Area Nursery Manager in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Early Years Area Manager

Location: South East/Kent

Salary: £50,000–£55,000 + £5,000 car allowance

Job Type: Permanent, Full-Time

We are seeking an experienced Early Years Area Manager to oversee 4-6 sites, providing strong operational, commercial and quality leadership across the South East and Kent.

This is a key leadership role, responsible for ensuring high standards of childcare and education while driving regulatory compliance, team performance and commercial success across the area.

The Role

You will work closely with Early Years Managers, supporting them to deliver excellent outcomes across their settings. Your responsibilities will include:

• Providing leadership and support to Early Years Managers.
• Ensuring compliance with EYFS, Ofsted, safeguarding and safer recruitment requirements.
• Conducting regular quality audits and driving continuous improvement.
• Supporting settings through Ofsted inspections and improvement plans.
• Taking responsibility for P&L, budgets, occupancy, fee income and cost management.
• Analysing KPIs and implementing action plans to improve operational performance.
• Leading workforce planning, succession and management development.
• Managing performance and employee relations matters effectively.
• Supporting local marketing initiatives to increase registrations.
• Ensuring strong health, safety and compliance standards across all sites.

About You

You will be an experienced Early Years leader with a strong understanding of EYFS, Ofsted and safeguarding, combined with commercial and operational management experience.

You will have:

• Experience managing multiple Early Years settings or geographically dispersed teams.
• Strong knowledge of Ofsted inspection frameworks and regulatory requirements.
• A Level 3 or above full and relevant Early Years qualification.
• Experience managing budgets, P&L and commercial KPIs such as occupancy.
• Proven ability to lead, mentor and develop managers.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
• A proactive, commercially aware and solutions-focused approach.
• A clean UK driving licence.

What's on Offer

• £50,000–£55,000 salary
• £5,000 car allowance
• Permanent, full-time position
• Responsibility for 4-6 sites
• Opportunity to drive quality, operational and commercial performance