Manager jobs in United Kingdom

Ready to make an impact beyond our nurseries? Join our team and help shape the future of early years care and education from the heart of our organisation. If you're driven, collaborative, and passionate about making a real difference - apply today.

Key Details:
Team/Business Area: Finance
Hours: 20p/w, Monday to Friday - either two 10 hour shifts in the office, or two 8 hour shifts in the office and one 4 hour shift working from home.
Location: Head Office, Ravenshead, Nottingham
Line Manager: CEO/Founder and Directors

As Fractional Finance Manager, you will provide strategic oversight of our financial systems, controls and reporting, ensuring strong financial performance across all nursery settings. You will lead on financial planning, cashflow management and funding reconciliation, bringing clarity and rigour to our financial processes. You will oversee and complete monthly management accounts, budgeting and forecasting, while ensuring accuracy in parent billing, Government funding claims and payroll‑related financial controls. You will also support Cherubs Nurseries’ longer‑term growth ambitions by modelling new opportunities, enhancing reporting systems and providing insightful analysis on key performance drivers such as occupancy, cost per head and staffing ratios.

• Competitive salary, reflective of your responsibility and experience
• 30% childcare discount at Cherubs Nurseries
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidaysFTE)
• Annual “me” day each year – on completion of 1 year’s service
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and leave package – on completion of 1 year’s service
• Plus, other Cherubs Nurseries rewards and benefits such as electric car scheme, employee assistance programme and free lunch!

Established in 1993, Cherubs Nurseries is a family‑run business on a mission to give all children the personalities, skills and experiences they need to take on the world, without limitations. Central to our approach (inspired by Montessori, Hygge, Reggio and Forest School) is our Community Life work which aims to make the communities we serve better places to live, work and grow up in. From annual fundraising events to community clean ups and a robust Sustainability Action Plan.

We know it takes a village to raise a child and we want our nurseries to be reflective of our communities. We champion diversity in the early years sector and are driven to bring more men into early years, supporting MITEY to achieve a mixed‑gender early years workforce.

• Family‑run business, but with all the benefits you would expect from a bigger group!
• Committed to taking people where they want to go – from personalised professional development pathways to continuous internal training.
• Experienced and long‑standing teams – plenty of support whilst you get to grips with Cherubs Nurseries.
• Proactive and forward‑thinking culture – we’re committed to making Cherubs Nurseries a great place to work.

• Overseeing parent billing, discounts, deposits and fee accuracy.
• Managing government funding claims, forecasting and reconciliation.
• Identifying funding leakage and implementing robust audit processes.
• Ensuring smooth integration between nursery management and accounting systems.
• Providing clear financial guidance to Nursery Managers and the Operations Team.
• Training leaders on reading P&Ls, managing budgets and understanding occupancy.
• Acting as a trusted adviser to the CEO and Directors.
• Producing monthly management accounts for all nursery settings.
• Developing financial strategy aligned to occupancy, fees and growth plans.
• Delivering insightful board‑level reporting.
• Supporting modelling for acquisitions, new sites and capital projects.
• Creating accurate cashflow forecasts and establishing strong financial controls.
• Enhancing accounting systems and integrating cloud platforms (e.g., Xero).
• Automating manual tasks across billing, reporting and dashboards.
• Establishing a consistent reporting cadence for leaders across the business.
• Overseeing payroll accuracy, pensions, holiday pay and variable hours.
• Monitoring cost ratios, agency spend and overtime.
• Ensuring compliance with HMRC, LLP regulations, local authority funding rules and GDPR.

• ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified (or equivalent).
• Degree‑level candidates in finance‑related fields will also be considered.

• 5+ years’ post‑qualification experience in practice or outsourced environments.
• Strong technical understanding of management accounts, statutory accounts and UK GAAP.
• Experience with cloud accounting (e.g., Xero).
• Background in high‑growth or systems‑focused environments.
• Advanced Excel/reporting skills.

As we continue to grow, opportunities may arise to progress to senior or board‑level roles such as Chief Finance Officer (CFO).

Cherubs Nurseries is committed to upholding a safe and compliant workforce and business. All roles require: the right to work in the United Kingdom, the completion of a “Keeping Children Safe” Form, a DBS and at least 2 satisfactory employment references. Some roles may also require a 5-year employment history. Cherubs Nurseries is an equal opportunities employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and will make reasonable adjustments to support candidates and employees with disabilities and learning difficulties.