Early Years Education Lead

THRIVE AT FIVE; Tees Valley; Hybrid; GBP 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A community-focused early years organization seeks an experienced professional to enhance child development in local settings. This position involves working with schools and early years settings to create sustainable support models. Applicants should have a teaching qualification, experience with nursery-aged children, and strong relationship-building skills. Offering a salary of circa £50,000 with benefits including pension contributions and generous leave.

Benefits

Pension contributions

25 annual leave days plus bank holidays

Home-working set up contribution

Professional body membership contribution

Enhanced sick leave and maternity pay

Qualifications

• Must demonstrate a teaching qualification preferably in Early Years.
• Experience working with or managing reception year and nursery aged children is essential.
• Ability to work confidently in educational settings and build effective relationships.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with key stakeholders to improve outcomes for children.
• Support implementation and evaluation of educational workstreams.
• Communicate Thrive at Five’s vision to external stakeholders.

Skills

Teaching qualification in Early Years

Experience with reception year and nursery aged children

Building relationships with stakeholders

Knowledge of early years development

High levels of empathy and care

Education

Teaching qualification

Job description

We have an exciting opportunity for someone experienced in working with local early years and school settings to ensure that the potential for children to reach a good level of development is maximised to join our team in this newly created role.

Location

This role is community-based in the Central and Newport wards of Middlesbrough, with some ability to work from home as agreed with your manager. There may also be occasional travel to other programme sites (currently Stoke-on-Trent and Scotland) or travel to our London office.

Salary

Circa £50,000

Employment Type

Permanent, 35 hours per week

Team

Redcar & Middlesbrough Programme team

About you

We are looking for someone who is able to demonstrate the following:

• A teaching qualification preferably in Early Years.
• Experience working with or managing reception year and nursery aged children.
• Ability to work confidently in schools and early years settings and build effective relationships with stakeholders within early years settings in our target wards.
• Sound knowledge of early years development and the frameworks that support it.
• High levels of empathy, passion and care for those in the community.

About the role

This role is designed to bring capacity, expertise and additional resources to co‑design with stakeholders in the education system interventions and support that help children to reach a good level of development. This role will do this by:

• Working in partnership with key stakeholders within early years settings to codesign sustainable workstreams which support better outcomes for children.
• Work in collaboration with key stakeholders to support high quality implementation and evaluation of workstreams.
• Work with key external stakeholders to create understanding of Thrive at Five’s vision, model and workstreams.
• Work in collaboration with the Director of Programmes, Redcar & Middlesbrough and our Central team to ensure strategy, implementation and evaluation plans are developed for all workstreams.

About us

Thrive at Five is at an exciting stage, coming up to their 5th birthday. We have grown rapidly over that time and are now expanding into our third and fourth regions, with a growing team of nearly 40 across the country.

Our mission is to help children develop strong foundations for life and learning, in and alongside communities where families face the most challenges.

We do this in two key ways: we empower parents and carers as primary influencers of child development, equipping them with the tools and support they need to be the best they can be for their children. We also foster collaboration across public, private and voluntary sectors to create a more joined‑up, effective early years system. Everything we do is in partnership with the whole community, including senior decision makers, local professionals working with families, parents and carers.

About our benefits

• Pension contributions – We will contribute 3% and you can contribute 5% towards your pension through NEST.
• 25 annual leave days per year plus bank holidays.
• In addition to your laptop and phone provided by us, you can also receive a £100 contribution towards your home‑working set up.
• £100 contribution towards your professional body membership.
• Enhanced sick leave and maternity pay (following qualifying period)

Please note that as this role works with children and families this role is subject to a successful Enhanced Level Disclosure check with barred list check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). If you have any spent or unspent convictions, warnings or cautions and bind‑overs but wish to apply for this role, please advise us in your application. The successful candidate will also need to provide satisfactory references and current right to work in the UK.

To apply for this role, please submit your cover letter and CV by following the Apply Now button. Closing date for applications is midnight on Thursday 22nd January 2026.

If you have any questions about this role, please contact [e-mail].