Part-Time Childcare Centre Director/Manager | 55-Place Small Centre

Crown Kiddo Education Group Pty Ltd; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 70,000 - 110,000; Part time

Job summary

Crown Kiddo Education is seeking an experienced Part-Time Centre Manager/Director to lead a warm 55‑place long day care in Hillside. The role offers flexible hours and strong leadership support from an Approved Provider, enabling a balanced approach to governance, safety and daily operations.

You may have previously managed larger centres and now desire a more intimate setting with close relationships with children, families and staff, while maintaining your leadership career in early childhood

Qualifications

• Minimum of three years of full-time childcare management experience.
• Experience as a Centre Director, Centre Manager or Nominated Supervisor is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Ensure the centre operates in accordance with the Education and Care Services National Law, National Regulations and National Quality Framework.
• Maintain strong supervision, children's safety, health and wellbeing at all times.
• Conduct regular practical compliance checks and follow through with corrective actions.
• Create a supportive environment by guiding educators to meet professional responsibilities and quality practices.
• Support enrolment enquiries, tours and contribute to occupancy growth.
• Report to the Approved Provider and collaborate with the leadership team to drive continuous improvement.

Job description

Part-Time Childcare Centre Director/Manager | 55-Place Small Centre

Part-Time Centre Director/Manager | 55-Place Small Centre

Crown Kiddo Education

Part-time | 3–5 days per week | Flexible working arrangements

An experienced manager. A warm heart. A beautiful place to work.

Are you an experienced childcare Centre Manager or Centre Director or Nominated Supervisor who loves early childhood education but is looking for a smaller, warmer centre where you can enjoy a better work-life balance?

Perhaps you have spent many years managing a large childcare centre and are now looking for something a little different.

Perhaps you are a mum who still loves your leadership career in early childhood education but would like more flexibility to spend time with your own children and family.

Or perhaps you are currently working as an early education consultant, mentor or industry professional and would love to remain connected to the industry through hands‑on leadership at a small childcare centre having close relationships with children, families and teachers.

If any of this sounds like you, we would love to meet you!

At Crown Kiddo Education, we are looking for an experienced, warm‑hearted and passionate Part‑Time Centre Manager / Centre Director / Nominated Supervisor to join our lovely 55-place long day care centre in Hillside.

We are offering a flexible part‑time leadership opportunity where your experience is genuinely valued, your voice is heard, and you have strong support at the back from an experienced Approved Provider who understands early childhood education and the realities of managing a childcare centre and provides you a platform to continue thrive your leadership skills.

Welcome to our beautiful little childcare family

Crown Kiddo Education is a boutique, 55-place small childcare centre providing a warm, nurturing and home‑like environment for children, families and educators.

At Crown Kiddo Education, we value our educators as the heart and soul of the centre.

We believe our teaching staff are professional educators, not babysitters. We value our educators as our most precious asset, rather than simply numbers filling a room.

We care about our educators' mental health and wellbeing, and our management team is committed to creating a happy, positive and supportive workplace culture where both our children and our educators can have a strong sense of belonging.

We believe a great Centre Director, Nominated Supervisor, Educational Leader should not have to carry every stress alone. Our Approved Provider works closely with our leadership team, provides ongoing professional support, listens to ideas, supports the leadership idea and works collaboratively to find solutions as well as provides consistent PD trainings to our leadership team.

We have 4 educators even travel more than 1 hours one way on road come to work everyday, but they said:

“I do not mind traveling at all, because it is such a happy small family here. We are respected as EDUCATORS not BABYSITTERS”

“There are lots of laughs and giggles with children and my colleagues in the room everyday, this is my dream workplace I was always looking for”

“Everyone is so supportive, management team is so lovely to communicate with at all time, they are patient and love to hear my voice”

“Compared to my mental health, traveling is not a worry to me now, I used to travel close to work, but I did not stay long at the previous center, because I was not happy working there, very mentally stressed, not being respected. I am very energetic everyday now because I am very happy!”

We always hear from our teachers expressing that they feel bonded, supported and appreciated. Our management team focuses on positives, makes responsibilities clear, involves our educators for decisions, participates in high‑quality group professional development to learn and grow together. Our management team provides various opportunities for our educators to improve practicesat the workplace.

The founder of Crown Kiddo Education offers free internal PDtraining to our educatorsregularly whohave early childhood education background at Columbia University and Harvard University in the U.S. and also with a Ph.D. qualification in teachers’ education of Early Childhood Education as well as carrying a role as a senior lecturerand course coordinator of 4 years degree in the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education.

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Part‑Time Centre Manager / Centre Director / Nominated Supervisor who has developed strong practical management skills and who naturally notices the little things that make a big difference to the quality, safety and smooth operation of a childcare centre.

Someone who can walk through a centre, identify potential concerns, support educators to find solutions, and help the team maintain high safety standards in everyday practice.

A Unique Centre Manager Opportunity – Focus on Your Strengths!

Are you an experienced Centre Manager who is passionate about child safety, governance, regulatory compliance and operational excellence? This is a unique opportunity to work alongside another director with strong expertise in educational leadership, curriculum planning, mentoring teachers and educators, school readiness programs and creating inspiring learning environments. With educational leadership well supported, you can focus on what you do best – overseeing daily operations, child safety and supervision, regulatory compliance, governance, incident management, regulatory notifications, staff accountability, parent concerns and complaints, Assessment and Rating readiness, and ensuring policies and procedures are effectively implemented in everyday practice. Enjoy a collaborative leadership environment where responsibilities are shared, your expertise is valued, and you can make a meaningful impact without having to manage every aspect of the centre on your own.

Your key responsibilities will include:

Ensuring the centre operates in accordance with the Education and Care Services National Law, National Regulations and National Quality Framework.Safety operational management.

Regulatory compliance and governance.

Conducting regular practical compliance checks, identifying potential risks and following through on corrective actions.

Maintaining a strong focus on supervision and children’s safety, health, wellbeing and protection at all times.Incident management and regulatory notifications.

Creating clear expectations and supporting educators to understand and fulfil their professional responsibilities.

Supporting the centre's ongoing self‑assessment and preparation for Assessment and Rating and continuous Reviewing, developing and maintaining the Quality Improvement Plan (QIP).

Identifying practical opportunities for improvement across all seven National Quality Areas.

Supporting effective risk management, incident management, record keeping and regulatory readiness.

Monitoring the implementation of service policies and procedures, ensuring they are understood and followed in everyday practice.

Conducting welcoming, informative and engaging centre tours for prospective families.

Supporting enrolment enquiries, follow‑ups and occupancy growth.

Reporting to the Approved Provider.

About you – the lovely leader we are looking for

We are looking for someone with experience, a warm heart and a genuine passion for early childhood education.

You may be an experienced Centre Director, Centre Manager, Nominated Supervisor, Area Manager, Operations Manager or another early childhood professional with strong equivalent management experience.

You do not need to hold a Bachelor degree to apply. We welcome experienced Certificate III and Diploma-qualified professionals, as well as degree-qualified candidates.

For us, your practical leadership experience, professional knowledge, management capability and personality are incredibly important.

Ideally, you will bring:

A minimum of three years' full‑time childcare management experience, or equivalent relevant management experience in the early childhood education and care sector.

Previous experience as a Centre Manager, Centre Director, Nominated Supervisor or in a comparable leadership position.

Strong working knowledge of the National Law, National Regulations, National Quality Framework and all seven National Quality Areas.

Practical experience managing childcare service compliance, governance, policies, procedures and risk management.

Experience with Assessment and Rating, self‑assessment and Quality Improvement Plans.

Strong knowledge of child safety, child protection and effective supervision requirements.

Excellent organisational, multitasking, time‑management and documentation skills.

Strong attention to detail and the ability to identify potential issues before they become bigger problems.

The ability to lead, mentor and support educators in a positive, respectful and constructive way.

Excellent communication skills and the ability to build trusting relationships with children, families and educators.

Confidence in conducting centre tours, building relationships with prospective families and supporting enrolment growth.

Flexible arrangements for experienced industry professionals

We understand that everyone is at a different stage of their career and life.

You might be an experienced Centre Director returning to work after raising your children.

You might be looking to reduce your working hours after years of full‑time management.

You might currently be working as an early childhood consultant or mentor and wish to maintain your direct, hands‑on experience within the childcare industry.

Or you might simply be ready to leave a large, busy service and join a smaller centre where you can build meaningful relationships and enjoy your work again.

We are open to discussing flexible working days and hours, including arrangements that accommodate your family commitments or other professional responsibilities, provided we can establish a consistent and effective leadership arrangement for the centre.

Does this sound like the workplace you have been looking for?

Crown Kiddo Education is committed to an inclusive workforce. We warmly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and individuals from all backgrounds who share our commitment to high-quality, child-safe early childhood education and care.

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Your application will include the following questions:

• Do you have a current Working With Children (WWC) Check?
• How many years' experience do you have as an Early Childhood Centre Manager?
• How many years' experience do you have as a Nominated Supervisor?

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