Woodlands Long Day Care and Kindergarten – Melbourne VIC

Build exceptional services from the ground up. Lead growth. Create lasting impact.

About Woodlands

At Woodlands, we are driven by a bold vision to deliver outstanding education that empowers every child, regardless of background, to thrive through access to exceptional early learning.

Our mission is to nurture curious minds, kind hearts and confident future leaders through a unique blend of play based discovery and evidence informed teaching. Every day, we create meaningful learning experiences that spark joy, build resilience and lay the foundation for lifelong success.

Woodlands is entering an exciting phase of growth, with multiple brand new services opening across our network. As we continue expanding, we are seeking an experienced Greenfield Area Manager to lead the successful establishment of new campuses from construction through to opening and beyond.

This is a unique opportunity for an experienced operational leader who thrives on building something from the ground up. You will partner closely with our Property & Facilities, Recruitment, Operations and Education teams to transform brand new buildings into thriving early learning communities.

From setting up inspiring learning environments and recruiting exceptional teams to securing regulatory approvals and welcoming the first families through the door, you'll play a critical role in bringing each new Woodlands campus to life.

The Opportunity

As our Greenfield Area Manager, you will lead the successful opening of multiple current Woodlands campuses, ensuring each service launches with the right people, systems, culture and operational foundations in place.

Partnering with cross functional teams, you'll drive every stage of the opening journey, from service approval and recruitment through to operational readiness, setting each campus up for long term success.

Key Responsibilities

- Lead the successful delivery of new Woodlands campuses from pre-opening through to operational handover.





- Partner with the Property & Facilities team throughout construction, fit out and final commissioning.

- Oversee service approval applications and ensure all regulatory requirements are met prior to opening.

- Recruit, onboard and support Centre Managers and foundation educator teams.

- Work alongside Centre Managers to establish strong team culture, expectations and leadership capability from day one.

- Coordinate the setup of educational environments, learning resources and operational systems.

- Ensure policies, procedures and compliance requirements are embedded before opening.

- Support occupancy growth through local community engagement and successful launch activities.

- Partner with marketing and recruitment teams to ensure centres open with strong enrolments and staffing.

- Establish operational routines, budgets and performance measures that set services up for long term success.

- Provide coaching and support during the critical first months of operation to ensure sustainable outcomes.

- Collaborate with cross functional teams to continuously improve the new centre opening process.

About You

You're an experienced operational leader with a proven track record in delivering greenfield projects and opening new early learning services. You thrive on turning vision into reality, bringing together people, projects and processes to create high performing services from the ground up.

You are a collaborative and influential leader who builds strong relationships across diverse stakeholders, navigates complexity with confidence and remains calm under pressure. Passionate about growth and continuous improvement,



you enjoy creating lasting impact by establishing exceptional teams, inspiring learning environments and operational excellence from day one.

You'll Bring

- 3+ years leadership experience within early childhood education as an Area Manager

- Strong knowledge of the National Quality Framework and Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations.

- Demonstrated experience opening new services or leading significant operational improvement projects is highly regarded.

- Experience recruiting, onboarding and developing leadership teams.

- Strong project management, planning and organisational skills.

- Commercial acumen with experience managing budgets, occupancy and operational performance.

- Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills.

- The ability to travel across new project locations as required.

Why Join Woodlands?

- Lead exciting greenfield projects and open brand new early learning campuses.

- Play a key role in one of Australia's growing early childhood organisations.

- Work alongside experienced leaders across Operations, Education, Property & Facilities and People & Culture.

- Genuine opportunities to progress as our network continues to expand.

- Ongoing leadership development and professional learning.

- Performance bonuses aligned to successful centre openings and operational outcomes.

- 95% childcare discount across Woodlands services.

- Be part of building exceptional learning environments that positively impact children, families and communities for years to come.

At Woodlands, we are committed to child safety. We have zero tolerance for child abuse and are committed to creating environments where children are safe, supported and empowered. We actively embed child safety and wellbeing into our culture, our practice, our recruitment and decision making. All applicants are subject to child safety screening, reference checks and pre-employment checks in line with legislative requirements.

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📌 Area Manager- Greenfield (Melbourne)
🏢 Woodlands Long Day Care & Kindergarten
📍 Melbourne