Job Title: Early Childhood Specialist
Type: Full Time / 37.50 Hours per week / Field based / *Travel to HO and to our nurseries
*Travel is Regional based and this is for role based in Division Central and London: Areas to visit include Wandsworth and Chelsea*
Salary: From £43k per annum plus £4k car allowance
Car and Driving Licence is essential for this role
Closing Date for this opportunity: 24th March 2026 or until the right candidate is hired
Purpose of Role:
The Early Childhood Specialist is a leadership role within the Divisional Operations team in Bright Horizons UK, with responsibility for the provision of hands-on pedagogical advice and support for nursery teams in a Region. This role involves conducting regular nursery visits, as directed by the OD to ensure the provision of the highest quality care and education practices, which meet the needs of children and families.
The role works closely with the Regional Director, Nursery Managers, Pedagogical Research and Development (PR&D) team, Health & Safety, Safeguarding, HR and Operation teams, to develop best practice in teaching and learning and ensure high-quality nursery environments.
The Early Childhood Specialist (ECS) is directly responsible for effective monitoring of practice in nurseries and hands-on coaching, mentoring, and training of practitioners in nursery rooms, to deliver service excellence for our current and prospective customers. This includes leading change internally across and within nursery settings, ensuring successful application of policy and practice across departments and teams to deliver pedagogical innovation and excellence and Keeping Everyone Safe.
In addition, this post-holder will work closely with the Pedagogical Research & Development team and Nursery Managers to implement delivery of the BH curriculum and drive improvements based on observations, nursery visits, regulatory outcomes, and audit findings in order to drive improvement across nursery teams, and secure regulatory compliance with Good or Outstanding inspection outcomes in the UK.
The post-holder will be responsible for supporting the successful implementation and ongoing suitability of the Quality Improvement Framework (QIF) and all elements of Nurture Approach and Practices including the Bright Beginnings Curriculum, SEND/ASN and Thrive
What We Can Offer You
1. Our benefits include but are not limited to.
2. Flexible working and holiday entitlements
3. Discounted childcare in one of our nurseries
4. Fantastic range of discounts on high street retailers, grocery stores, cinema tickets, holidays and more
5. Wide range of wellbeing resources, supporting our teams for the ups and downs of daily life
Why Bright Horizons?
We’ve been voted Great Place to Work for the last 20 consecutive years, as well as being awarded the newly created Great Place for Wellbeing and Great Place for Women 2022.
Our support functions enable our nurseries to deliver the best possible care and education to over 10,000 children across the UK. Through this support, our nurseries can deliver excellence – with 98% of our 300+ portfolio being rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.
We’re on a mission to change the future for children, families, and the people we work with, and are committed to progressive working values like flexibility, work-life balance, and wellbeing.
Key Tasks and Responsibilities:
6. Provide pedagogical and organisational leadership advice to nursery managers and teams – promote HEART culture, values, and behaviours, to drive quality improvement and pedagogical excellence across the region, making a positive contribution to service excellence
7. Support the successful implementation of the Quality Improvement strategy and action plans across all nursery settings in the area, to ensure alignment with company strategic objectives
8. Implement the vision for Bright Horizons UK Nurture Approach pedagogy, through the successful implementation and ongoing development of the Nurture Model, SEND/ASN excellence, Thrive and Bright Beginnings Curriculum across settings in the region
9. Implement and drive improvement and secure excellence in all aspects of EC pedagogy, training and nursery support and advice functions, contributing to the highest operational standards, first class nursery management, sustained regulatory compliance and innovative early childhood practice
10. Deliver and manage agreed initiatives and regional proposals and projects for pedagogical innovations in collaboration with PR&D and Operations teams as appropriate, to secure cohesion and consistency
11. Act as the ‘advocate for children’ within the area, to ensure a ‘Children First’ approach to children’s physical and emotional wellbeing, including Safeguarding, Child Protection, SEND/ASN and regulatory compliance, under the direction of the Operations Director and liaising with nursery management teams, external agencies and professionals, as required
12. Provide high quality advice, coaching and mentoring to nursery managers and their teams around EC pedagogy, safety and regulatory compliance, to drive a culture of ongoing improvement and secure high-quality pedagogy across the region
13. In collaboration with Operations and HR contribute to succession planning for nursery managers
Responsible for:
14. Providing excellent pedagogical and nursery management advice and support for nursery practitioners in the Region, with responsibility for working in collaboration with other ECSs, RDs, PR&D team, Operations, Safeguarding, HR and Health and Safety colleagues and external partners in Local Authorities and regulatory bodies, to ensure cohesion and consistency across the UK early childhood provision.
15. Ensure high quality, evidence to inform reporting of EC quality measures. Use agreed systems and tools to drive improvement and inform monitoring processes, demonstrating the impact and showing improvements in all aspects of EC pedagogy, leading to the highest quality provision and improved inspection ratings in the region.
16. Develop the required capability and efficiency of the regional nursery teams to enable the highest quality pedagogy, through innovative support and guidance to nursery managers and practitioners. Contribute to the development and delivery of suitable professional development activities and training delivery, and opportunities for nursery growth, to promote individual and team expertise in all aspects of EC development and learning, to secure a highly effective, motivated, and innovative team.
17. Support HR, PD and Operations teams in ensuring high quality recruitment of nursery managers and developing effective induction procedures for incoming talent in nurseries
18. Provide relevant guidance and advice to colleagues in nurseries around EC regulation and inspection in liaison with PR&D team to secure positive environments and first-class experiences for children, ensuring regulatory compliance and consistency
19. Take responsibility for own personal and professional development, accessing appropriate training and development activities including regular attendance at the Bright Horizons Knowledge Community meeting and research forums that inform pedagogy based on national and international perspectives of ‘best practice’
Essential Experience:
20. Highly experienced Early Childhood specialist with proven, experience within medium/large education providers and/or Local Authorities, with experience of delivering high quality early childhood provision, and securing ‘good or better’ regulatory inspection outcomes across multi-site businesses.
21. Demonstrable track record of driving quality improvement through the implementation of successful monitoring and impact measurements, in close partnership with operations and nursery management teams.
22. Confident decision-maker, with the proven ability to support change and inspire innovation; a secure understanding of the complex relationship between business/commerce and pedagogical excellence within a large nursery organisation, with the ability to follow guidelines and work with others to achieve success.
23. Experience of developing high performing nursery practitioners and leading nursery teams, with a successful track record of supporting effective regulatory compliance, quality improvement, innovation, and pedagogical excellence.
24. Significant experience (3 years minimum) within the Early Childhood arena, with secure understanding of relevant legislative frameworks, safeguarding and child-protection requirements, pedagogical and operational challenges, and national and international perspectives on ‘best practice’
25. Ability to write clear, concise reports on pedagogy, to highlight salient points and drive improvement. Able to use IT to support all aspects of reporting and input of relevant quality monitoring data to drive quality and measure the impact of EC initiatives in nurseries.
Experience Desirable:
26. Previous experience of working as an Ofsted/Care Inspectorate inspector of EC or education settings
27. Previous experience of working in Local Authority in an Early Childhood context, with experience of quality improvement, supporting early childhood pedagogy in settings and delivery of relevant training and development activities across a wide geographical area
28. Previous experience of managing a nursery, with evidence of improving the quality and inspection outcomes over time, coaching and mentoring others to drive pedagogical excellence and compliance.
29. Experience of engagement with practitioner networks, to promote a shared community of practice that extends over a geographical region and contributes effectively to quality improvement in early childhood settings.
30. Experience of teaching and designing training in Early Childhood related subjects for practitioners at all levels.
31. Expert knowledge and understanding of all regulatory requirements and inspection processes in the UK.
32. Deep understanding of, and ability to disseminate the Bright Horizons Nurture Approach and Nurture Model training programme (internal candidates only)
Qualifications
33. Minimum level three qualification in Early Childhood Education (Essential)
34. Relevant first degree in Early Childhood related subject (Desirable)
35. Post Graduate professional qualification – Qualified Teacher Status, Early Years Teacher Status or Early Years
36. Professional Status (Desirable)
37. Thrive Licensed Practitioner status (Desirable)
38. Evidence of continuous professional development and awareness of current pedagogical national initiatives (Essential) - Leadership and Management accredited qualification (Desirable)
39. Adult/Further/Higher Education teaching certificate and/or experience – Early Childhood Studies or relevant subject (Desirable)
40. Full, clean driving licence (where regional geography requires)
Personal Attributes
41. Excellent influencer, change-maker, and effective communicator (oral and in writing)
42. Highly motivated and driven professional, achieving positive impact and meeting deadlines
43. Ability to build trust and develop cohesive teams – strong empathy, clear expectations and fair-minded
44. High energy and thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment - calm approach and ‘can-do’ attitude
45. Encourages colleagues to realise their potential and empowers high performers
46. Able to use data and numerical detail effectively to inform strategy, measure impact and drive quality
47. Ability to travel within the UK; flexibility to work at home or from a regional office as required, with overnight stays as necessary
We look forward to receiving your application!