Third in Charge

**Nursery**: Bright Horizons Little Stars Day Nursery and Preschool

**Salary**: £26,936- £35,276 per annum (dependent on qualification/s and experience)

**Location**: Didcot, Oxfordshire

We are looking for a full time, Level 3 qualified Third in Charge to join our Bright Horizons Little Stars Day Nursery and Preschool, situated at the Science and Technology Facilities Council in Didcot with great transport links and onsite parking.

The 63-place nursery has recently undergone refurbishment, and benefits from well-resourced rooms and a lovely garden area with play equipment. They offer a range of extra-curricular activities, including Forest School.

**What we can offer you**

Our benefits include, but are not limited to;
- Above industry standard salary, with annual salary reviews
- Discounted childcare of 50% for first child
- Up to 33 days holiday per year, with the option to buy additional days
- Smart Health access, including 24/7 access to Virtual GP appointments, fitness programmes and mental health support
- Huge variety of discounts across high street brands, utilities, and days out
- Financial support through early access to wages, low interest debt consolidation loans and more
- Refer a Friend Bonus, including New York Trip for 2 prize draw entry
- Access to a wide selection of training programmes, supporting your individual career path, with career development opportunities across our network of nurseries
- Employee Appreciation through our quarterly recognition weeks and annual Awards of Excellence gala’s
- Happy to Talk Flexible Working

If you are interested in actively developing your leadership skills to support your progression in to Nursery Management, ask our Talent Acquisition Team about joining our 12-month Future Leaders Programme

**Why Bright Horizons?**

We care for over 25,000 children across the UK, across our portfolio of over 300 nurseries, 98% of which are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted. We’ve been voted Great Place to Work for the last 17 consecutive years, as well achieving Great Place for Wellbeing and Great Place for Women.

Since 2005, we have supported the lives of thousands of children through our Bright Horizons Foundation for Children, supporting families and children in crisis - something we could not achieve without our Bright Horizons colleagues ongoing volunteering and fundraising.

**What you’ll be doing**
- Lead, mentor and inspire a team to deliver exceptional care and education to all children in our care
- When required, act as Designated Safeguarding Lead at the nursery, holding overall responsibility for the day to day running of the nursery and management of safeguarding and child protection policies - monitoring and improving practice and behaviours that underpin our high performance safety culture
- In collaboration with the Nursery Manager, contribute to succession planning, identification and delivery of relevant training, and supporting professional development plans, including coaching and mentoring for all colleagues.
- Develop and maintain strong partnerships with colleagues, parents and/or carers, as well as other professionals, to meet the needs of each child
- Work collaboratively with colleagues to maintain a positive, happy and safe working environment
- Promote the nursery to both current parents, and potential customers, to support retention and ongoing occupancy growth
- Ensure commercial success of the nursery by maintaining expenditure inline FTEs and budget KPIs
- Engage with the Local Authority to understand the local offer, to support practice in all areas of the nursery

**What we’re looking for**
- Full and Relevant Level 3 or above Early Years qualification (essential)
- Previous experience working within an Early Years setting - ideally as a Third in Charge, Room Leader, Room Senior, Early Years Educator or similar
- Confident decision maker, with previous experience providing support and leadership to others to enable staff in fulfilling their roles and responsibilities
- Strong knowledge and understanding of Safeguarding, Child Protection, and the wider legislative requirements for working with children
- Experience of food preparation and the completion of relevant training linked to food management
- Ability to build trust and strong working relationships with both colleagues and parents
- Ability to use a variety of techniques to clearly and successfully communicate with both children and adults