Nursery Manager

Nursery Manager — Garngibboch Nature Nursery Condorrat, Cumbernauld | Full-time | Salary: £35,000–£45,000 DOE | New setting — ground-floor opportunity.Garngibboch Nature Nursery is a new boutique nursery opening on a beautiful rural property just outside Cumbernauld. Our days are built around the outdoors — growing vegetables and flowers, caring for animals, and exploring the seasons — rather than worksheets or screens. We're currently progressing our Care Inspectorate registration and are looking for an experienced, qualified Nursery Manager to help us get the doors open and run an exceptional, calm, outdoor-focused setting for 20–24 children.This is a rare chance to shape a nursery from the ground up — from finalising policies and registration, through recruiting your own team, to welcoming the first families. You'll have real influence over how the nursery runs, not just a ready-made structure to slot into.What you'll be doing:Leading day-to-day operations once registered, including staffing, ratios, and rotasWorking alongside the owner through the final stages of Care Inspectorate registrationRecruiting, inducting, and leading a small team of practitionersEmbedding our nature-led curriculum — gardening, animal care, and daily outdoor learningBuilding relationships with parents, handling enquiries, tours, and admissionsMaintaining compliance with Health and Social Care Standards and Care Inspectorate requirementsManaging budgets, records, and quality assurance/self-evaluationWhat we're looking for — essential:SVQ Level 3 (or equivalent) in Social Services Children & Young People, plus a relevant SCQF Level 9 qualification (e.g. BA Childhood Practice) — or working towards thisA recognised leadership and management qualification (e.g. SVQ Social Services & Healthcare Leadership and Management, SCQF Level 10), or willingness to work towards itEligible for, or already holding, SSSC registration as a manager/lead practitionerWillingness to join the PVG Scheme (required before starting)Previous experience as a nursery manager, deputy manager, or senior practitionerStrong knowledge of ratios, Health and Social Care Standards, and day-to-day nursery complianceHighly desirable:Experience helping register or launch a new nursery/day care serviceGenuine enthusiasm for nature-based, outdoor early learning — gardens, animals, and hands-on explorationComfortable working hands-on in a small, founder-led business, helping shape policies, systems, and the setting itself before openingWhy join us:Shape a nursery from day one — your input will genuinely define how it runsBeautiful rural setting with private grounds, gardens, and woodland accessSmall, boutique group sizes (20–24 children) rather than a high-volume settingDirect, hands-on relationship with the owner — fast decisions, no corporate layersHow to apply: Please apply directly through LinkedIn — you'll be asked a few quick screening questions as part of the application. We're reviewing applications on a rolling basis and looking to appoint ahead of our Care Inspectorate Stage 2 visit.