Centre Manager – Gunnedah

Puggles School of Early Learning is a family-owned and operated early childhood provider, with services in Gunnedah and Tamworth. Our services have been created around a simple philosophy: children should feel safe, happy and connected, families should feel welcomed and valued, and educators should feel supported to provide the best possible education and care.

As Centre Manager of Puggles Gunnedah, you will play an important role in continuing to strengthen relationships with our children, families, educators and community.

The Opportunity

As Centre Manager, you will have the opportunity to bring your own leadership style and experience to an established service while being supported by an experienced management team. You will work closely with our Puggles Tamworth service and wider management team, giving you a network of people to collaborate with, share ideas with and call on for support.

Your Key Responsibilities Will Include:

• Leading Puggles Gunnedah with confidence, consistency and genuine care
• Creating and maintaining a positive workplace culture where educators feel supported, valued and accountable
• Being a visible and approachable leader for children, families and educators
• Building, developing and retaining a strong team
• Mentoring educators and supporting emerging leaders within the service
• Championing child safety and ensuring it is embedded in every decision, interaction and practice
• Building strong relationships with existing and new Puggles families
• Strengthening Puggles' connection with the Gunnedah community
• Leading continuous improvement and maintaining high standards across all areas of the service
• Ensuring compliance with the National Law, National Regulations, National Quality Standards, policies and procedures
• Overseeing staffing, rostering, enrolments, administration and the day-to-day operation of the service
• Making confident, timely and considered decisions that support children, families, educators and service outcomes
• Working collaboratively with the Puggles and Succeed Consultancy management teams
• Supporting occupancy and the ongoing growth and success of the service
• Maintaining high standards of supervision, health, safety, wellbeing and child protection

About You

We are looking for an experienced and confident education leader who is ready to lead a team, build a strong culture and make a genuine impact within our service. While previous experience as an Early Childhood Centre Director would be highly regarded, we also welcome applications from experienced Preschool Directors, Early Childhood Teachers and Primary School Teachers or Leaders who have strong leadership and people-management experience.

You will be someone who:

• Has proven leadership experience within early childhood, preschool, primary education or a comparable education setting
• Holds an approved Early Childhood qualification, teaching qualification or other relevant qualification
• Has demonstrated experience leading, mentoring and developing a team
• Has strong communication, organisation and relationship-building skills
• Is willing to develop a strong understanding of the National Quality Framework, National Quality Standards and regulatory requirements applicable to early childhood education and care
• Understands the importance of child safety and creating a strong child-safe culture
• Is confident managing people, having difficult conversations and making considered decisions
• Is organised and capable of balancing people, quality, compliance and operational priorities
• Builds genuine relationships with children, families and colleagues
• Leads by example and is willing to be visible and actively involved within the service
• Is passionate about education and the difference a strong leader can make to children, educators and the wider community

Above all, we are looking for someone who is a strong leader of people, genuinely cares about children and education, and wants to become part of Puggles for the long term.

Why Join Puggles?

We offer:

• Exceptional salary of $130,000 + superannuation + KPI bonus
• Permanent full-time employment
• Genuine autonomy and ownership of your service
• Support from an experienced early childhood management team
• A close working relationship with our Puggles Tamworth service
• Operational, HR and compliance support through Succeed Consultancy
• Ongoing professional development and leadership support
• Childcare discount benefits
• The opportunity to lead an established service and make a genuine impact
• The opportunity to become an important part of the Puggles and wider Gunnedah community
• Relocation assistance may be available for the right candidate

Our Commitment to Child Safety

At Puggles, the safety, wellbeing and rights of children come first. The successful applicant will lead by example, ensuring child-safe practices are embedded throughout the service.

Come and Be Part of Puggles! If you are an experienced Centre Manager or education leader looking for more than your next job and want to lead a service where you can build relationships, develop a great team and genuinely make a difference, we would love to hear from you.