Unit Manager

Unit Manager and Deputy Unit Manager positions available

Early Years Studios · Leamington Spa · £33,000 to £36,000 per annum · Full\-time, Permanent

Lead from the floor, not from an office.

In most nurseries, the best educator gets promoted into an office. They end up chasing invoices, filing paperwork and carrying the whole building until they burn out. We don't build that way.

At Early Years Studios, every site is run by a five\-person Studio Management Team. A Studio Manager owns quality and safeguarding. An Operations Manager owns the running of the building. Three Unit Managers each lead their own studio, with children, where the best educators belong. Behind them, head office holds finance, HR, admissions, recruitment and legal. That means you lead practice, not paperwork.

Our flagship opened in April 2026 in a heritage building on Holly Walk, Leamington Spa. We are recruiting Unit Managers and Deputy Unit Managers.

Our studios

• Baby Studio: 3 months to 16 months


• Toddler Studio: 14 months to 2\.5 years


• Central Studio: 2\.3 to 5 years, built around STEM, creative work and wellness

The overlaps are deliberate. We place children on age and stage, never on a date in a spreadsheet.

What you'll do

• Lead your studio from the floor: practice, planning, the key person approach and your educator team.


• Know every child in your unit inside out, and teach your team to be each child's safe place.


• Set the plan for your children each day, and adapt it on the spot when the children need something different.


• Act as Deputy DSL for your unit, so there is a trained safeguarding lead on every floor.


• Build relationships with families in your unit, and make transition decisions with the Studio Manager and the family.


• Coach and develop your team through one\-to\-ones, team meetings and development conversations, with HR support behind you.


• Interview candidates and decide who joins your team. Head office handles sourcing, offers and contracts.


• Deliver tours for families. Admissions handles the enquiry, registration and enrolment.


• Grow your replacement. If you want to move up, build someone who can take your place.

The Leadership Deal

What we ask sits next to what we give.

• Leadership: you hold the standard in the room, kindly and directly. In return: real authority. Your decisions in your unit stand.


• Mentorship: people learn by watching you. In return: training to lead, coach and handle difficult conversations.


• Leaders eat last: first to the hardest job, last to the break. In return: a leader above you doing the same, starting at the top.


• Absorb pressure: your team feels steadiness, not panic. In return: pressure stops with us before it reaches you, wherever it can.


• Adaptability: the plan serves the children, not the other way round. In return: backing when a good\-faith call turns out wrong.


• Grow your replacement: build someone who can take your place. In return: a real route up, honestly assessed.

What we're looking for

• Level 3 or above in Early Years. Level 6 or EYTS is preferred.


• Strong knowledge of EYFS, safeguarding and SEND. SENDCo training or experience is a plus.


• Willingness to train and hold Deputy DSL responsibility.


• Paediatric First Aid, or willingness to complete it. Everyone at EYS holds it.


• Consistency and reliability. In early years, reliability is a ratio issue: children don't experience your average, they experience the days.


• A steady presence. Children read a face, a tone and a body long before they read a situation.

Why join us

• £33,000 to £36,000 per annum as a starting point


• 5 weeks' holiday, plus an extra day for every year of service


• Generous childcare discount


• Paid leadership development through our Studio Standard pathway


• Protected time to lead, not squeezed into the gaps


• The chance to be part of the team that sets the standard for every EYS site that follows

This is not a soft career. Ninety per cent of a child's brain develops in the first five years. As more of the world becomes automated, the human work of building character, curiosity and resilience becomes more valuable, not less. We want early years recognised for what it is, and we want leaders who will help make that case.

If that sounds like the leader you want to be, apply now.

*We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The successful applicant will complete an enhanced DBS check and enrol in the Update Service. References will be taken before employment and all suitability checks carried out.*

Pay: £33,000\.00\-£36,000\.00 per year

Benefits:

• Childcare


• Company events


• Company pension


• Employee mentoring programme


• Health \& wellbeing programme


• Referral programme

Work Location: In person

This listing is from Indeed. View original listing ↗