Area Manager

Raphael Nursery; Greater London; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent salaries

75% childcare discount

Bi-Annual Bonus Scheme

23 days annual leave plus holidays to

Sick Pay

Company Pension

Free lunches

Fully funded training

Employee assistance programme and Well

Career progression

Job summary

Raphael Nursery is seeking an inspirational Nursery Area Manager to lead a growing group of settings in Greater London. You will empower Nursery Managers, coach teams, and drive outstanding early years education while safeguarding compliance and strong financial performance.

With a focus on people development, you will shape culture, support recruitment and development, and contribute to strategic expansion opportunities within the business.

Qualifications

• Proven leadership of nursery teams
• Experience coaching managers and staff
• Strong knowledge of EYFS, Ofsted and safeguarding
• Excellent stakeholder and relationship building

Responsibilities

• Provide operational leadership across multiple nurseries
• Ensure compliance with Ofsted/EYFS and safeguarding
• Drive financial performance and occupancy targets
• Coach Nursery Managers for high-quality childcare and education
• Support recruitment, induction and succession planning
• Lead quality assurance visits and continuous improvement

Skills

Leadership

People management

Coaching

Budgeting

Health & safety

Education

Level 3 EY/Childcare

Job description

We're looking for an inspiring Nursery Area Manager to join our growing, family-owned nursery group.

At Raphael Nursery, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We create a warm, supportive and inspiring environment where our teams feel valued, have fun, are encouraged to be creative and can thrive. We know that when our people flourish, so do the children and families we care for.

As we continue to grow, we're looking for a strong, empathetic leader who is passionate about developing others. This role is about more than managing—it's about leading, coaching and supporting Nursery Managers to build confident, high-performing teams. You'll genuinely care about helping others reach their potential while continuing to grow your own career.

We're committed to investing in our people through excellent training, clear career progression and a fantastic bonus scheme paid twice a year. With exciting expansion plans ahead, there is real opportunity to develop with us, with the potential to progress into senior leadership as the business grows.

If you're ready to make a real impact and grow with a business that puts people first, we'd love to hear from you.

• Excellent salaries
• Childcare discount of 75%
• Bi-Annual Bonus Scheme
• 23 days annual leave, plus birthday and bank holidays this goes up to 36 days annual leave (including bank holidays) from your first year and increasing to 40 days with bank holidays
• Sick Pay
• Company Pension
• Free lunches
• Support for higher level qualifications and fully funded training
• Employee assistance programme and wellbeing support
• Support for career progression

We are growing and we’d love for you to join us on our journey! At Raphael Nursery we value diversity, integrity, and care, and we want our children, staff and community to feel that “joie de vivre”.

Job Purpose

The Nursery Area Manager is responsible for the operational leadership, safeguarding and quality assurance, and commercial performance of a group of nursery settings. The role ensures that each nursery delivers outstanding early years education and care, complies with all regulatory requirements, achieves financial targets, and provides a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment for children, families, and staff.

Key Responsibilities:

Leadership and People Management

• Lead, coach, and support Nursery Managers to achieve high standards of performance.
• Conduct regular supervision meetings and performance reviews.
• Identify training and development needs and encourage professional growth.
• Support recruitment, induction, retention, and succession planning.
• Foster a positive, inclusive, and high-performing culture.

Operational Management

• Oversee the day-to-day operations of multiple nursery settings.
• Ensure all nurseries operate in accordance with company policies, procedures, and relevant legislation.
• Monitor nursery performance against key operational and financial targets.
• Support Nursery Managers in delivering high-quality childcare and education.
• Support nursery managers with employee management.

Quality, Compliance & Safeguarding

• Ensure all nurseries remain fully compliant with Ofsted, EYFS, and safeguarding requirements.
• Coach and train managers to be ready for Ofsted inspections.
• Lead quality assurance visits and drive continuous improvement.
• Oversee safeguarding practices, policy reviews, and ensure a strong safeguarding culture across all settings.
• Monitor compliance with health and safety legislation and risk assessments.
• Ensure incidents are appropriately investigated and reported.
• Monitor nursery budgets, occupancy levels, and profitability.
• Analyse financial reports and implement strategies to improve performance.
• Support cost control while maintaining high standards of care.

Business Development

• Support new nursery openings, acquisitions, or improvement projects where required.
• Identify opportunities to increase occupancy and enhance service delivery.
• Work collaboratively with senior leadership to achieve organisational objectives.
• Minimum 2–3 years' experience as an Area Manager within the Early Years sector.
• Previous experience as a successful Nursery Manager.
• Experience of successfully leading at least one Ofsted inspection, achieving a minimum rating of 'Good'.
• Level 3 qualification in Early Years Education or Childcare (minimum).
• Strong knowledge of EYFS, Ofsted, and safeguarding requirements.
• Excellent leadership, coaching, and organisational skills.
• Ability to work independently while building strong relationships with managers and teams.
• Passion for being present in nurseries and supporting operational excellence.
• Confident using technology to improve systems and processes.
• Ambition and potential to progress into a future Chief Operating Officer (COO) role.

Key Success Measures

• Outstanding Ofsted outcomes.
• High-quality learning and child development.
• High parent satisfaction.
• Strong occupancy across all nurseries.
• High staff engagement, retention, and leadership development.