Leadership jobs in Newbridge, County Kildare

Head of Learning, Development & Practice Improvement - Bright Stars Nurseries Ireland

Location: Ireland – Hybrid / Field-Based, with regular travel to our early years centres
Employment Type: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: Competitive, commensurate with experience

About Bright Stars Nurseries Ireland

Bright Stars Nurseries Ireland is a growing provider of high-quality early childhood education and care, currently operating 20 centres across Ireland.

As our organisation continues to grow, we are committed to ensuring that every child receives consistently high standards of care and education, every practitioner is supported to develop professionally, and every manager has the skills and confidence to lead an effective team.

To support this ambition, we are creating a new national Learning, Development and Practice Improvement function.

We are seeking an experienced and highly capable Head of Learning, Development & Practice Improvement to establish and lead this function across our Irish operations.

The Opportunity

This is a newly created senior leadership position offering an opportunity to shape the future of professional development and quality improvement across a growing national early years organisation.

Reporting to the senior leadership team, the successful candidate will take responsibility for designing, implementing and overseeing a comprehensive national learning and development framework.

The role will focus on strengthening management capability, improving standards of educational practice, supporting staff development and establishing consistent expectations across all centres.

We are particularly interested in candidates who can translate their knowledge of excellent early years practice into practical, measurable improvements within childcare settings.

This is not simply a classroom-based training role. The successful candidate must be comfortable working directly with centre managers, room leaders and practitioners, identifying development needs, coaching colleagues and supporting sustained improvements in performance.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Learning and Development Strategy

• Design and implement the Bright Stars Ireland Learning, Development & Practice Improvement Framework.
• Establish a structured national training programme for centre managers, deputy managers, room leaders and early years practitioners.
• Develop a competency framework that clearly defines the standards expected of employees at each level.
• Identify training priorities using operational performance information, internal audits, inspection outcomes and staff development assessments.
• Establish consistent induction, professional development and competency assessment processes across the organisation.
• Ensure the training strategy supports the continued growth and integration of new centres.

2. Management and Leadership Development

• Establish and lead a Bright Stars Management Development Programme.
• Provide practical training and coaching to centre managers in leadership, team management, supervision and performance improvement.
• Support managers in identifying and addressing underperformance through effective coaching, feedback and structured development plans.
• Develop the leadership capabilities of room leaders and deputy managers.
• Support succession planning by identifying and developing future leaders within the organisation.
• Work closely with Area Managers and HR to ensure training interventions complement established performance management processes.

3. Educational Practice and Quality Improvement

• Promote consistently high standards of early childhood education and care across all Bright Stars centres.
• Develop and implement training aligned with Aistear, Síolta, Tusla requirements and recognised principles of high-quality early years practice.
• Conduct practice observations and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Support managers and practitioners through in-room coaching, demonstrations and structured development activities.
• Develop targeted improvement programmes for centres or teams requiring additional support.
• Ensure that learning and development interventions lead to measurable improvements in practice and children's experiences.

4. Training Delivery and Development

• Develop a blended training model incorporating workplace coaching, practical demonstrations, virtual learning, structured workshops and digital learning.
• Create training resources, guidance materials and assessment tools that can be used consistently across all centres.
• Develop a train-the-trainer approach, enabling centre managers and room leaders to support professional development within their own teams.
• Ensure training is practical, accessible and delivered with minimal disruption to centre operations.
• Evaluate training effectiveness through competency assessment, observation and performance outcomes.
• Identify opportunities to utilise existing sector resources and external programmes where appropriate.

5. Safeguarding and Regulatory Alignment

• Work closely with the Bright Stars Safeguarding Lead to ensure safeguarding training forms an integral part of the national learning and development framework.
• Coordinate the overall training calendar to incorporate safeguarding and other mandatory training requirements.
• Support consistent implementation of Bright Stars policies, procedures and regulatory expectations.
• Ensure clear training records and appropriate competency assessments are maintained.
• Collaborate with the Quality, Compliance, Operations and HR teams to address identified development needs.

The Safeguarding Lead will retain responsibility for the specialist safeguarding content and associated professional oversight.

6. Leadership of the Training Function

• Recruit, develop and manage a team of Regional Practice Development Coaches as the organisation expands.
• Establish clear objectives, priorities and performance measures for the training function.
• Manage the learning and development budget, ensuring resources are used efficiently.
• Develop a national training calendar that accommodates operational requirements and minimises additional staff cover.
• Produce regular reports for the senior leadership team on training delivery, staff competency and measurable quality improvements.
• Support the integration of newly acquired centres into the Bright Stars training and quality framework.

The Ideal Candidate

We are seeking a credible and experienced early years leader who combines excellent knowledge of childcare practice with strong leadership, coaching and organisational development skills.

Essential Requirements

• A relevant qualification in Early Childhood Education and Care, preferably at Level 8 or above.
• Significant experience in a senior management, quality improvement, professional development or training role within the early years sector.
• Comprehensive knowledge of Aistear, Síolta and the regulatory framework governing early years services in Ireland.
• Demonstrable experience in developing the capabilities of managers, room leaders or early years practitioners.
• Strong understanding of effective staff supervision, performance improvement and workplace coaching.
• Experience in designing and delivering structured learning and development initiatives.
• Excellent communication, facilitation and relationship-building skills.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities across multiple locations.
• The ability to assess training effectiveness and demonstrate measurable improvements in standards.
• Full driving licence and willingness to travel regularly throughout Ireland.

Desirable Experience

• Experience working across multiple early years services or within a large childcare organisation.
• A recognised qualification in training, adult education, coaching or organisational development.
• Experience establishing a learning and development function or implementing organisation-wide training programmes.
• Knowledge of learning management systems and digital training platforms.
• Experience supporting the integration of newly acquired early years services.
• Experience developing competency frameworks, performance improvement programmes or management academies.

Personal Attributes

The successful candidate will be:

• A strong leader: Capable of influencing and developing centre managers and senior operational colleagues.
• Practical and solutions-focused: Comfortable working directly within early years settings and demonstrating excellent practice.
• Confident and constructive: Able to identify performance concerns and provide professional, evidence-based feedback.
• Strategic: Capable of developing scalable systems that support a growing organisation.
• Collaborative: Skilled at building relationships with operational managers, practitioners and senior leaders.
• Results-driven: Focused on improving the quality of practice rather than simply increasing training attendance.

What We Offer

• An opportunity to establish and lead a new national learning and development function.
• A senior leadership position within an ambitious and expanding early years organisation.
• The ability to shape educational practice and management development across a growing network of centres.
• The opportunity to recruit and lead a dedicated team of Practice Development Coaches.
• A supportive senior leadership team committed to investment in quality and professional development.
• Competitive remuneration, commensurate with experience.
• Opportunities for ongoing professional development and career progression.

How to Apply

If you are an experienced early years professional who is passionate about developing people, strengthening leadership and improving standards of early childhood education and care, we would welcome your application.

Please submit your CV and a covering letter outlining your relevant experience and why you believe you would be suited to establishing and leading this new function within Bright Stars Nurseries Ireland.

Bright Stars Nurseries Ireland is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The successful candidate will be required to complete all applicable safeguarding and pre-employment checks.

Benefits:

• Flexitime
• On-site parking
• Work from home

Ability to commute/relocate:

• Ireland: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)

Experience:

• Childcare: 3 years (preferred)

Licence/Certification:

• Childcare Qualification: QQI Level 5+ or Equivalent (required)

Work authorisation:

• Ireland (required)

Willingness to travel:

• 100% (preferred)

Work Location: In person