Regional Director (South East)

The Regional Director (RD) role is a key leadership role in Bright Horizons UK, with responsibility for all aspects of operations in a geographical area, securing Bright Horizons as the provider of choice for families, corporate clients, and employees. This role comes with responsibility for conducting regular nursery visits, implementing a strategic approach, and contributing to the delivery of Operations' objectives through ensuring all the key areas of People, Quality and Growth are delivered effectively in line with expected timeframes. The role works closely with the Operations Director, Early Childhood specialist (ECS), HR, Finance, Marketing, and Client Services (where applicable). In order to manage the execution of service delivery in line with regulatory, customer, client and employee expectations. Alongside developing staff teams who deliver consistent high-quality performance within each nursery. The Regional Director is directly responsible for effective leadership of nursery managers, providing coaching, mentoring, and implementing a robust performance management strategy to ensure service excellence for our current and prospective customers. This includes leading change internally and role modelling leadership behaviour in line with our HEART principles, delivering or exceeding all key performance indicators and business results to create high performing, nurturing environments for the children in our care. Working with Marketing, Finance, HR, and Client Services the RD is responsible for managing and monitoring the commercial performance and practice in nurseries to improve customer and employee engagement and retention, and effective staff deployment managing all costs in line with budget. In addition, this role will work in partnership with the ECS team and Nursery. Managers to implement a robust quality monitoring strategy, drive improvement across nursery teams, and secure regulatory compliance with inspection outcomes at the Good and Outstanding level in the UK and Good and Excellent in Scotland. Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

• Provide exceptional organisational leadership of nursery management teams - promote HEART culture, values, and behaviours, to drive improvement in customer and client satisfaction and employee engagement, retention and performance across the Area, making a positive contribution to service excellence.
• Support the implementation of the People Growth and Quality strategies and action plans across all nursery settings in the region, to ensure alignment with company strategic objectives.
• Support the Implementation of Bright Horizons UK pedagogy, through identifying areas for development and working in partnership with the Quality Auditors and EC Specialist to deliver high quality care and education.
• Implement and manage Keeping Everyone Safe strategies by continuously demonstrating, monitoring and reporting the practices, processes and behaviours that underpin a safety culture.
• Manage and deliver agreed proposals and projects for People and Growth innovations in collaboration with Finance, HR and Marketing teams as appropriate, and ensure all routine practices, procedures and policies are implemented securely and consistently across all nursery settings in the Region.
• Working with HR to retain and grow talent in order to identify succession plans and nurture, create and continuously develop a pipeline of high performing Nursery Managers and Early Years Practitioners building the strongest talent pool in the sector.
• Working with Marketing, identify, create and implement commercial plans and strategies to deliver FTE growth across the Region.
• Commercial delivery of the nursery performance, optimising revenue generation and overhead reduction opportunities to deliver and exceed the annual budgeted EBITDA.
• Working with HR ensure the nurseries are fully recruited with all key roles consistently in attendance, and the workforce plans are in line with occupancy, with all nursery teams being fully compliant with their regulatory training and company induction.
• In collaboration with HR and EC specialist and OD, complete effective annual appraisals of all nursery managers in the Region, and contribute to succession planning, identification of training, and additional requirements for personal development plans including coaching and mentoring for nursery managers.
Our benefits include, but are not limited to:
• Flexible working and holiday entitlements
• Discounted childcare
• Quarterly Employee Appreciation Weeks
• Annual gala award evening
• Fantastic range of discounts on high street retailers, grocery stores, cinema tickets, holidays and more
• 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 17 consecutive years, as well as being awarded the newly created Great Place for Wellbeing and Great Place for Women 2023. 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. Responsible For:
• Providing strong line management for a team of Nursery Managers in the Region. Work in collaboration with EC Specialists, HR, Finance, Client Services and Marketing colleagues throughout the business, to ensure cohesion and execution of the UK strategic goals.
• Plan, manage and account for the Operations Budget, and support Nursery Managers with understanding and managing nursery staffing and overheads, driving FTE growth and achieving or exceeding EBITDA targets, in agreement with the DOD.
• Ensure high quality leadership in every setting. Deliver, implement and manage strong and effective performance management and monitoring processes, with the ability to demonstrate impact and show improvements in leadership performance, leading to the highest quality provision, improved inspection ratings, high levels of customer and employee satisfaction and growth.
• Ensure that high standards of care and education, in line with the BH pedagogy are met. Ensure that all managers understand the expectations and are able to support their teams to deliver Good and Outstanding Early years practices.
• Develop the required capability and efficiency of the nursery management teams to enable the highest performance and achievement of operational targets for People, Quality and Growth. Create the environment for nursery managers to focus on customer and practitioner engagement and provide guidance to nursery managers and practitioners. Plan and provide suitable professional development activities and opportunities for personal growth within a culture of self-driven development, to promote individual and team expertise in all aspects of operational development and learning, to secure a highly effective, motivated and innovative team.
• Take responsibility for own personal and professional development, accessing high level leadership and management activities that inform general and operational management based on national and international perspectives of 'best practice'.
  
  Experienced multi-site operator responsible for 10 or more sites, with proven record of success within a medium/large service sector organisation in a highly regulated environment, delivering high quality customer, client and employee propositions, securing YOY growth.
• Demonstrable track record of driving leadership strength and development of successful ongoing performance management and impact measurements, in close partnership with HR
• Confident decision-maker, with the proven ability to support change and drive innovations; a secure understanding of the complex relationship between business/commerce and service excellence within regulated large organisation, with the ability to follow guidelines and work with others to achieve success.
• Experience of developing high performing teams, with a successful track record of supporting effective regulatory compliance, quality improvement, innovation and service excellence.
• Ability to plan and deliver strategy, use systems and analytics, digital technology and data to identify actions to turnaround and improve performance; drive commercial outcomes and measure the impact of initiatives and work-streams.
Experience Desirable:
• Previous experience of working in education settings and successful management leading to 'good or outstanding' regulatory inspection outcomes across multi-site businesses
• Significant experience (more than 5 years) within multi-site leadership role, with secure understanding of relevant legislative frameworks, service delivery and operational challenges. Understanding of national, local, sector and political agenda that impact business sustainability
• Expert knowledge of Local Authority and Regulatory requirements and inspection processes across the UK, Relevant degree in Early Childhood related subject or leadership/ business management (desirable)
• Evidence of continuous professional development
• Leadership and Management accredited qualification (Desirable)
• Full, clean driving license
Personal Attributes
• Excellent influencer and effective communicator (oral and in writing)
• Ability to lead organisational change and transformation whilst retaining staff engagement.
• Highly motivated and driven, achieving positive impact and meeting deadlines.
• Ability to build trust and develop cohesive teams - strong empathy, clear expectations and fair-minded.
• High energy and thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment - calm approach and 'can-do' attitude.
• Encourages colleagues to realise their potential and empowers high performers.
• Able to use data and numerical detail effectively to inform strategy, measure impact and drive quality.
• Ability to travel within the UK; flexibility to work at home or from a regional office as required, with overnight stays as necessary.