Early Years and Childcare Finance and Business Service Manager

Overview

In this senior role you will provide strategic leadership for early years and childcare across Brighton & Hove, ensuring statutory duties are met and high-quality, inclusive provision is accessible. You will oversee funding, policy development, and major programmes to strengthen childcare across the city, collaborating with schools, providers, and partners. The role emphasizes financial planning, service improvement, and sustainability of services, with social value at its core. You will drive key projects and use data to target gaps and improve take-up of entitlements.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for early years and childcare services city-wide
• Oversee delivery of early years free entitlement (nine months to four years)
• Manage childcare sufficiency, funding arrangements, and out-of-school childcare programmes
• Lead the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme and related initiatives
• Steer financial planning, budget management, and local funding formula for early years
• Develop and implement local policy, capital and revenue programmes
• Ensure data collection, provider payments, compliance and assurance processes
• Analyse needs via data and local intelligence to improve access and sustainability
• Coordinate with schools, providers, finance teams, and partners to drive service improvements
• Support staff development and contribute to Best Start and SEND access initiatives

Key requirements

• Significant management experience in children’s services, early years, childcare, or related field
• Strong knowledge of childcare legislation, statutory guidance, funding and policy
• Ability to think strategically and manage complex budgets
• Experience leading service reviews and large projects
• Excellent relationship-building, negotiation and problem-solving skills
• Ability to influence change across internal and external partners
• Experience with policy development and delivery in a local authority context
• Strong data literacy and experience with budgeting, data collection and performance reporting

• relationship-building
• negotiation
• problem-solving
• early years funding
• local funding formula
• budget management

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