job Purpose
The Senior Nursery Manager provides strategic and operational leadership across a group of nurseries, ensuring consistently high-quality care, education and safeguarding. They coach Nursery Managers to deliver excellent outcomes, maintain operational consistency, and drive continuous improvement—actively demonstrating and embedding the company values of Accountable, Reliable, Caring and Honest (ARCH) in all areas of leadership.
Quality Leadership
- Create and communicate a clear vision for high-quality provision aligned with organisational values.
- Lead quality assurance cycles (audits, observations, moderations).
- Ensure action plans are measurable, timebound and linked to improved child outcomes.
- Strengthen safeguarding culture across all settings with high DSL standards.
Operational Excellence
- Ensure operational consistency across all settings, implementing policies and systems with reliability and accountability.
- Oversee staffing structures, workforce planning, deployment and ratios.
- Ensure all nurseries are Ofsted/CIW-ready, with strong evidence of impact.
People
- Coach and mentor Nursery Managers, modelling caring and honest feedback.
- Oversee performance management, succession planning and team development.
- Support with complex HR cases including conduct, capability and wellbeing.
- Promote staff engagement, retention and wellbeing practices.
Financial Awareness (supporting Head of Region)
- Support Nursery Managers to understand budgets, wage control and occupancy performance.
- Review weekly KPIs with managers (occupancy, staffing %, debt, training compliance).
- Identify opportunities for efficiencies or commercial improvements.
External Partnerships
- Build effective relationships with LAs, SEND services, external agencies and parents.
- Support nurseries through Ofsted/CIW inspections and follow-up improvement plans.
Knowledge, Skills & Experience
Essential
- Minimum 3 years’ experience as a Nursery Manager with strong quality outcomes.
- Solid understanding of EYFS, safeguarding, Ofsted and compliance.
- Experience coaching or mentoring other leaders.
- Strong communication, influence and leadership.
Desirable
- Experience overseeing multiple settings or acting as a regional quality lead.
Qualifications
- Level 5 Early Years or Leadership qualification (Level 6 desirable).
- DSL trained.
- Safer Recruitment.
- Paediatric First Aid.
- IOSH Managing Safely (desirable).
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