Room Leader/Deputy Manager

Room Leader/Deputy Manager

Pay: £35,000 to £39, 000

Job Title: Room Leader/Deputy Manager

Location: Chelsea Old Town Hall, King’s Rd, London SW3 5EE.

Reports to: Nursery Manager

Job type: Full-time, Permanent

Contact details: [email protected] / +44 7470862341

At Raphael Nursery we believe in joy! We have a unique opportunity available to join our team as a Room Leader/Deputy Manager.

Childcare can be so rewarding when you’re in the right place and we pride ourselves on creating a warm, inspiring, trustworthy, cooperative space for our families and staff alike.

We place our team at the very centre of what we do, because we know that it’s our people that make our nursery so special! We want our team to bring their whole selves to work; to have fun, to be creative and to love what they do! That’s how we provide incredible education and care for every child and family.

We invest into our people, both with exceptional training and progression, but also financially! We don’t just talk about recognition, we provide it – both with excellent salaries, training and a fantastic bonus scheme paid twice a year, rewarding your hard work!

Our Benefits

• Excellent salaries
• Childcare discount of 75%
• Bi-Annual Bonus Scheme
• 23 days annual leave, plus bank holidays this goes up to 36 days annual leave (incldg. bank holidays) from your first year and increasing to 40 days with bank holidays
• Sick Pay
• Company Pension
• Free lunches
• Support for higher level qualifications and fully funded training
• Employee assistance programme and wellbeing support
• Support for career progression

We are growing and we’d love for you to join us on our journey! At Raphael Nursery we value diversity, integrity, and care, and we want our children, staff and community to feel that “joie de vivre”.

The Role

We are looking for a passionate and ambitious Room Leader/Deputy Manager to join us as part of an exciting new nursery project. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who is eager to develop their career and play a key role in building a new nursery from the ground up. The successful candidate will initially be room-based, working closely alongside the Nursery Manager to establish and grow the setting, support the team, and create a high-quality environment for children and families. As the nursery develops, the role will gradually transition from being primarily room-based to taking on more office-based management responsibilities, working hand in hand with the Manager to support the overall running and success of the nursery.

As a Room Leader/Deputy Manager, you will support the Nursery Manager in leading the team to deliver outstanding care and education for all children within the setting. You will play a key role in driving employee engagement, supporting staff development, and maintaining high standards of quality, compliance, and safeguarding across the nursery.

We are looking for someone that can grow in the role from room based to office based. Working closely with the Nursery Manager, you will assist with the day-to-day operation of the nursery, ensuring the nursery operates effectively, safely, and in line with statutory and company requirements. You will deputise for the Nursery Manager during their absence, taking responsibility for the overall management of the nursery, including safeguarding, staffing, and operational decisions.

You will support the implementation of safeguarding policies and procedures and may act as a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) or Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), where appropriate. You will work in partnership with colleagues, parents and carers, and support office teams to recruit, develop, and retain high-performing staff while contributing to occupancy growth, quality improvement, and the delivery of exceptional childcare and education.

You will also support the Nursery Manager in monitoring nursery performance, maintaining staffing ratios, promoting cost efficiency, and identifying opportunities to enhance both the quality of provision and the commercial success of the nursery.

What We’re Looking For

• Full and relevant Level 3 or above Early Years qualification
• Experience of participating with a regulatory inspection would be preferable but not necessary, leading to a ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ outcome
• Experience of developing high performance teams, with effective regulatory compliance, quality improvement, delivery of high-quality pedagogy, inn…