Company: We are a family of inspiring nurseries and preschools with a distinct home from home environment. By creating days filled with unique moments and opportunities, we are able to truly enrich a child’s development during their 0-5 years. Responsibilities: The Area Manager is responsible for implementing all aspects of Kindred’s educational, operational, and commercial requirements. The successful candidate will be supporting nurseries in Hertfordshire London. Operational: Directly line manage, induct, and performance manage the Nursery Managers (NM’s), providing support, advice, and direction enabling them to effectively manage their teams. Guide and coach managers on any Safeguarding and or Child Protection incidents, accidents, issues, and concerns. Keeping the Director of Childcare and Operations fully informed at all times. Investigate all complaints, resolving and agreeing actions and liaising with the complainant as necessary. Ensure documentation is kept and is in line with statutory guidance and Kindred policy. In conjunction with managers, prepare, review, and monitor individual nursery development plan Work within the margins of confidentiality respecting information pertaining to children, parents, and staff. Work closely with the Nursery Managers to ensure all employees are effectively recruited, inducted, and set up to deliver high standards of childcare and education Work to deliver and maintain Good or Outstanding Ofsted ratings across the nurseries by supporting managers with their Ofsted readiness and on inspection days To work with the Director of Childcare of Operations for the administration of all Ofsted requirements; incident reporting, nursery registration, inspection outcomes, etc. Lead the implementation in your cohort of nurseries and review of company policies and procedures to meet Ofsted regulations. Through a very ‘hands-on’ approach, regularly review and audit the performance of the nurseries and operational teams, driving improvement through the development of the teams. Undertake pre-arranged and “on the spot” audits at each nursery to ensure all agreed quality and operational standards are being met. Ensure all nurseries and staff are compliant with all regulatory bodies, following set guidance and frameworks. Play a key role in ensuring the planning, delivery, evaluation, and facilitation of training is to the highest standards. Ensuring all practitioners have development plans in place to allow them to achieve the highest standards of childcare and education. Review all settings toys and resources requirements and enabling environments through regular observations, to meet Kindred mission and values whilst managing budget control. Provide support and challenge all nurseries to effectively deliver a high-quality provision in line with guiding principles and the Kindred vision. Ensure all children in nurseries are safeguarded and protected in line with local safeguarding children boards policies and procedures and relevant legislation. Oversee the rigorous delivery of policies and procedures to create a best-in-class nursery setting, in line with Kindred’s values and vision. Plan, prepare and deliver regular manager meetings Ensure all nurseries meet Ofsted regulations, internal Health and safety guidelines, and are EYFS compliant at all times. Demonstrate our values in everything you do. Keep your line manager updated and informed on your workflow and key information. Regular travel required to nurseries and to Kindreds Central Support Office in Kettering. Any other reasonable duties as requested by your line manager. Commercial: Work with nursery managers to ensure their nurseries are delivering on their financial targets for both revenue and cost. Work closely with nursery manager’s to ensure staffing levels are sufficient to provide the highest standards of childcare in line with Kindred’s staffing model and minimum qualified % as per Statutory requirements of Ofsted. Work closely with the Finance, HR, Sales and Marketing, Property and Maintenance teams to deliver forecasts for enquires, conversion, and FTE numbers. Input and provide data and reports to the Director of Childcare and Operations on a monthly basis. Remain accountable for escalation of issues and workflow to other Central Support Teams. Work closely with the finance team to prepare and then deliver on set annual budgets. Support with the integration of new nurseries together with the Head of Operations. Lead on ad-hoc projects based on new initiatives, training requirements, or any other project work that arises. Support other area managers and their nurseries as and when necessary What we can offer you: 50% childcare discount. Car allowance 6 fully paid sick days. Additional day off for your birthday. Reward and recognition schemes including annual awards. Cashback health plan covering dental, opticians, physio and alternative therapies. Free virtual GP appointments and cashback on prescriptions. Employee benefits portal, including 100's of high street discounts. Access to 24 hour counselling support, including financial and debt advice. Discounted gym membership. Qualifications: A relevant childcare qualification for the role (NNEB, NVQ3/Diploma 3) or higher Management qualification, desirable but not essential Hold a valid UK driving license A positive approach to gaining further qualifications and CPD Knowledge & Experience: Minimum of 2 years previous experience in a senior management role within early years, essential Experience in working in a multi-site environment, essential Substantial post qualifying experience of working with children aged 0-5 in an early years setting Experienced in making significant quality improvements within a private day care setting Experience of working within and implementing the EYFS statutory framework Experience of Ofsted inspections or other inspections/legal bodies and their requirements within day care on non-domestic premises Knowledge of child development and meeting children’s needs Safeguarding: Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility, and all employees are required to act in such a way that at all times safeguards the health, safety, and well-being of the children in our nurseries. Familiarisation with, and adherence to our safeguarding and health and safety policies and any associated guidance is an essential requirement of all employees, as is participation in related mandatory/statutory training. NO AGENCIES IND1