Operations Director

Kids Planet Day Nurseries; England; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading nursery provider in the UK seeks an Operations Director to oversee high standards in childcare. This role is integral to ensuring safety, compliance, and quality operational practices across nurseries. The ideal candidate will showcase strong managerial skills and deep knowledge of early years delivery. Benefits include a supportive team environment and a comprehensive benefits package, with opportunities for professional growth.

Benefits

80% Childcare Discount

Free breakfast, lunches, and snacks

Enhanced maternity and paternity leave

Dedicated wellbeing package

Life insurance cover

A day off for your birthday

Accredited training opportunities

Qualifications

• Strong leadership skills with experience in childcare.
• Expertise in early years governance and compliance practices.
• Proven ability to manage and support teams effectively.

Responsibilities

• Lead operational excellence across nurseries.
• Ensure quality practice and compliance.
• Monitor KPIs for performance improvements.
• Oversee safeguarding practices across the organization.
• Champion family experience and reputation.

Skills

Strong leadership and people management

Deep operational understanding of early years delivery

Strong safeguarding knowledge and governance capability

Ability to analyse risk and make informed, timely decisions

High emotional intelligence

Strong project management

Ability to interpret data

Collaboration across multiple teams

Resilient and highly organised

Job description

Operations Director Job Description

Application deadline: 2nd January 2026

Purpose of the Role

The Operations Director provides senior operational leadership and strategic oversight across a defined portfolio, ensuring consistent high-quality delivery, strong regulatory compliance, and excellent outcomes for children and families. This role strengthens Kids Planet's national operational capability as the organisation continues to scale, ensuring clear governance, aligned practice, and sustained improvement across all nurseries.

The role works closely with Childcare Directors, Area Managers, Risk & Compliance Team, Training and Integrations Director, EYAs, and Internal Training to provide cohesive, operationally driven leadership.

Key Responsibilities

1. Operational Leadership & Performance

• Lead operational excellence across the group through strong line management of Childcare Directors.
• Drive performance improvements linked to occupancy, staffing stability, family experience, and commercial KPIs.
• Ensure settings consistently deliver the Kids Planet operational model and values.
• Provide the right level of support and challenge to settings, ensuring concerns are escalated and addressed quickly.
• Monitor KPIs (occupancy, staffing, compliance, financials, parent satisfaction) and drive action where risks emerge.

2. Quality, Practice & Continuous Improvement

• Ensure consistent implementation of the Framework for Excellence, pedagogy, curriculum, and leadership expectations.
• Work collaboratively with the Early Years and Specialist teams to embed practice and strengthen weaker or newly acquired settings.
• Support QIV cycles, internal audits, and action planning, ensuring improvements are sustained.
• Promote a culture of reflective practice, high expectations, and continuous improvement.

3. Safeguarding, Risk & Compliance

• Ensure effective oversight and governance of safeguarding practices, DSL development, and compliance frameworks across all nurseries.
• Provide senior operational leadership on safeguarding expectations, culture, and organisational standards.
• Monitor, audit, and review safeguarding and compliance systems to ensure ongoing inspection readiness and regulatory compliance.
• Provide high-level advice, escalation support, and operational decision-making in safeguarding matters.
• Liaise with external agencies (Ofsted, LADO, Local Authorities, etc.) where required, ensuring clear communication and accountability.
• Oversee risk management processes, ensuring that mitigation plans are effective, embedded, and followed through.
• Ensure learning from incidents, audits, and QIVs is translated into practice improvements across settings.
• Coordinate and maintain the Operational Safeguarding Risk Register (To be introduced), escalating risks appropriately to SLT and ensuring site-level actions are implemented.

4. Safeguarding Project Ownership

• Lead the implementation and rollout of Safeguarding Systems across the organisation, ensuring clear project governance, timelines, training, and adoption.
• Oversee data standards, user access, and integration into safeguarding and compliance reporting systems.

5. People Leadership & Workforce Stability

• Provide strong, values-led leadership to Childcare Directors, ensuring clarity, accountability, and professional development.
• Oversee workforce planning, including staffing pipelines, leadership succession, and stability strategies.
• Support the People Team to embed safer recruitment, consistent induction, and best‑practice employee compliance.
• Ensure managers receive high-quality coaching and support to lead effective teams.

6. Acquisitions, Integrations & Growth

• Work with the Training and Integrations Teams to ensure new nurseries experience a structured and high-quality onboarding.
• Lead the operational oversight of the integration plan in partnership with Integrations Manager, ensuring compliance resets, system adoption, and cultural alignment.
• Support due diligence with operational insight into risks, people structures, quality, and readiness.

7. Compliance, Audit & Regulatory Readiness

• Ensure settings maintain regulatory compliance and always remain inspection‑ready.
• Oversee follow‑up actions from internal audits, QIVs, safeguarding reviews, and H&S assessments.
• Ensure consistent policy implementation and adapt practice in response to sector or regulatory changes (e.g. Ofsted framework updates).
• Lead operational responses to regulatory enforcement, ensuring robust action planning and sustained improvement.

8. Family Experience & Reputation

• Champion excellence in parent partnership, communication, and overall family experience.
• Oversee show‑round conversion, complaints handling, and reputation management.
• Work with Marketing on local activation, occupancy growth, and site‑level brand visibility.

Skills & Competencies

• Strong leadership and people management
• Deep operational understanding of early years delivery
• Strong safeguarding knowledge and governance capability
• Ability to analyse risk and make informed, timely decisions
• High emotional intelligence and ability to lead through complexity
• Strong project management (especially for CPOMS rollout)
• Ability to interpret data, spot patterns, and act decisively
• Collaboration across multiple central and operational teams
• Resilient, solution‑focused, and highly organised

Reporting Lines

• Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
• Line manages: Childcare Directors, and may have project responsibility for cross‑functional teams
• Works closely with: Training & Integrations Director, EY Teams, Internal Training, Risk & Compliance, People, Marketing, Estates, Finance, Tech & Data teams

KPIs / Success Measures

• Strong and improving safeguarding culture across all settings
• Consistent operational performance and inspection outcomes
• Reduced safeguarding/compliance themes due to early operational intervention
• Clear governance and management of risk
• High staff retention and leadership capability
• Occupancy and family experience improvements across portfolio
  

Why become an Operations Director with Kids Planet?

• A supportive, friendly team.
• Great Benefits Package
• Fast paced growing business with lots of scope for progression
• Great Place to Work Certified 2025/26
• Ranked UK Best Workplaces for Women 2025
• Crowned NMT's Large Nursery Group of the Year, for the second‑year running
• 80% Childcare Discount - T&cs apply.

What's in it for you?

• Free breakfast, lunches and healthy snacks including fresh fruit.
• Accredited training with the KP Academy.
• Enhanced Maternity, Paternity Fertility and Adoption leave.
• Regular staff rewards.
• Team appreciation events.
• Long service awards.
• Dedicated wellbeing package.
• Highly discounted childcare.
  
• A day off for your birthday.
  
• Life Insurance cover and access to a health plan.

Applications close on 2nd January 2026. Early applications are encouraged.