Operations Director Job Description
Application deadline: 2nd January 2026
Purpose of the Role
The Operations Director provides senior operational leadership and strategic oversight across a defined portfolio, ensuring consistent high-quality delivery, strong regulatory compliance, and excellent outcomes for children and families. This role strengthens Kids Planet’s national operational capability as the organisation continues to scale, ensuring clear governance, aligned practice, and sustained improvement across all nurseries.
The role works closely with Childcare Directors, Area Managers, Risk & Compliance Team, Training and Integrations Director, EYAs, and Internal Training to provide cohesive, operationally driven leadership.
Key Responsibilities
1. Operational Leadership & Performance
* Lead operational excellence across the group through strong line management of Childcare Directors.
* Drive performance improvements linked to occupancy, staffing stability, family experience, and commercial KPIs.
* Ensure settings consistently deliver the Kids Planet operational model and values.
* Provide the right level of support and challenge to settings, ensuring concerns are escalated and addressed quickly.
* Monitor KPIs (occupancy, staffing, compliance, financials, parent satisfaction) and drive action where risks emerge.
2. Quality, Practice & Continuous Improvement
* Ensure consistent implementation of the Framework for Excellence, pedagogy, curriculum, and leadership expectations.
* Work collaboratively with the Early Years and Specialist teams to embed practice and strengthen weaker or newly acquired settings.
* Support QIV cycles, internal audits, and action planning, ensuring improvements are sustained.
* Promote a culture of reflective practice, high expectations, and continuous improvement.
3. Safeguarding, Risk & Compliance
* Ensure effective oversight and governance of safeguarding practices, DSL development, and compliance frameworks across all nurseries.
* Provide senior operational leadership on safeguarding expectations, culture, and organisational standards.
* Monitor, audit, and review safeguarding and compliance systems to ensure ongoing inspection readiness and regulatory compliance.
* Provide high-level advice, escalation support, and operational decision-making in safeguarding matters.
* Liaise with external agencies (Ofsted, LADO, Local Authorities, etc.) where required, ensuring clear communication and accountability.
* Oversee risk management processes, ensuring that mitigation plans are effective, embedded, and followed through.
* Ensure learning from incidents, audits, and QIVs is translated into practice improvements across settings.
* Coordinate and maintain the Operational Safeguarding Risk Register (To be introduced), escalating risks appropriately to SLT and ensuring site-level actions are implemented.
4. Safeguarding Project Ownership
* Lead the implementation and rollout of Safeguarding Systems across the organisation, ensuring clear project governance, timelines, training, and adoption.
* Oversee data standards, user access, and integration into safeguarding and compliance reporting systems.
5. People Leadership & Workforce Stability
* Provide strong, values-led leadership to Childcare Directors, ensuring clarity, accountability, and professional development.
* Oversee workforce planning, including staffing pipelines, leadership succession, and stability strategies.
* Support the People Team to embed safer recruitment, consistent induction, and best-practice employee compliance.
* Ensure managers receive high-quality coaching and support to lead effective teams.
6. Acquisitions, Integrations & Growth
* Work with the Training and Integrations Teams to ensure new nurseries experience a structured and high-quality onboarding.
* Lead the operational oversight of the integration plan in partnership with Integrations Manager, ensuring compliance resets, system adoption, and cultural alignment.
* Support due diligence with operational insight into risks, people structures, quality, and readiness.
7. Compliance, Audit & Regulatory Readiness
* Ensure settings maintain regulatory compliance and always remain inspection-ready.
* Oversee follow-up actions from internal audits, QIVs, safeguarding reviews, and H&S assessments.
* Ensure consistent policy implementation and adapt practice in response to sector or regulatory changes (e.g., Ofsted framework updates).
* Lead operational responses to regulatory enforcement, ensuring robust action planning and sustained improvement.
8. Family Experience & Reputation
Champion excellence in parent partnership, communication, and overall family experience.
Oversee show-round conversion, complaints handling, and reputation management.
Work with Marketing on local activation, occupancy growth, and site-level brand visibility.
Skills & Competencies
Strong leadership and people management
Deep operational understanding of early years delivery
Strong safeguarding knowledge and governance capability
Ability to analyse risk and make informed, timely decisions
High emotional intelligence and ability to lead through complexity
Strong project management (especially for CPOMS rollout)
Ability to interpret data, spot patterns, and act decisively
Collaboration across multiple central and operational teams
Resilient, solution-focused, and highly organised
Reporting Lines
Reports to: Chief Operating Officer
Line manages: Childcare Directors, and may have project responsibility for cross-functional teams
Works closely with: Training & Integrations Director, EY Teams, Internal Training, Risk & Compliance, People, Marketing, Estates, Finance, Tech & Data teams
KPIs / Success Measures
Strong and improving safeguarding culture across all settings
Consistent operational performance and inspection outcomes
Reduced safeguarding/compliance themes due to early operational intervention
Clear governance and management of risk
High staff retention and leadership capability
Occupancy and family experience improvements across portfolio
Why become an Operations Director with Kids Planet?
A supportive, friendly team.
Great Benefits Package
Fast paced growing business with lots of scope for progression
Great Place to Work Certified 2025/26
Ranked #1 UK Best Workplaces for Women 2025
Crowned NMT’s Large Nursery Group of the Year, for the second-year running
80% Childcare Discount – T&Cs apply.
What’s in it for you?
Free breakfast, lunches and healthy snacks including fresh fruit.
Accredited training with the KP Academy.
Enhanced Maternity, Paternity Fertility and Adoption leave.
Regular staff rewards.
Team appreciation events.
Long service awards.
Dedicated wellbeing package.
Highly discounted childcare.
A day off for your birthday.
Life Insurance cover and access to a health plan.
Applications close on 2nd January 2026. Early applications are encouraged