Location
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Hours
Based in the Borough for three days a week

Salary
Competitive Grade G salary with annual increments and cost of living pay awards. New hires will normally start at the minimum of the pay scale, with potential for higher starting salary based on exceptional skills, knowledge, or experience.

About the Role
By grounding strategic decisions in clear evidence, you will help give every young child the best start in life across Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster. You will play a key role in supporting high-quality early years services for children and families across our boroughs. Working collaboratively with colleagues and partners, you will lead and support the effective management, monitoring and use of early years data across a range of service functions. Your work will ensure data is accurate, timely and used effectively to inform decision-making, identify priorities, monitor impact and drive service improvement.

You will lead on the strategic use of data, intelligence and evidence to drive performance management and continuous improvement across our Bi-Borough Early Education and Childcare Service. You will develop and manage a whole-system performance and outcomes framework for children aged 0 to 5, ensuring planning aligns directly with our Best Start in Life Strategy. You will hold overall responsibility for statutory early years data functions, including childcare sufficiency assessments, funded entitlement monitoring and national data returns.

A typical day involves balancing strategic analysis, operational problem-solving and partnership working. You will monitor key performance measures, conduct market sustainability analysis, resolve data quality issues and prepare clear dashboards, reports and briefings for senior leaders and governance boards. Working closely with Business Intelligence, ICT, commissioning teams, Family Hubs and local early years providers, you will translate complex datasets into practical insights that identify inequalities, target resources effectively and build data confidence across the service.

In this role, getting stuck in is the mindset for getting things done, whether analysing childcare sufficiency trends in the office, collaborating with Family Hubs or working alongside local early years providers. Navigating statutory data requirements, complex datasets and service demands across two boroughs is challenging but rewarding, with analytical challenges becoming opportunities for growth that directly inform our Best Start in Life Strategy and target support where it will have the greatest impact for children and families.

We offer ongoing professional development, a supportive environment where innovative ideas are welcomed, flexible working options and comprehensive wellbeing support within an organisation that actively promotes equality, inclusion and career growth.

Experience
Relevant professional qualification or equivalent substantial experience in a performance and intelligence function within Children's Services or local government. Solid understanding of the policy and legislative framework surrounding early years, childcare and safeguarding. Advanced analytical, statistical and forecasting skills, with hands-on experience managing large datasets, quality assurance, data visualisation and statutory reporting.

About you
Strong problem-solving capabilities, exceptional attention to detail and the ability to explain complex statistical information clearly to professional and non-technical audiences alike. Organised and adaptable when managing competing priorities. Builds positive, trusting relationships with internal colleagues and external partners. Demonstrates a constructive approach to challenging existing data gathering when it does not add clear value. Embodies core values of Putting Communities First, Respect, Integrity and Working Together.

Qualifications
Relevant professional qualification or equivalent experience as outlined above.

Additional Information
An Enhanced DBS check is required for this role.

We are committed to promoting equality and respecting diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community. We are a Disability Confident Employer, ensuring an inclusive and accessible recruitment and selection process. We are committed to fair, transparent, and consistent pay practices.