Job Introduction
Join Childbase Partnership and make an impact wherever you go.
Role: Nursery Support Manager
Location: Field-based | Supporting nurseries across Home Counties and Midlands
Contract: Permanent | 37.5 hours/week | 52 weeks/year
Working pattern: Varied shifts Monday-Friday between 07:00-18:30
Salary: £42,178.50-£55,419 per annum (pro-rata) plus discretionary bonus scheme, + Company Car
Responsible to: Area Manager
Great nursery leadership changes everything.
As a Nursery Support Manager, you’ll bring your experience, energy and leadership to nurseries across your allocated cluster — stepping in where you’re needed most and helping teams, managers and settings thrive.
One week you could be supporting a Nursery Manager to strengthen practice and performance; the next, leading a nursery through a period of change, coaching a leadership team or taking responsibility for a key project.
It’s a varied, influential role for an experienced early years leader who loves developing people, solving problems and making things happen.
We’ve been delivering childcare excellence since 1989. Across our 44 day nurseries, Head Office and Training Academy, EduBase, our ethos is simple: we all belong, we all matter and we all contribute. We believe in careers, not jobs and giving our people the opportunity to grow, succeed and make a difference.
Why join us?
30 days' annual leave (pro-rata), plus paid bank holidays.
Up to 20 additional paid days off each year through our Partnership Reward Days incentive. Take the days or sell those you accrue, tax-free.
Generous childcare savings for your children or grandchildren, with discounts of up to NUMBER% for parents and NUMBER% for grandparents, depending on contracted hours.
Private health insurance and wellbeing support, including mental health and occupational health services, flu jabs, eye care vouchers and a free will-writing service.
Free meals while you're at work, plus retail discounts, long-service rewards and qualification bonuses.
Development that doesn't stop, with inset days, online learning and apprenticeships through our own Training Academy.
Why Childbase?
- We're employee-owned.
You're not just an employee here you're a Partner with a voice in our business. When Childbase does well, our Partners share in that success through an annual tax-free dividend. - We're number one.
We're ranked at the top of the Nursery World league tables for our Ofsted outcomes. - We give back.
Our teams have raised more than £3.5 million for charity, supporting causes that matter to the communities around us. - We're building a greener future.
Our nurseries hold Green Flag awards and are powered by 100% renewable energy.The difference you'll make
This isn't a role where you'll be based in one nursery doing the same thing every day.
You'll work across a cluster of nurseries, adapting your leadership to what each setting needs. You could provide short or medium-term management cover, support a nursery through change, coach and develop leaders, strengthen quality and practice or help deliver key operational projects.
Working closely with our Area Managers and Regional Directors, you'll help our nurseries achieve their goals while ensuring children, families and colleagues continue to receive the exceptional experience we expect at Childbase.
About you
- You're an experienced early years leader.
You'll hold a DfE-approved early years qualification at Level 3 or above and have current or very recent experience of successfully managing a large early years setting. - You know how to get the best from people.
You're a confident coach and mentor who can quickly build trust, understand what a team needs and help colleagues develop their confidence, capability and practice. - You lead from the front.
Whether you're covering as a Nursery Manager, Deputy Manager or Quality Manager, you're comfortable stepping into a setting, taking ownership and providing calm, credible leadership. - You understand what great looks like.
You'll bring a strong understanding of the EYFS and know how to translate that into exceptional practice and positive outcomes for children. - Safeguarding is at the heart of your leadership.
You'll ensure children's and colleagues' wellbeing remains central to every decision you make. - You're adaptable and solutions-focused.
No two nurseries or days will be the same. You'll enjoy variety, respond positively to changing priorities and know when to listen, when to coach and when to take the lead. - You're commercially aware.
Alongside quality and people leadership, you'll work with senior operational colleagues to support nursery performance, deliver against our corporate plan, achieve financial targets and maintain strong relationships within our communities.
Ready to make your mark across Childbase?
If you're an experienced Nursery Manager looking for a role with more variety, broader influence and the opportunity to develop teams across multiple settings, this could be your next step.
Bring your experience. Bring your leadership. We'll give you the opportunity to make a difference across Childbase.
We are an inclusive employer and welcome applicants of all ages and backgrounds. We're committed to FREDIE — fairness, respect, equality, diversity, inclusion and engagement and will consider any reasonable adjustments required.
If you meet the essential criteria for this role, your application will be automatically shortlisted for review by our Recruitment Team, who will determine whether an interview is the next step.
Applicants must currently reside within a commutable distance of the allocated nursery cluster and hold suitable Right to Work in the UK. Visa sponsorship is not available. Safer recruitment checks apply, including an Enhanced DBS check.
