Operations Manager – Early Childhood Education
📍 Sunshine Coast & Brisbane | Full-time
🌱 Rise & Shine Kindergarten
Why join Rise & Shine:
At Rise & Shine, we’re passionate about making a difference in the lives of children and families. You’ll be joining a team that values innovation, quality, and people – where your leadership will have a real impact.
About Us:
Rise & Shine Kindergarten is a values-based, growing network of early education and care
services committed to providing high-quality education and care, we currently operate across 15 services across New South Wales & Queensland. We pride ourselves on creating nurturing environments where children, families, and educators thrive. With services in QLD across the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane, we are looking for an inspiring Operations Manager to help lead the way.
About the Role:
This is a dynamic, hands-on leadership role responsible for overseeing the
operational performance of 4 services, 3 located in the Sunshine Coast and 1 in
Brisbane. You will work closely with Centre Directors and the Rise & Shine
management team to ensure our centres provide quality care, are compliant, maintain
team and community engagement, and drive business performance.
Key Responsibilities:
- Provide leadership, guidance and operational support to Centre Directors across multiple services
- Ensure compliance with the National Quality Framework (NQF) and all regulatory requirements
- Support and mentor leadership teams to build capability and consistency
- Monitor and improve service quality across environments, practices, curriculum and relationships
- Lead initiatives to enhance team culture, retention, and engagement
- Drive occupancy, financial performance, and sustainable growth
- Assist and support with preparation for assessment and rating
- Collaborate with senior leadership on strategic planning
About You:
- Proven experience in multi-site leadership within early childhood education
- Strong understanding of NQF, EYLF, and children’s services regulations and law
- A confident leader who can influence, coach, and support diverse teams
- Commercially minded with experience managing budgets and performance metrics
- Willingness to travel regularly between services and interstate for training and networking
opportunities
- Strong pedagogical leadership and deep knowledge of early childhood practice
- Excellent communication, leadership, and stakeholder engagement skills
- Strong time management and organisational skills
- You champion continuous improvement by staying informed of sector changes, emerging
research, and evolving regulatory requirements
- You create a positive and motivating environment, inspiring teams to perform at their
best
What We Offer:
- Generous salary package + performance incentives ($50 – $60 hr + access to company vehicle for travel across services + KPI bonuses)
- Access to company vehicle
- Ongoing professional development and leadership support
- Opportunity to be part of a growing, values-driven organisation
- A collaborative and supportive leadership team
- Flexible workplace, ability to work 4 or 5 days per week
Special Requirements:
- Valid blue card and criminal history clearance
- Current driver’s licence
- Willingness to travel between services and interstate as required
- Availability to attend occasional after-hours meetings and events
To Apply:
- Hit APPLY and send us your application.
- Take a virtual tour of our Centres https://www.riseandshine.edu.au/locations/
- Check out our ORBIT STEM Learning Hub https://www.riseandshine.edu.au/orbit/
Child Safe Standards
All candidates will be required to complete a Prohibition Declaration as part of the recruitment process. Our Service is committed to providing a safe environment for children and young people. We understand our responsibilities and statutory duty of care to keep children safe and comply with the Child Safe Standards.
