Nursery Area Manager

Love Childcare Recruitment; Rishton; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days holiday including bankholidays

Job summary

Love Childcare Recruitment is assisting an independent nursery group in the North West to recruit a Nursery Area Manager responsible for three settings across Lancashire and Greater Manchester. The role is hands-on, with time spent in rooms and strong support for Nursery Managers.

You will champion Ofsted readiness, EYFS quality, safeguarding and staff wellbeing, travelling between sites regularly. The salary is £45-55k depending on experience, with admin support and a clear path to Nominated

Qualifications

• Qualified: Level 3 in Early Years minimum, Level 5 or 6 preferred.
• Experienced leader: Area Manager or multi-site leader, or an exceptional Nursery Manager ready to take the next step.
• Quality-driven: Strong knowledge of EYFS, Ofsted framework and safeguarding with a sharp eye for detail.
• People-focused: A supportive coach who builds trust with managers and practitioners and enjoys being in the rooms.
• Commercially aware: Comfortable working with budgets, accounts, fees and payroll.
• Mobile: Able to travel regularly between settings across Lancashire and Greater Manchester.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic oversight of three settings to ensure Ofsted, HSE, Environmental Health and local authority compliance.
• Conduct weekly inspections of health and safety, EYFS practice, environment and site upkeep.
• Carry out paperwork audits for safeguarding, DBS, training and document display.
• Support Nursery Managers with regular meetings to review quality and set next steps.
• Lead supervision and wellbeing meetings, provide disciplinary support and staffing assistance.
• Spend meaningful time in rooms, modelling best practice and building strong parent partnerships.

Skills

Leadership

People management

Budgeting

Quality focus

Travel readiness

Education

Level 3 in Early Years

Level 5/6 in Early Years (preferred)

Tools

Famly

Job description

Nursery Area Manager in Lancashire and Greater Manchester - Independent Nursery Group

£45-55k (experience dependent)

Location: Lancashire and Greater Manchester, overseeing three nursery settings across the North West

Our client is a small, independently owned nursery group with three well-established settings across Lancashire and Greater Manchester, and early years quality sits at the heart of everything they do. They’re looking for a Nursery Area Manager to oversee all three settings, supporting each Nursery Manager and their team so that every nursery is safe, compliant and a brilliant place for children to learn and grow.

This is a quality-led, people-first role, not a desk job. The successful Area Manager will be in the nurseries regularly, spending real time in the rooms, getting to know the children and practitioners, and seeing what’s working and what could be even better. With admin support in place, their time goes where it matters most. As the group develops, there’s also the opportunity to become the group’s Nominated Individual in the future.

On offer is a salary of £45-55k depending on experience, a close-knit independent group where your voice reaches the owners directly, and a clear future pathway to Nominated Individual.

Working pattern: Full-time, Monday to Friday, with time spent regularly across all three nursery settings.

Key responsibilities:

• Quality and compliance: Provide strategic oversight of all three settings, making sure they meet the requirements of Ofsted, the HSE, Environmental Health, the local authority and any other regulatory body.
• Weekly inspections: Bring a fresh pair of eyes to each nursery, reviewing health and safety, the environment, EYFS practice, the kitchen, and the general upkeep of the site.
• Audits: Carry out paperwork audits against a well-established checklist, covering safeguarding and child protection, safer recruitment, DBS clearances, accident reports, mandatory training and the display of mandatory documents.
• Supporting managers: Act as a sounding board for each Nursery Manager, meeting regularly to review quality and agree clear next steps.
• People: Lead supervisions and wellbeing meetings, offer disciplinary support and support staffing when needed.
• Parents and practice: Champion strong partnerships with parents and spend meaningful time in the rooms modelling great practice.
• Finance and operations: Review monthly and annual accounts, prepare fee and payroll proposals, manage costs and debt, complete the EEF headcount and provide monthly information to the accountant.
• Reporting: Give the owners clear, honest summary feedback and provide calm, practical support during any critical event.
• Systems: Help each team get the most out of Famly.

About you:

• Qualified: Level 3 in Early Years as a minimum, with Level 5 or 6 preferred.
• Experienced leader: An Area Manager or multi-site leader, or an exceptional Nursery Manager ready to take the next step.
• Quality-driven: Strong knowledge of the EYFS, the Ofsted framework and safeguarding, with a sharp eye for detail.
• People-focused: A supportive coach who builds trust with managers and practitioners and genuinely enjoys being in the rooms.
• Commercially aware: Comfortable working with budgets, accounts, fees and payroll.
• Mobile: Able to travel regularly between settings across Lancashire and Greater Manchester.

What’s in it for you:

• A salary of £45-55k depending on experience.
• A Monday to Friday working pattern.
• Dedicated admin support, so the focus stays on quality and people.
• A hands-on role with real time in the rooms.
• Direct access to the owners in a small, independent group where your ideas make a visible difference.
• A future pathway to becoming the group’s Nominated Individual.
• 28 days holiday including bank holidays, with eight of these used when the nurseries close over Easter and Christmas.