Nursery – Bright Horizons Elizabeth Terrace Day Nursery and Preschool
Job Type – Maternity Cover – Dec 2026 -Sep 2027
Salary – From £45,510 per annum (dependant on qualification/s and experience)
Location – Eltham, London
Are you looking to work for an organisation whose culture is driven by our HEART principles – Honesty, Excellence, Accountability, Respect, and Teamwork? Where you can be yourself, feel supported, and help to make a difference to the next generation? Somewhere you can say: “I did that.”
We’re looking for a Nursery Manager to join our Elizabeth Terrace Nursery, situated in Eltham, London. This is a maternity cover position starting in December 2026 and ending in September 2027.
Our lovely nursery is based in the heart of Eltham high street and proudly holds an Ofsted rating 'Good'. We are a small community-based nursery who have built an amazing togetherness with our parent partnerships and homely environment. We have great transport links with a variety of bus routes on the high street and a 10-minute walk to Eltham station.
Our Benefits
From £45,510 per annum
Childcare discount of 100% for first child
Enhanced parental leave
25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays and paid Christmas closure. Ability to also purchase additional leave*
Pension
Financial and wellbeing benefits including 24/7 virtual GP appointments, early access to wages, and more
Professional development programme access for every stage of your career, including access to a careers coach
Shift options: 40 hours over 4 or 5 days
*Subject to T&Cs
The Role
As a Nursery Manager, you will lead a team to deliver outstanding care and education to all the children in your setting, and through inspirational leadership drive employee engagement, retention and performance. You will act as Designated Safeguarding Lead, holding overall responsibility for the day to day running of the nursery, and management of safeguarding policies. You will work in partnership with support office teams to recruit, nurture, and continuously develop high performing colleagues, as well as identify and implement commercial plans and strategies to deliver FTE growth. You will optimise nursery performance, revenue generation, and cost efficiency in line with staff ratio requirements.
What we’re looking for
Full and relevant Level 3 or above Early Years qualification
Experience within an Early Years leadership role (ideally as a Nursery Manager, Deputy Manager, Assistant Manager or similar)
Experience of participating with a regulatory inspection, leading to a ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ outcome
Experience of developing high performance teams, with effective regulatory compliance, quality improvement, delivery of high-quality pedagogy, innovation and service excellence
Confident decision maker, with ability to support change and understanding of complex relationship between commercial and service excellence within a regulated setting
Strong knowledge and understanding of Safeguarding, Child Protection, and the wider legislative requirements for working with children
Ability to develop trust and strong working partnerships with both colleagues and parents/ carers
Bright Horizons is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. This post is subject to safer recruitment practice and pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check, which will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed.
We are an inclusive employer and welcome people from all ages and backgrounds to apply. We will consider reasonable adjustments required by applicants. Please note, due to our sector all roles are subject to an Enhanced DBS.
We’re proud to be a Great Place to Work for 20 years. Apply today!
Bright Horizons is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. This post is subject to safer recruitment practice and pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check, which will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed.
We are an inclusive employer and welcome people from all ages and backgrounds to apply. We will consider reasonable adjustments required by applicants.
Proud to be a Great Place to Work for 20 years. Apply today!
We look forward to receiving your application!
Skills Required
- Full and relevant Level 3 or above Early Years qualification
- Experience in an Early Years leadership role, such as Nursery Manager, Deputy Manager, or Assistant Manager
- Experience participating in a regulatory inspection resulting in a Good or Outstanding outcome
- Experience developing high-performance teams and delivering regulatory compliance, quality improvement, high-quality pedagogy, innovation, and service excellence
- Confident decision-making and ability to support change in a regulated setting
- Strong knowledge of safeguarding, child protection, and legislative requirements for working with children
- Ability to develop trust and strong working partnerships with colleagues and parents or carers
- Successful completion of enhanced DBS and pre-employment checks
What We Do
Bright Horizons Family Solutions provides high-quality child care and early education for families, offering infant care, preschool, kindergarten preparation, and curriculum-based learning. It also delivers employer-sponsored family solutions, including on-site child care, back-up care, elder care, college advising, workforce consulting, and employee education services. Its mission is to help children thrive while supporting working parents and employers around the world.
