Early Years and Childcare Manager Sufficiency

The Methodist Church in Britain; East Midlands; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Laptop

Hybrid work

Flexible hours

Job summary

Leicester City Council is seeking a strategic Lead in the Early Education Development team to oversee sufficiency, sustainability and business support for the sector, including annual sufficiency assessments and market position statements. The role works alongside the Head of Early Years and Childcare to drive policy implementation and engagement with providers.

The post requires strong leadership, data skills and the ability to manage complex programmes, with occasional out-of-hours activity

Qualifications

• Significant experience of the early years and childcare sector.
• Experience of managing national initiatives and programmes.
• Experience of managing people.
• Excellent communication and collaboration across services and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead the council's statutory duty to ensure sufficient high-quality early education and childcare.
• Ensure the annual childcare sufficiency assessment is undertaken and published.
• Lead interim market position statements and report key information to senior leaders.
• Engage childcare providers and stakeholders to shape the market in response to need.
• Manage a small team of Early Education Development Officers.
• Lead team meetings and provide one-to-one supervision for staff.
• Lead sufficiency, sustainability and business support for the sector.
• Respond to Department for Education policy and programmes affecting the sector.
• Lead multiple complex work programmes and manage and deploy resources efficiently.
• Make occasional visits to early years and childcare providers.
• Attend events occasionally outside normal office hours.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Data analytics

Financial management

Team leadership

Policy interpretation

Job description

This is a strategic lead post in the Early Education Development team at Leicester City Council, working alongside the Head of Early Years and Childcare. It covers sufficiency, sustainability and business support across the sector, including the annual sufficiency assessment and interim market position statements for senior leaders.

What the job involves

• Lead the council's statutory duty to ensure sufficient high-quality early education and childcare
• Ensure the annual childcare sufficiency assessment is undertaken and published
• Lead interim market position statements and report key information to senior leaders
• Engage childcare providers and stakeholders to shape the market in response to need
• Manage a small team of Early Education Development Officers
• Lead team meetings and provide one-to-one supervision for staff
• Lead sufficiency, sustainability and business support for the sector
• Respond to Department for Education policy and programmes affecting the sector
• Lead multiple complex work programmes and manage and deploy resources efficiently
• Make occasional visits to early years and childcare providers
• Attend events occasionally outside normal office hours

Experience

• Significant experience of the early years and childcare sector
• Sound knowledge of the early years and childcare sector
• Experience of managing national initiatives and programmes
• Experience of managing people

Skills & knowledge

• Excellent communication skills to build and maintain provider relationships
• Ability to work collaboratively across services and stakeholders
• Strong analytical data skills
• Strong finance skills
• Ability to lead multiple complex work programmes

What’s offered

• Laptop provided for remote and agile working
• Hybrid working between home and office
• Flexible hours within service demands