Childcare Manager (4 day week) - #1800569

Are you a dynamic, flexible and passionate individual who has chosen Childcare as a Vocation and Career? Have you experience managing a busy Day Nursery setting? 

Bumbles is recruiting a Childcare Manager for Bumbles HQ setting at 22 Knockbreda Road, Belfast BT6 0JA. In this role, you will collaborate with 2 existing and experienced Managers of other settings and further Senior Coordinators whom are certified ‘Persons in Charge’.

Additional support is provided from a Business & Development Manager and Bumbles Director Patricia Maxwell. Working alongside this Senior Team, you will lead and inspire our team of all levels, ensuring Bumbles vision and values are apparent in the excellent Childcare provision we provide to our families every day. 

In return, we offer an excellent industry salary and package. This Manager role oversees a 53 place Nursery in our HQ setting and an adjoining 48 place wraparound setting in Rosetta Primary School, directly opposite.

Senior Role: Childcare / Nursery Manager

Hours: 37 hours over a 4 day week, covering 4 full days and operational hours (7:45am to 6pm). 

Salary: Negotiable

Benefits of the role

• 4 day week (37 hours)
• Salary negotiable
• 30 days annual leave (29 statutory plus 1 day for Senior position) Years of service rewarded after 2 years in role
• Opportunity to attend relative training and CPD courses that could be brought to Bumbles
• 30% Childcare discount
• Team Well-being initiatives (e.g Birthday Vouchers, Massages, seasonal events)
• Access to 24/7 Wellbeing & Counselling support
• Company Pension

This salary encompasses any time you may be required to work outside of hours. This is a rare occurrence but might be for example, meeting someone regarding a maintenance job at a weekend, attending a meeting etc.

Bumbles operates across 5 settings (3 locations) based in BT6 & BT7 – This role may sometimes require you to move between settings. (You must be fully flexible to move to any setting when required i.e annual leave cover, sickness absence etc - 3 mile radius between all settings)

Personal Attributes

• Passionate about Childcare and Early Years with strong understanding of Minimum Standards
• Demonstrable People Management Skills 
• Energetic and approachable personality 
• Solution focused and an ability to think on your feet
• Highly organised and excellent time-keeping skills
• Excellent IT skills, including use of Famly app, Google Drive, devices and other software
• Flexible to suit business needs 

Job Summary

The management role is to ensure the provision of safe, high quality education and care for children aged approximately 3 months – 11 years. In order to do so, the manager must fulfil legal and statutory requirements, contribute to and implement Bumbles policies and procedures. The manager must have a holistic view of Bumbles, ensure attention to detail and at all times consider our overall provision.

Your responsibilities as Childcare Manager of Bumbles Day Care include:

LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

• To lead, manage and work as part of a team ensuring the provision of a safe, caring, happy and stimulating environment for the children in our care. 
• To promote a positive workplace culture and deliver and implement Bumbles values, policies and objectives. Bumbles culture is essentially a shared set of behaviours and mindsets that influence how we all work together, supporting one another ensuring a strong, consistent and reliable team approach with required staffing levels being met at all times. 
• To lead our team through times of change as we grows and adapt to the current childcare climate. 
• To assist the recruitment process. You will identify the need to recruit and assist the Business & Development manager with recruitment administration, interviews.
• You will ensure good and timely inductions for new members of staff, students and volunteers.
• To carry out a variety of personnel tasks including Return to Work interviews, Updating Personnel files, conducting periodic staff reviews, annual appraisals, team meetings, disciplinary meetings and the recording and necessary follow up of same.
• To train and supervise qualified and unqualified staff / volunteers and students, e.g. induction training / on the job training / specific improvement training arising from supervisory meetings etc.  
• To plan schedules to ensure that all appropriate meetings can take place regularly, as required.  
• To ensure the development of good interpersonal relationships with children, parents and other staff. As Manager, you are responsible for ensuring that other members of the team are developing these good interpersonal relationships through support and review of any action plans.
• To wear the appropriate uniform and maintain a professional appearance whilst at Bumbles. Our policy is to get outdoors every day, you must come prepared to spend portions of the day outdoors in all weathers as and when required. Leading by example, you ensure all team members are adhering to uniform requirements.
• To always conduct yourself and perform your duties in a manner that reflects the high standards expected from every member of our team at Bumbles. You should bear in mind that any negative representation of yourself could have an impact on your reputation or relationships with peers or parents and could result in disciplinary action. 
• To ensure that the team are also conducting themselves in an appropriate manner. If the team should report concerns to you, these must be dealt with through the use of 1.1s and disciplinaries where required. 
• To plan, organise and record all training for our team including Safeguarding, First Aid, Food Safety and any internal training conducted through Bumbles.
• Bumbles offers ‘non-contact time’ to our team to assist with planning, training, displays, re-organising and tidying etc, which is time spent out of ratio. Managers must ensure effective use of this time and see that it is adding value. Managers must ensure that ‘Training evaluations’ and ‘Non-contact Time’ records are submitted in an agreed time frame. Analyse and report back during Monthly Management Meetings.
• To ensure all team absence and sickness absence are recorded on Famly profiles, followed up and that the daily and weekly schedules are updated accurately for payroll purposes and submitted to Business and Development Manager. Annual leave requests are managed by the Business & development Manager.
• Contribute to monthly Senior Team meetings.

OPERATIONAL

• To assume overall responsibility for the day to day operation of Bumbles HQ. Although you may be based at one setting, it is crucial you are aware of other settings and communicate with the other Managers appropriately. 
• To generate weekly and daily team schedules and school collection schedules alongside the other Managers. Liaise with all co-ordinators / collectors to ensure consistency of collectors / appropriate cover, as and when required. 
• To ensure that the high standards of care, service, safety and hygiene are maintained according to all Bumbles Day Care policies, procedures, routines and job descriptions. Identify any issues or problems and resolve and communicate appropriately.
• To effectively manage your time to provide essential daily on the ground support in each group, thereby ensuring that you, as Manager, remain aware of all aspects of care, culture, environment, activities on offer, resources and storage (e.g. weak practice / performance, poor care of resources / equipment, overcrowding / over resourcing / not age appropriate activities). It is this attention to detail that will ultimately enable you to identify and resolve any issues in a timely manner. You must know your setting inside out.
• To liaise with outside agencies including local authorities, Health & Social Services Trusts, Gateway, Health Visitors, Schools and Nursery Schools etc, actively promoting Bumbles at all times. 
• To carry out a variety of administrative tasks including updating Bumbles management software / making transitions to new software, as required, undertaking on-the-job training where required. It will be essential to maintain high standards of accuracy and confidentiality. 
• To support and drive forward the move to all digital formats / systems ensuring that all staff sign in and out appropriately on Famly, including at the start / end of breaks, NCT and when leaving the settings eg to go for walks / outings. The Famly App should reflect who is present in the groups at all times.
• To monitor and evaluate all activity planning with the entire team, ensuring age appropriate, child-led and Bumbles approaches (Reggio / Curiosity approach) are evident. Activity plans should be up to date on Famly with Bumbles photographs evident. 
• To be able to carry out all aspects of all other on-site operational roles should you need to assist at any point, ensuring that all members of the staff team are adhering to their roles as detailed in their job descriptions.
• To devise and communicate an appropriate programme to aid transition of children from group to group. 
• To be flexible and work on a rota basis which will involve all duties associated with the opening up or closing of Bumbles. As a ‘person-in-charge’, you will be a key holder and may be called out in an emergency situation.

To read the full job description and to apply, please click the link to our website: https://bumblesdaycare.com/careers/day-care-manager-2/