Quality Manager

Quality Manager

Contract: Full-time, Permanent

We are looking for a person passionate about children to contribute to the overall goals of the Quality Compliance Support (QCS) team in leading a culture of contemporary early childhood and school aged, curriculum, pedagogy and compliance across our early years and school aged centres in Tigers Childcare.

Our Quality function involves the continuous quality improvement through the review of policies, procedures, and critical reflection on practice. We put forward ideas and promote growth in our curriculum and pedagogy to aligns with best practice within national and international frameworks.

Our Compliance function involves providing direction and guidance to colleagues and managers on compliance matters and on internal policies and procedures to ensure Tigers Childcare operate, at all times, within current governance and safety regulations.

Our Support function involves coaching and mentoring managers and colleagues to ensure that the UNCRC rights of the child are upheld within our individualised, inclusive and democratic practice, that our practice is emergent and play-based and includes warm interactions and relationships, positive transitions, meaningful documentation of children’s learning, partnership with parents and families, links to the local community, within engaging and immersive environments (indoors and outdoors).

Key Responsibilities:

Quality:

● Apply a detailed knowledge of early childhood and school-aged curricular approaches and developments in line with national frameworks and guidelines to the evaluation of practice

● Contribute to the formulation, implementation and continuous review of, policies, procedures, and practice, and put forward ideas for continuous growth and development

● Liaise with other professionals and institutions to inform and research quality improvement strategies

● Contribute to the research and development of training materials and resources in line with organisational goals and objectives and national frameworks

● Deliver training to managers and colleagues

● Contribute to and facilitate enhanced communication, collaboration and communities of practice across the organisation, and externally in the sector

Compliance

● Carry out internal compliance inspections in line with our Internal Compliance Inspections policy

● Develop action plans to identify improvement measures required

● Produce Outcome reports for the attention of senior management

● Provide direction and guidance to colleagues and managers on compliance and internal policies and procedures to ensure we operate, at all times, within current regulations and standards outlined in Quality Regulatory Framework (QRF)

● Track and feedback to the Quality Development Manager any issues and/or patterns identified

● Continually monitor and review the internal compliance inspection process to ensure that it operates efficiently and effectively in line with organisational goals and objectives

Support

● Provide support to colleagues to ensure that the rights of the child under the UNCRC are upheld

● Provide support to colleagues to ensure inclusive and democratic practice in the context of national frameworks

● Provide mentoring and coaching to colleagues to continually improve the quality of practice that includes all the key elements of best practice outlined above

● Support colleagues to recognise all children’s individual potential, and, develop and implement specific strategies in response to those individual requirements. Support colleagues to evaluate these strategies in effectively supporting children.

● Support colleagues to engage in regular evaluations of children’s environments

● Mentor and coach Managers and Room Leaders to carry out induction mentoring, training and support and supervision

● Support colleagues to participate in and contribute to quality improvement programs and strategies (internal and external) and other organisational activities to meet organisational, and national quality standards

Additional operational resource

● Provide (when required) in-ratio cover in rooms

● Carry out (when required) induction mentoring, training, and support and supervision with students and probation colleagues and with current colleagues

● Carry out tasks (when required) to assist the HR and Operations teams

Organisational Expectations

● Work and collaborate with colleagues in maintaining a professional approach to work, ensuring standards of performance that reflect the Tigers Childcare values, guidelines, policies, and procedures.

● Support and contribute to an integrated and collaborative approach across the company.

● Contribute to an atmosphere of trust and professional respect through an attitude of openness, tolerance, constructive conflict resolution processes and maintenance of confidentiality.

● Actively assess, manage and where possible mitigate workplace risk including work health and safety risk, risk to educators and children, reputational risk and personal risk.

● Engage in regular continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities to review and improve, knowledge and skills at a personal and professional level including activities such as self-reflection and evaluation

● Be flexible in relation to travel to centres and providing a range of supports and additional resource functions when required

● Attend out of working hours’ activities, to include training, staff meetings, parents’ evenings and special events as required.

Skill and knowledge requirements:

· Minimum third level qualification at Level 8 (or equivalent) on the National Framework of Qualifications in Early Childhood Education and Care.

Experience and Knowledge

· Minimum 3 years’ post qualification experience of working in the early year sector, preferably in a management/leadership position.

· Experience in leadership of pedagogical practices

● In-depth knowledge of current early childhood education and school-age legislation, regulation, and national frameworks including inspection criteria

Children’s Rights, Child Development & Play

● Ability to promote ethical, rights- based, inclusive and participatory practice ensuring the voice of the child is heard, listened to and acted upon.

● In-depth knowledge and understanding of a range of child development theories related to early learning, the centrality of play; socio-cultural theories, importance of families, role of adults, relationships, curriculum including STEAM documentation of children’s learning, pedagogical strategies, learning dispostions,

● Ability to communicate and demonstrate the links between theory and practice.

Safety, health and well-being

● Ability to undertake a range of activities to support and promote high quality practice in relation to the safety, health and wellbeing of babies, toddlers and young children ensuring

● knowledge is relevant and current.

Personal and professional development

● Ability to reflect and critically evaluate self in relation to personal and professional development.

● Ability to promote and support professional development of a range of practitioners in ELC settings.

Communication, leadership, management and administration

● Ability to engage in high quality interactions with children.

● Ability to maintain strong interpersonal, intrapersonal and self- awareness and relationships in all interactions with managers, colleagues children and parents

● Be Self-motivated and have an ability to work both independently and co-operatively in a team environment, with an innovative, supportive, and flexible approach to work

● Ability to support and lead others.

● Ability to provide insightful role modelling for colleagues

● Demonstrate mentoring skills that empower and motivate colleagues

● Demonstrate strong organisational, problem-solving and decision-making skills.

● High level of attention to detail and excellent follow-up skills

● Posses a high level of written and verbal communication skills.

● Proven ability to independently manage workloads.

● Proficient with MS products

● Ability to advocate on behalf of others relevant to the early childhood and school-aged education and care context.

Location: Travelling to different centre based in counties Dublin, Kildare and Meath. Occasional trip to Cork may be required.

This job description may be reviewed, updated and/or amended from time to time in line with the requirement of the business and as required by the Managing Director, Operations.