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Position: Divisional Operations Manager

Salary: £doe per annum (dependent on qualification/s and experience) plus car allowance

Hours: Fixed Term Contract / Full Time / 40 hours / Field based role

Location: London (South, South-West and North-West)

Bright Horizons are currently recruiting for an exciting new position of Divisional Operations Manager to cover many of our London-based settings (mainly South, South-West and North-West London).

Closing Date: 25th July 2025

Purpose of Role:

The Divisional Operations Manager will be required to work across a division supporting the Regional Directors strategically to support Quality, People and Growth. This role will be required to travel to locations across the business and must be prepared to spend time away from home whenever the need arises. Inspiring, and engaging their team across the region to deliver exceptional care and education whilst also being responsible for growth, parent, and client satisfaction. The Divisional Operations Manager may be required to be the designated Safeguarding Lead DSL in the nursery in which they are supporting, be responsible for all operational and regulatory aspects, and create a vision and implementation plan which is understood and embraced by the whole team. Short-term turnaround assignments to improve performance or an assignment to manage the nursery whilst a permanent Manager is being recruited. This role will be responsible for the induction of a new manager or managers if this is a requirement of the assignment. The role requires leading change internally and role modelling leadership behaviour in line our HEART principles, delivering or exceeding all key performance indicators and business results. Working closely with the Regional Director, Early Childhood Specialist, HR Business Partner, Finance Business Partner and Marketing and other key stakeholders to manage the execution of service delivery in line with regulatory, customer, client, and employee expectations. Aswell as working with Finance to monitor the commercial performance, managing the budgets of the nursery or group of nurseries The Divisional Operations Manager has the overall responsibility for developing staff teams to achieve consistently high levels of performance within the nursery or group of nurseries they are working with. All processes including Safeguarding, health and safety and child protection must comply with the Bright Horizons policies ensuring accurate and up to date systems and records are always maintained.

The role will also work in partnership with the Early Childhood Specialists and Early Childhood Advisors to drive continuous improvement and embed inspirational early years pedagogy of the highest standard to deliver regulatory compliance and better than National Average inspection outcomes in the UK.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

• To work alongside new Nursery Managers where appropriate to support their Induction Programme.
• Working with HR ensure the nurseries or group of nurseries they are working with are fully recruited with suitable qualified people, encouraging a diverse workforce, who are comprehensively inducted, trained and supported; the workforce plans are in line with occupancy, and all nursery teams are fully compliant with their regulatory training, company induction and , creating and sustaining high performing teams with excellent succession pipelines.
• Lead and role model best practice and high standards of behaviour with the staff team or teams, deliver relevant training to practitioners, and continually reflect on practice to identify and drive continuous improvement to deliver high quality care and education for all children and staff
• Provide exceptional organisational leadership – promote HEART culture, values, and behaviours, to drive improvement in customer and client satisfaction and employee engagement, retention and performance in the nursery or group of nurseries they are working with, making a positive contribution to service excellence
• Drive the implementation and review of the Quality, People and Growth turnaround action plans across the nursery or group of nurseries they are working with to ensure alignment with company strategic objectives and improve performance.
• Ensure all routine practices, procedures and policies are implemented securely and consistently across the nursery settings.
• In line with Bright Horizons UK standards for pedagogy, implement the Bright Beginnings, Bright Horizons curriculum to ensure a child-centred approach to operating all aspects of the nursery, and ensure the observation and planning process meets the needs of all children in line with the Quality Assurance Framework
• Implement and manage Keeping Everyone Safe policies and procedures and continuously demonstrate, monitor, and improve the practices and behaviours that underpin a high performing safety culture
• To be the Designated Safeguarding Lead at the nursery and hold overall responsibility for the day-to-day management of safeguarding and child protection policies in the nursery
• Lead by example and drive the culture of Safeguarding Children and promoting professional staff behavior
• In collaboration with HR and RD, complete effective annual appraisals, and development plans for all nursery employees
• Working with HR, identify succession plans for the nursery teams to create and continuously develop a pipeline of high performing practitioners and room leaders, building strong talent pools to grow and nurture in house talent.
• Working with the RD, Finance and Marketing, identify and implement commercial plans and strategies to deliver FTE growth in the nursery or group of nurseries they are working with optimising revenue generation, cost efficiency to deliver and exceed annual nursery budgeted EBITDA
• Proactively engage with the local authorities to understand the local offer available to support the practice in all areas of the nursery or nurseries they are working with.
• Actively promote and support charities including the Bright Horizons Foundation for children
  
  

• Support, plan, manage and account for the monthly performance and comparison to the Nursery or group of nurseries they are working within budget, demonstrating a clear understanding of efficient staff deployment, matching staff hours to FTE bookings, and managing the rostering in line with regulatory standards.
• Implement strong and effective performance management and monitoring processes, with the ability to demonstrate impact and show improvements in performance leading to the highest quality provision as set out in the Quality Assurance Framework to improve inspection ratings, full regulatory compliance, high levels of customer, employee satisfaction and growth
• Develop the required capability and efficiency of the nursery teams to consistently deliver the required standards of performance and achievement of Nursery targets
• Undertake regular 121/supervision meetings with managers and staff to plan and provide suitable professional development activities and opportunities for personal growth.
• Take responsibility for own personal and professional development, accessing early years best practice and improvement activities
• Delivery of highest quality Early Childhood practice and experiences for all children in the setting, including those with Special Educational Needs and/or Disability, promoting emotional wellbeing by embedding the Bright Horizons early years curriculum.
  
  

• Proven experience of working in multiple (various size and scale) early years education settings with successful track record of delivering ‘Good or Outstanding’ regulatory inspection outcomes
• Demonstrable track record of driving high performance
• Strong decision-maker, with the proven ability to drive change and transform performance
• A full understanding of the complexities of managing business/commerce and service excellence outcomes within regulated settings
• Experience of developing high performing teams, with a consistent successful record of supporting effective regulatory compliance, quality improvement, delivering high quality pedagogy, innovation, and service excellence
• Experience of providing support and leadership to a staff team to ensure high performance and regulatory compliance
• Experience of budget preparation, efficient staff deployment and rostering programmes, and managing commercial performance and reporting metrics
• Knowledge of Local Authority and Regulatory requirements and inspection processes across the UK
  
  

• Full and relevant level 3 qualification (essential)
• 12 hours paediatric first aid and first aid at work (essential)
• Relevant safeguarding/child protection training undertaken and a willingness to update training regularly (essential)
• Evidence of continuous professional development
• Undergraduate or Foundation Degree in Early Childhood Studies or another relevant subject (Desirable)
• EYPP/EYTT or QTS post graduate status (Desirable)
• Full, clean driving licence and flexibility to travel to locations across England, Scotland, and Wales (Essential)
  
  

Seniority level

• Seniority level

  Director

Employment type

• Employment type

  Full-time

Job function

• Job function

  Management and Manufacturing

• Industries

  Education Administration Programs

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