Location
Romford, London Borough of Havering

Hours
Full Time - Flexible working including early mornings, evenings, weekends, with travel across the borough and nationally

Salary
Grade 7 - £43,680 to £48,003 per annum

About the Role
Join the Starting Well – Early Help and Targeted Family Support Service as a Senior Early Years Practitioner and play a pivotal role in delivering high-quality interventions within Children’s Services. You will provide leadership, oversight, and operational support to Early Years Practitioners, ensuring effective delivery of universal and targeted services designed to improve outcomes for young children and their families. Working within the Best Start for Life Offer and the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, you will help reduce inequalities, particularly for families in greatest need.

Key responsibilities include managing and inspiring a team of practitioners, collaborating with health, education, voluntary and statutory partners, promoting parental engagement through forums and evidence-based parenting programmes, overseeing data collection and performance analysis to drive service improvement, ensuring safeguarding and compliance with council policies, and deputising for the Best Start for Life Team Manager when required.

Experience
- Minimum of 2 years’ experience working with young children and families in a community setting
- Proven ability to design and deliver effective services for young children and families within public or voluntary sectors
- Hands-on experience supporting families with practical parenting strategies
- Strong track record of working collaboratively across sectors and in multi-agency partnerships
- Knowledge and training in safeguarding practices
- Leadership experience with a commitment to ongoing professional development

About You
You are an organised, proactive, and confident professional who thrives in a fast-paced Early Years environment. You bring precision and empathy to your work, balancing timely decision-making with diligence to ensure accuracy and compliance. You have excellent communication, listening and interpersonal skills, are highly organised with strong time management, and are committed to equality, diversity, and maintaining a safe, inclusive environment. You demonstrate proven leadership, teamwork, and management capabilities and handle confidential information appropriately.

Qualifications
- Level 2 and Level 3 recognised childcare qualifications
- Strong knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and current Ofsted statutory guidance
- Paediatric First Aid and Basic Food Hygiene qualifications (or willingness to train)