Senior Nursery Manager

Job Introduction

Rotherly Day Nursery

Senior Nursery Manager/  

Nominated Individual 

Start: September 2025 

Permanent  

40 hours per week (working pattern to be agreed according to operational needs) 

52 weeks per year 

Grade F, Salary £42,576 - £47,221 

Rotherly Day Nursery is looking for an exceptional, appropriately qualified and experienced nursery leader to lead and manage the nursery in providing a high quality, Early Years provision.  

Rotherly Day Nursery requires a leader who is able to create a stimulating and caring environment that is physically and emotionally secure, in accordance with all relevant legislation. The role will be to lead and manage the nursery by taking overall responsibility for the planning, development and service delivery of the nursery, working alongside deputy managers, room leaders, nursery practitioners and apprentices. The successful candidate will assume the role of nominated individual/ registered person for the nursery and be directly accountable to governors, the local authority and Ofsted.

The successful applicant will be supported by a wider team of HR, finance and site-team. Rotherly Day Nursery also benefits from specialist EYFS teacher and SENDCo support provided by The Westgate School which is on the same site as the nursery.  

Call us on 01962 854757 to discuss the role in more detail and to arrange a visit. 

The successful applicant will be required to work across all age groups 0-4 years and should have a minimum Level 4 qualification in childcare and relevant experience of early years but with a commitment to work towards an NVQ 6 / relevant degree qualification.  

The successful applicant will have at least eight years post qualification experience in nursery childcare, three of which must have been with direct experience in managing a nursery setting. They will be an enthusiastic person who is dedicated to early years with a passion for inclusive practice, partnership with parents and carers, professional development, working with outside agencies including the local authority and Ofsted and must be passionate about and making a difference to children’s outcomes. 

Benefits of working at Rotherly Day Nursery: 

•  24 days paid leave, increasing to 27 days after five years, as well as Bank/Public holidays 
• Occupational sick pay 
• Generous employer contribution pension scheme (18%)
• Free on-site gym 
• Reduced rate for own childcare costs within our nursery 
• High quality continuous professional development 
• HCC discount scheme; variety of discounts on retail outlets, day trips, insurance 
• Optical care up to £60 per year
• Preferential admission to The Westgate School for children in primary and/or secondary phase (terms & conditions apply) 
• Enhanced parental leave (maternity, paternity, adoption) 
• Up to three days paid compassionate leave 
• Access to Wellbeing Support Programme 
• Free on-site parking 

The successful candidate will: 

•  Have a minimum Level 4 qualification in childcare and relevant experience of early years but with a commitment to work towards an NVQ 5 / relevant degree qualification
• Have a minimum of eight years of experience working in a nursery setting (essential) 
• Have previous experience working at Nursery Manager level (essential) 
• Have obtained English qualifications to GCSE Grade 4, or their equivalent (essential) 
• Demonstrate understanding of policies, procedures and government legislation relating to the Early Years curriculum and KCSiE (essential) 
• Have previous experience of leading and managing a team (essential) 
• Assert leadership skills to support and mentor colleagues and students, including appraisal process (essential) 
• Have effective communication skills with a range of audiences and through a variety of approaches (essential) 
• Be able to work and lead strategically as well as manage the day to day, operational running of the nursery setting (essential)  

 The senior manager will be the Nominated Person/Registered Person as decided by the governing board. 

Safeguarding: Rotherly Day Nursery and Hampshire County Council are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of  children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment.

Pre-employment checks: All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks, which will include an online search in order to identify any incidents or issues that have happened and are publicly available online, in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education recommendations. 

Equal Opportunities: In order to combat discrimination, no unnecessary conditions or requirements will be applied which could have a disproportionately adverse effect on any one group. All sections of the population will have equal access to jobs. No applicant or employee will receive less favourable treatment because of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage or civil partnership and pregnancy or maternity, unless a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) applies. 

Please visit the Rotherly Day Nursery website www.rotherly.co.uk/vacancies for the job description and application form. 

Application Deadline:  23 May 2025 (12noon)

Interview Date:  6 June 2025 

Please email completed application forms to hr@rotherly.co.uk