Full-time | Year-round
Based at Club Excel Head Office, Mill Hill, NW7
Competitive salary, dependent on experience
About Club Excel
For over 25 years, Club Excel has been creating brilliant school holiday experiences for children aged 3–13 across London and the Southeast.
Our camps are all about giving children the chance to have fun, try new things, make friends and enjoy their school holidays in a safe, welcoming and high-energy environment.
From sport and games to creative activities, performing arts and everything in between, we want children to leave camp tired, happy and already asking when they can come back.
Behind the scenes, that takes a great team.
We employ a large seasonal workforce across multiple venues, supported by a year-round Head Office and management team.
We are now looking for an experienced and highly organised Early Years & Staffing Manager to join us and take ownership of two hugely important areas of the business: our youngest children and the people who make our camps happen.
The Role
This is a senior, hands-on role for someone who loves working with people, enjoys being busy and gets satisfaction from making sure everything runs properly.
You will take the lead on staffing across Club Excel, helping us recruit, organise and retain a fantastic seasonal team across our camp venues.
Alongside this, you will oversee our Early Years provision, making sure our youngest campers receive the same fun, high-quality experience as everyone else while ensuring we continue to meet all relevant EYFS and Ofsted requirements.
This is not a traditional classroom role and it is not a desk-bound HR job.
It is a varied management position combining people, childcare, recruitment, operations, planning and a bit of everything in between.
One day you might be interviewing a brilliant new Camp Manager, the next you might be helping solve a staffing problem, visiting a Mini Camp, reviewing Early Years requirements or making sure payroll information is ready to go.
No two weeks are quite the same.
The role could be particularly well suited to an experienced primary school teacher, Reception teacher, Early Years professional or childcare manager looking for a fresh challenge outside a traditional school or nursery environment.
Staffing & Recruitment
Our camps are only as good as the people running them, so finding and keeping great staff is a major part of this role.
You will:
- Lead recruitment for seasonal camp staff across all Club Excel venues.
- Work with Area Managers to plan staffing requirements ahead of each school holiday.
- Advertise vacancies and find new ways to attract great candidates.
- Review applications, shortlist candidates and conduct interviews.
- Help make recruitment decisions and build strong teams across each venue.
- Develop relationships with returning staff and encourage the best people to come back.
- Manage staff availability and support the allocation of staff across camps.
- Keep an eye on staffing levels and spot gaps before they become problems.
- Help resolve last-minute staffing issues during camp periods.
- Support the recruitment and development of Camp Managers and other senior seasonal staff.
- Identify high-performing team members and help create progression opportunities within Club Excel.
You will also take ownership of the important admin that sits behind staffing, including DBS checks, references, right-to-work checks, qualifications, training records, contracts and staff records.
Early Years
You will be the Head Office lead for Early Years across Club Excel.
Our youngest campers are an important part of what we do, and we want their experience to be just as exciting, engaging and memorable as the older children.
You will:
- Oversee Early Years provision across Club Excel.
- Ensure our provision continues to meet relevant EYFS and Ofsted requirements.
- Maintain oversight of Early Years staffing and qualification requirements.
- Support the recruitment and deployment of suitably qualified staff.
- Help develop and improve our Mini Camp programme for children aged 3–4.
- Support staff working with Reception-aged children across our wider programmes.
- Provide practical guidance to Camp Managers and staff.
- Help ensure activities are fun, engaging, age-appropriate and inclusive.
- Support children with SEND and additional needs.
- Review and improve Early Years procedures and guidance.
- Help keep Club Excel ready for Ofsted inspections.
- Support inspections when required.
- Visit camps to monitor provision and support teams.
We are looking for someone who understands what high-quality childcare looks like, but who also knows that children should be having a genuinely brilliant time.
Staff Training & Development
A big part of Club Excel is helping people grow.
Many of our seasonal staff join us as students, coaches or first-time activity leaders and develop into experienced team members and managers.
You will help make that happen.
This will include:
- Supporting staff induction and training.
- Helping develop Camp Managers and team leaders.
- Making sure staff understand our expectations around safeguarding, behaviour, professionalism and child welfare.
- Providing practical feedback and coaching.
- Supporting managers when staff performance issues arise.
- Recognising great performance and helping good staff progress.
- Identifying recurring training needs and helping us improve the way we prepare our teams.
You will need to be approachable and supportive, but also confident enough to have difficult conversations when standards are not being met.
Camp Operations
School holidays are when Club Excel really comes to life.
During camp periods, the role becomes much more operational and you will spend time out at our venues alongside Area Managers and Camp Managers.
You will:
- Visit camps across London and the Southeast.
- Support managers and staff.
- Monitor Early Years provision and staffing.
- Help solve problems as they arise.
- Support safeguarding and welfare matters.
- Make sure teams have the information and support they need.
- Monitor standards across venues.
- Help ensure Club Excel policies and procedures are followed consistently.
- Speak directly with staff and managers to understand what is working well and what could be improved.
You need to enjoy being part of the action rather than wanting to spend every day behind a desk.
Head Office & Business Administration
Outside the school holidays, much of the work happens at Head Office.
As part of a relatively small year-round team, you will also support the wider running of the business.
This will include:
- Maintaining accurate staffing and operational records.
- Preparing for upcoming camp periods.
- Managing information within our internal systems.
- Supporting staff and parent enquiries relating to your areas of responsibility.
- Helping improve systems and processes.
- Supporting payroll preparation.
- Checking staff hours and pay information.
- Responding to payroll queries.
- Supporting invoicing and general finance administration.
- Taking part in management and operational planning meetings.
- Taking ownership of tasks and seeing them through properly.
You do not need to be a payroll expert or accountant. Training can be provided.
What matters more is that you are organised, comfortable with numbers and happy to learn.
Who We Are Looking For
We are looking for someone who is capable, positive and naturally organised.
Someone who enjoys working with people but also likes structure.
Someone who can be friendly and approachable while still being confident enough to make decisions and hold people to high standards.
You will ideally be:
- Highly organised.
- Positive and energetic.
- Great with people.
- Confident making decisions.
- Comfortable managing staff.
- Calm when things get busy.
- Proactive and solution-focused.
- Commercially aware.
- Comfortable with numbers and spreadsheets.
- Confident using technology and learning new systems.
- Able to communicate professionally with staff, parents and managers.
- Comfortable having difficult conversations when required.
- Someone who notices when something needs doing and gets on with it.
- Someone who enjoys variety and doesn't need every day to look the same.
- Someone who takes pride in creating a great experience for both children and staff.
Who Might This Role Suit?
There is no one perfect background for this role.
We would particularly love to hear from:
- Primary school teachers looking for a career outside classroom teaching.
- Reception teachers.
- Early Years teachers or practitioners.
- Phase or year-group leaders.
- Nursery managers or deputy managers.
- Holiday camp managers.
- Children's activity managers.
- Candidates with a mix of childcare, teaching and business experience.
Previous experience in recruitment, staffing, HR, operations or business administration would be useful, but it is not essential.
We are much more interested in finding someone with the right personality, judgement, organisation, leadership ability and understanding of children.
Qualifications
A recognised teaching or Early Years qualification would be highly desirable, including:
- Qualified Teacher Status (QTS)
- Early Years Teacher Status
- Level 3 or above Early Years/Childcare qualification
Strong candidates with relevant experience may also be considered without these qualifications.
Working Pattern
This is a full-time, year-round role primarily based at our Head Office in Mill Hill.
During term time, the focus is on recruitment, staffing preparation, Early Years management, training and getting everything ready for the next camp period.
During school holidays, things get busier and much more hands-on, with regular visits to camps across London and the Southeast.
A driving licence and access to a vehicle would therefore be strongly preferred.
Why Club Excel?
Club Excel is a fun business, but we take what we do seriously.
We want children to have an amazing time, parents to trust us and staff to enjoy being part of the team.
For the right person, this role offers the chance to take real ownership, work within a friendly and ambitious team and make a visible impact across the business.
You will have the opportunity to:
- Recruit and develop a large seasonal workforce.
- Shape our Early Years provision.
- Work across multiple camp venues.
- Build experience in operations, recruitment and business.
- Work closely with the senior management team.
- Introduce new ideas and improve the way we work.
- Develop a long-term management career within Club Excel.
If you are coming from teaching or childcare, this is a chance to keep the parts you enjoy — children, people, leadership and making a difference — while moving into a broader and more varied role.
Safeguarding
Club Excel is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment.
The successful applicant will be subject to appropriate safer recruitment checks, including an Enhanced DBS check, references and right-to-work checks.
Club Excel is committed to equal opportunities in employment.
This job description is not exhaustive. We are a busy, fast-moving organisation, so flexibility and a willingness to get stuck in are an important part of the role.
Work Location: In person
