Operations Support Lead

Busy Bees Australia Employer Pty Ltd; Canberra, Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Busy Bees Australia Employer Pty Ltd is seeking an experienced Operations Support Lead to help integrate services across ACT and NSW. The role is fixed-term, full-time (4 months) with regular travel and reports to the State Manager.

You will partner with senior leaders to ensure safeguarding, compliance and operational readiness, delivering smooth transitions while coaching teams for sustainable improvement. This is a hands-on leadership position in a supportive, child-centered organisation.

Qualifications

• Commitment to child safety and Busy Bees values.
• Experience in operational leadership, quality assurance, compliance, safeguarding or performance improvement.
• Strong governance, risk management and continuous improvement.
• Experience coaching leaders and influencing outcomes without direct authority.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication and reporting.
• Willingness to travel across ACT and NSW.

Responsibilities

• Partner with State Managers, Area Directors and Centre Directors to support the transition of services into Busy Bees operating model.
• Conduct readiness and assurance visits to assess performance, safeguarding and transition progress.
• Coach leaders to strengthen practice consistency, operational excellence and improvement.
• Identify and escalate operational, workforce and transition risks with improvement plans.
• Prepare reports that show safeguarding outcomes, readiness and progress.

Skills

Operational leadership

Quality assurance

Compliance

Safeguarding

Stakeholder engagement

Travel readiness

Job description

Busy Bees is a leading global, early learning provider, offering high-quality education in nurturing, purpose-built centres where educators are supported to grow, lead and make a real difference in childrens lives, with over 130 centres across Australia and around 3,000 employees. Bee Safe: 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 Operations Support Lead to support the successful integration of services into the Busy Bees network across ACT and NSW. Reporting to the State Manager, you'll play a critical role in delivering the State transition plan by partnering with operational leaders to strengthen operational readiness, safeguard children, support teams and families through change, and ensure services transition safely and successfully. This role is based in ACT / NSW on a fixed-term, full-time (4-month) basis and requires regular travel to services.

What you’ll do

• Partner with State Managers, Area Directors and Centre Directors to support the successful transition of services into the Busy Bees operating model.
• Conduct structured readiness and assurance visits to assess operational performance, safeguarding, compliance and transition progress.
• Coach and support operational leaders to strengthen practice consistency, operational excellence and sustainable improvement.
• Identify, monitor and escal operational, workforce and transition risks while supporting practical improvement plans.
• Prepare clear reports and insights that provide visibility of safeguarding outcomes, operational readiness, compliance and transition progress.

What you’ll bring

• A genuine commitment to child safety and wellbeing & alignment to our Busy Bees values.
• Experience in operational leadership, quality assurance, compliance, safeguarding or performance improvement.
• Strong understanding of operational governance, risk management and continuous improvement.
• Experience coaching leaders and influencing outcomes without direct authority.
• Excellent stakeholder engagement, communication and reporting skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively across ACT and NSW throughout the contract.

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. Play a key role in one of Busy Bees' most significant transition programs, partnering with operational leaders to strengthen safeguarding, compliance and operational excellence. Global & national opportunities; connect with leaders across Australia and apply for our Global Talent Exchange Program (UK, Canada and Asia). Stability with heart; a global organisation with a local feel, where child safety, wellbeing and quality are never compromised. Supportive leaders & inclusive teams; hands-on leadership, strong tenure and a culture built on trust, respect and collaboration.

Employment conditions and safety

Employment is conditional on satisfactory, rigorous pre-employment checks (including WWCC, ID, Qualifications, Gecko Training, Work Rights & References) and child safety training, reflecting our strong commitment to safeguarding, equity, diversity and inclusion. We are proud to be a child safe organisation, putting child safety at the heart of everything we do through our Triple Layer Child Safety Framework: trusted, trained and caring people, safe, supervised and supportive environments, and clear, consistent and transparent processes.

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.