Join Our Team as an Early Years Specialist Do you recognize this description? "One shiny wet nose, two big furry ears, two big goggly eyes" If you know what this is (and perhaps the rest of the story), you could be the person we're looking for At Grandir UK we are on the hunt for a passionate Early Years Specialist to support some of our amazing nurseries across London and Portsmouth If you have a heart for working with young children and a deep understanding of the early years curriculum, we want you to help us create magical learning experiences for our little ones. Our mission is to inspire children to grow happy, smart, and healthy and thrive as individuals. Excellent quality childcare and education is evident when the children and family are truly placed at the centre of all we do and as a well-known and sought-after employer within the childcare sector, we recognise it is our people that provide exceptional education and care with every child and family at the centre of all they do. Join us and enjoy the following a host of attractive benefits including: Recommend friends and family to work for us and be rewarded with a cash bonus Generous discount on childcare Total 31 days annual leave inc bank hol (FTE) - Includes an extra 3 days annual leave over the Christmas period Wellbeing Day an extra day off just for you Access to an employee benefits portal, which includes discounts at 100 s of online high street stores, turning points into cash 24/7 remote GP appointments Claim cash back on medical procedures such as dental care and physiotherapy 'May I say thank you' for the month of May to appreciate the hard work and dedication of staff teams Working for a business that has received 'Great Place To Work' certification, putting people at the core of what we do. Private healthcare pension contributions What will you be doing: The Early Years Specialist supports nurseries to develop Early Years practice, train and upskill the nursery staff teams to deliver exceptional care, education and learning outcomes for children and families across an assigned group of nurseries. We trust you to help us remain compliant, safe and to achieve Outstanding regulatory outcomes. Key Relationships: Internal Nursery Staff, Nursery Managers, Regional Managers, Early Years Team External Customers, Local Authorities, Regulator Key Responsibilities: Monitor Health, Safety and Safeguarding compliance in relation to the EYFS Welfare Requirements and company policies and procedures. Monitor supporting arrangements for children with additional needs at nursery level. Provide coaching and mentoring to Nursery Managers and their teams to help them achieve outstanding outcomes for children and families. Work directly with nurseries to ensure they are ready for inspection. Attend Ofsted inspections, supporting nurseries to maintain/gain an OUTSTANDING judgement. Respond to escalated parent queries and concerns regarding childcare practice working in partnership with the Parent Partnership Manager and Regional Manager Assess the capability and expertise of the individual staff in their nurseries to support their individual development needs. Using these assessments, create your monthly training plan to ensure relevant training is delivered across each nursery. Deliver accredited and non-accredited be-spoke training programmes to our employees to improve their knowledge and skills. Measure and report on the impact of the training, coaching and mentoring each team has accessed. Keep accurate records including monitoring of compliance training and report on any trends across your assigned nurseries. Attend internal Train the Trainer sessions delivered by the Head of Professional Development as required and be accountable for knowing the full breadth of training that you are responsible for delivering to others. Keep up to date with current approaches to Early Years Education Person Specification Essential Qualification: Minimum of a full and relevant Level 3 Early Years and Childcare Desirable Qualifications Degree in Early Childhood Studies, EYT or EYP Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) Coaching and Mentoring Qualification Essential Skills Outstanding Pedagogical experience At least 2 years experience within the Early Years sector Inspection experience and Ofsted inspection framework subject matter expert Excellent knowledge of how young children learn. Experience of delivering training programmes Experience and ability to coach others. Strong motivational skills Strong communication skills Coaching and mentoring skills Essential Attributes Influential Inspiring Problem Solving Remains calm under pressure Takes initiative Collaborative Sound judgement We are delighted to announce our official certification as a Great Place To Work, reflecting our commitment to creating a positive and thriving environment for our employees. This accreditation aligns with our overarching mission to deliver high-quality childcare and education, fostering the growth of children into happy, smart, and healthy individuals. Placing children and families at the core of our efforts, we acknowledge that our dedicated teams play a pivotal role in delivering exceptional education and care. Grandir UK is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and an enhanced DBS check will be required for this role. We are an equal opportunity employer and select staff on merit, irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage & civil partnership, race, sex, sexual orientation, religion or belief. specialist Portsmouth Lonaon nursery manager senior practitioner early years foundation stage Nursery Nursery nurse early years practitioner early years IND01