Area Director

Busy Bees Australia Employer Pty Ltd; Central Coast Council; Hybrid; AUD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company vehicle

Mobile phone

Childcare discounts

First Aid training

Professional development

EAP access

Job summary

Busy Bees Australia Employer Pty Ltd is seeking an Area Director to lead a NSW portfolio of nine early learning centres, delivering high-quality, compliant and financially sustainable services. You will coach Centre Directors, partner with central teams and build strong community relationships to support enrolments and growth.

The role requires proven multi-site leadership in a regulated environment, strong commercial capability across budgets and occupancy, and a deep commitment to child safety

Qualifications

• Strong commitment to child safety, wellbeing and quality outcomes.
• Proven multi-site leadership experience in a regulated environment.
• Excellent financial and operational acumen across budgets, occupancy and performance.
• Ability to coach, develop and manage Centre Directors and leaders.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and support a portfolio of nine Centres to deliver high-quality, compliant, financially sustainable services.
• Drive occupancy, workforce planning, budgets and key business metrics.
• Embed governance, child safety practices and quality assurance.
• Develop Centre Director teams through coaching and performance management.
• Partner with People & Culture and central teams to build capability and culture.
• Strengthen community and stakeholder relationships to support growth and enrolments.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement across your portfolio.

Skills

Multi-site leadership

Strategic & commercial acumen

Budgeting & forecasting

People development & coaching

Stakeholder management & communication

Calm, solutions-focused leadership

Education

Tertiary qualification in Early Childhood, Education, Business or related discipline

Job description

Area Director | NSW – Central Coast & Hunter Region

Busy Bees is a leading global early learning provider, offering high-quality education in nurturing, purpose-built centres where leaders are supported to grow, lead and make a real difference in children’s lives, with over 130 centres across Australia and around 3,000 employees.

Our Bee Safe Commitment: Child safety is at the heart of everything we do and is embedded in our people, places and processes. Help us give every child the Best Start in Life.

We’re seeking an experienced and commercially minded Area Director to lead a portfolio of early learning centres across the Newcastle and Central Coast region of NSW. This is a senior leadership role with real autonomy and influence, driving quality, compliance, people and performance while developing strong Centre Director teams.

What you’ll do

• Lead, coach and support a portfolio of 9 Centres to deliver high-quality, compliant and financially sustainable services.
• Drive performance across occupancy, workforce, budgets and key business metrics.
• Embed strong compliance, governance and child safety practices.
• Develop high-performing Centre Director teams through coaching and performance management.
• Partner with People & Culture and central support teams to drive capability and culture.
• Build strong community and stakeholder relationships to support growth and enrolments.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement across your portfolio.

What you’ll bring

• Genuine commitment to child safety, wellbeing and quality outcomes.
• Proven multi-site leadership experience, ideally within early learning or another regulated environment.
• Strong commercial capability across budgets, forecasting, occupancy and performance.
• Demonstrated ability to coach, develop and manage leaders.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Calm, confident and solutions-focused leadership style.
• Relevant tertiary qualification in Early Childhood, Education, Business or a related discipline.
• Current NSW Working with Children Check and driver's licence.

Why Busy Bees?

Because we offer the B.E.E.S. advantage: Better pay. Everyday balance. Education for growth. Support you can rely on. We live by our values of Care, Quality, Service, and Value to make a real impact on child safety and quality. The opportunity to make a meaningful impact across your portfolio of services and shape centre performance, leadership capability and growth across the region.

Benefits

• 50% childcare gap-fee discounts for permanent staff, because your family should benefit too.
• First Aid, CPR & mandatory training covered, ongoing professional development, and access to our Busy Bees learning platform and ACCCO RTO pathways.
• A supportive executive and peer leadership network, hands-on leadership, strong tenure and a culture built on trust, respect and collaboration.
• Opportunities to develop your leadership career across operations, management and senior leadership roles.
• Company vehicle and mobile phone provided to support you in travelling across and managing your portfolio.
• Free, confidential EAP access for you and your immediate family, when you need it most.

Employment is conditional on satisfactory, rigorous pre-employment checks (including WWCC, ID, Qualifications, Gecko Training, Work Rights, NQAITS register/Prohibited Persons & References) and child safety training, reflecting our strong commitment to safeguarding, equity, diversity and inclusion.

We are proud to be a child safe organisation, with clear, consistent and transparent processes that place children at the centre of everything we do through our Bee Safe commitment.

Why Work for Busy Bees?

If you’re passionate about early learning, Busy Bees is the place to be. Although we are part of a global organisation, our company was founded by three families looking for better, more enriching childcare. Three decades later, we still keep the same values at heart. We know that we couldn’t do what we do without the important people in our teams. We invest in our people and work with them to build career pathways that inspire. Whether you're embarking on the exciting journey of your early educational career or striving to advance to the next level, Busy Bees presents an ideal opportunity for you! We're actively searching for enthusiastic and dedicated individuals who possess an authentic passion for Early Childhood Education and the well-being of children, to fill a variety of roles across our Services and Support Office.

Early Childhood Education attracts a special type of person. You might possess creativity, nurturance, a focus on tasks, or a knack for problem-solving. However, at its core, your affinity for Early Childhood Education arises from a profound devotion to nurturing the educational growth of the youngest members within our communities. This resonates deeply with us, as our mission is to give every child the best start in life.

We are driven to gather people who care deeply about quality and we empower people to bring their unique gifts and talents together for the benefit of our children. We value each member of our team and know that by supporting you in your journey you’ll be the positive and supportive influence in theirs.