Our Centre Managers are valuable. Your job is to make them better.

Reggio Emilia Early Learning Centre is a family-owned early education business with centres across Sydney. We are not a listed provider managing a portfolio. We are a family that built this and intends to keep it at a high standard.

We are appointing one Area Manager, reporting to the General Manager.

This is not a support office role

You will be in the centres. Most weeks, most days. You will know which Centre Manager is struggling before they say so, and which family is about to leave before they give notice.

If you are looking for a role where you review reports and attend meetings, we are not it. Our Area Manager coaches, audits, corrects and builds people. The work happens on the floor.

What the role carries

- Direct leadership of our Centre Managers and their Educational Leaders
- Utilisation — tour conversion, low churn, vacancies addressed the week they appear
- Assessment and Rating readiness at all times, with Exceeding the expected result
- Compliance without breaches — child protection, WHS, National Law and Regulations
- Wage efficiency and rosters that reflect occupancy and ratio, not habit
- Succession — 2ICs and Room Leaders ready to step up before you need them to

What we require

- Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care, minimum. Degree-qualified preferred.
- Substantial experience as a Centre Manager or Nominated Supervisor — you have carried a service, not assisted with one
- Willingness to be appointed Nominated Supervisor under the National Law
- Demonstrated command of the NQF, CCS and Family Assistance Law
- A current NSW Working with Children Check clearance,



driver licence and vehicle
- The ability to tell a Centre Manager something they do not want to hear, and keep the relationship

How selection works

Three stages. No assessment centre, no exercises, no games. We will ask you direct questions and we expect direct answers.

Stage 1 — Application. CV and a covering letter of no more than one page. Generic applications are not progressed.

Stage 2 — Interview. Structured interview with the Group Head of Human Resources and the General Manager. Come prepared to talk about a centre you turned around and one you did not.

Stage 3 — Final interview and referees. Interview with the Managing Director. Referee checks are conducted in full, and we call the people you worked for, not the people you nominated as friends.

We would rather leave the role open than fill it with the wrong person.

What we offer

- A salary that reflects the seniority of the role, reviewed annually
- A short reporting line — you will speak to the General Manager daily
- A privately owned group where decisions are made in days, not quarters
- Genuine progression — this is the role our senior operational leaders come from

Who should not apply

If you want to manage from a distance, this is not it.

If you avoid difficult conversations, this is not it.

If you regard 100% utilisation and Exceeding as ambitious targets rather than the baseline, this is not it.

To apply

Submit your CV and a one-page covering letter addressing one question:

Tell us about a Centre Manager you developed. What were they like when you started, and what were they like when you finished?

Applications that do not address the question will not be assessed.

📌 Area Manager | Early Learning | Multi-Site | Sydney
🏢 Reggio Emilia Early Learning Centre
📍 Sydney