Nursery Project Manager

The Project Phase (Initial 2 Months) Working closely with the Head and the Estates team, you will be the driving force behind the nursery's setup. Your key objectives will include:

• Regulatory Leadership: Spearheading the initial ISI (Independent Schools Inspectorate) compliance and registration process from scratch for children aged 2 and upwards.
• Site Transformation: Overseeing the physical conversion of the site into an inspiring, premium, and compliant early years environment, ensuring capital budgets and deadlines are met.
• Operational Setup: Building the operational architecture from the ground up, including defining staffing structures, establishing fee models, and writing core policies.
• Compliance: Navigating the complex compliance matrix, ensuring all health and safety, fire, and regulatory requirements are meticulously secured ahead of opening.
  
  About You To drive a project of this scale, you must be both an Early Years expert and a capable project manager. We are looking for someone who brings:
• A full and relevant Level 3 (or above) Early Years qualification.
• Comprehensive, up-to-date knowledge of the EYFS statutory framework, safeguarding legislation, and ISI inspection criteria.
• Proven experience in a leadership or management role within a high-performing Early Years day nursery setting.
• Demonstrable commercial and project management skills, with the entrepreneurial drive required to build a setting from a blank canvas.
  
  Denstone College is embarking on an exciting strategic initiative to launch a premier, flagship nursery for children aged 2 to 4+ years. We are seeking a highly driven, commercially minded Early Years professional to spearhead this launch and turn our vision into a reality. This is a unique, high-profile opportunity starting as an initial 2-month fixed-term contract. Your immediate and singular focus will be on the critical project management phase: getting the nursery off the ground and ready for launch.
For the right candidate, successfully delivering this initial setup phase comes with a highly attractive prospect: the opportunity to transition into the permanent role of Head of Nursery (Setting Manager) once the doors open, taking full commercial, pedagogical, and operational leadership of the setting.