Assistant Centre Manager | Lucknow

Working closely with your Centre Manager and the broader Centre Leadership Team, you’ll have the opportunity to influence how we welcome families, build our team, establish strong operating rhythms and create the culture our new centre becomes known for.

And when required, you’ll be ready to step into broader centre leadership responsibilities.

It’s an opportunity to build real management experience while having support around you.

Your role will span the day-to-day operation of the centre and the longer-term work of building a high-performing service.

You’ll have the opportunity to:

Support the Centre Manager across the overall operation of the centre

Help establish strong daily operating rhythms from opening

Support rostering, staffing, resources and centre operations

Lead, guide and support educators across the service

Contribute to the recruitment and onboarding of the founding team

Coach and mentor team members as they build capability

Support performance conversations and professional development

Build strong relationships with children, families and the local community

Support compliance with the National Quality Framework, National Quality Standard and regulatory requirements

Contribute to quality improvement, audits and continuous improvement

Support centre budgets, financial processes and responsible resource management

Help establish accurate records, documentation and compliance systems

Support family engagement, community connections and centre growth

Step into Centre Manager responsibilities when required

Taking the next step in leadership shouldn’t mean having to work everything out on your own.

At Lucknow, you’ll work alongside your Centre Manager, Educational Leader and Early Childhood Teacher as part of the Centre Leadership Team.

You’ll also be connected to Journey’s broader ecosystem of specialist support, including:

Centre Quality

National Safeguarding

Pedagogical Strategy

Capability and Culture

Finance and Payroll

Marketing and Experience

Journey Academy and Learning Development

IT Support

Your Centre Quality Manager will be a key partner to the centre, providing another experienced layer of support as the leadership team establishes the new service.

The focus is partnership — giving our centre leaders access to specialist expertise while they remain accountable for leading their centre.

You may already be an Assistant Centre Manager or 2IC looking for a role with greater scope.

Or you might be an experienced Lead Educator, Educational Leader or senior early childhood professional who has built strong people and operational capability and is ready to move into centre leadership.

You will ideally have:

A Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care, or an ACECQA-approved equivalent qualification appropriate to the role

A genuine commitment to child safety and safeguarding

Experience leading, coaching or supporting other educators

Strong knowledge of the National Quality Framework and National Quality Standard

An understanding of quality improvement and Assessment and Rating

Confidence balancing people, operational and compliance priorities

Strong organisation and problem-solving capability

Excellent communication and relationship-building skills

Confidence working with children, families and teams

The judgement to work autonomously while knowing when to seek support

Curiosity, openness to feedback and a desire to continue developing as a leader

You’ll also need to meet Journey’s pre-employment requirements, including the relevant Working with Children Check, National Child Safety Certification (Foundation and Advanced), and First Aid, CPR, Asthma and Anaphylaxis requirements for the position.

You don’t need to already live in Lucknow or Bairnsdale to start a conversation with us.

We welcome experienced early childhood professionals from Melbourne, wider Victoria and interstate who may be looking for their next leadership opportunity and open to making a move.

If the role feels right but the location requires some planning, we’d still encourage you to talk with us about what may be possible.

There are plenty of roles where you can be someone’s second-in-charge.

You’ll help establish a brand-new centre, build capability across a new team and develop experience across the full operation of an early learning service.

And you’ll do it within an established organisation where your centre has access to a Centre Quality Manager, specialist Support Office partners, Journey Academy and broader career opportunities.

For someone who wants to keep growing their leadership career, that combination matters.

If you’re ready for broader leadership responsibility and want the opportunity to help build a centre from day one, we’d love to hear from you.

Journey Early Learning is committed to being a Child Safe Organisation and to creating environments where every child is safe, supported, respected and heard.

As a Victorian Early Childhood Employer, we expect all employees and leaders to actively uphold the Victorian Child Safe Standards, applicable child protection obligations and Journey’s safeguarding requirements.

As an Assistant Centre Manager, you’ll play an important role in modelling a child-safe culture, supporting educators to understand their responsibilities, maintaining professional boundaries and ensuring concerns relating to children’s safety and wellbeing are recognised and escalated appropriately.

Journey’s See, Act, Tell Safeguarding Framework supports our teams to recognise concerns, respond appropriately and speak up when something does not feel right.

All appointments are subject to Journey’s pre-employment screening and child-safety requirements, including the relevant Working with Children Check and any other checks, qualifications or clearances required for the role.

Journey Early Learning is a Child Safe Organisation and is committed to the safety, wellbeing and protection of all children in our care.