Nursery Support Officer - Northampton

A BIT ABOUT US

In June 2021, Just Childcare was acquired by the Partou group of companies, followed by their acquisition of All About Children in September 2022. The merger of both organisations will establish Partou UK as one of the largest childcare providers in the UK. Through organic growth and targeted acquisition, plans are in place to significantly grow the UK estate, making it an exciting and rewarding time to be part of the journey ahead. 

We will continue to invest significantly in the quality of care that we provide as our offering and the optimisation of our early years learning experience that each one of our parent’s children can rightly expect to rely on through its curriculum delivery. We are on a clear growth trajectory whereby continuous further professionalisation and quality improvement go hand in hand with expansion, through the development of new locations, acquisitions, automation, and processes over time.

With over 1,000 global nursery branches catering for 75,000+ children and with over 11,000 highly skilled team members, the Partou group is a global leading childcare provider based in the Netherlands, with its group headquarters in Vianen with strong expansion ambitions that are centred around organic and inorganic growth in a broader European context.

For more information on the Partou group, please visit: https://partou-indemaatschappij.nl/en/.

WHY THIS ROLE IS IMPORTANT TO US

This role is the main business partner to the Nursery Managers and supports them as an expert for all matters relating to fees, debtors, and grant funding. This role is essential in ensuring we deliver accurate bills to parents and excellent service through the timely provision information and query resolution.

WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING

You will business partner with managers from 10-15 nurseries and you will be the expert for all areas regarding billing, and grant funding. You will support your nurseries managers with queries regarding the Nursery Management system and work with them and parents to resolve queries timely and to the satisfaction of all parties.

KEY RESPONSIBILITES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Ensuring the accuracy of data in our billing system, in particular, establishing LA Grant Parameters in the billing system and the application of Student Finance and Tax-Free Childcare receipts, 30 hour codes validated and the Connect system is kept up to date on a real time basis
• Reconciliation of grant claims made to the LAs against systems data
• Problem solving unallocated cash on the system
• Checking the monthly bill proposal and resolving unbilled sessions prior to issue to ensure accuracy of billing
• Assist nurseries in debt collection where required, including passing to the debt collection specialists in the team where necessary
• Ensuring queries from nursery managers and bill payers are dealt with on a timely basis including emails and phone calls to prevent unpaid bills
• Raising credits where applicable and seeking appropriate approval
• Ensure fee and deposit refunds are accurate and authorised in a timely manner
• Ensuring there’s an accurate record of deposits received
• Building relationships with key stakeholders and providing a great service to our nurseries
• Business partner with managers from 10 - 15 nurseries and the expert for all areas regarding billing and grant funding
• Supporting the integration of acquisitions into the nursery management system and ensuring a smooth onboarding process with incoming Nursery Managers
• Support the fee collection team with relevant information about specific accounts
• Support in the training and development of the team and nursery staff by sharing knowledge and best practice gained through the role
• Processing Direct Debits

HOW YOU’LL SUCCEED – WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE?

• Accurate fee notes for parents;
• Accurate Grant claims, no underfunding through missed or incorrect applications;
• Swift dispute resolution;
• Clear and transparent communication;
• Excellent reputation and feedback from business partners;

WHAT IT TAKES

PROFFESIONAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES REQUIRED:

• Minimum of two years’ experience of working in a financial support team for a multi-site company
• Knowledge of LA Early Years Funding
• Knowledge of the early years education sector Strong interpersonal and team management skills;
• Strong interpersonal and team management skills
• Excellent analytical, time management and problem-solving skills
• Ability to demonstrate a high level of accuracy and attention to detail
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel;
• Proactive approach to work;
• Driven to hit deadlines and have excellent time keeping skills;
• Good communication skills with all levels of the organisation;

Please note: This job description does not form part of the Contract of Employment. It is to be used as a key guide to the fundamental duties, professional expectations and core competencies pertaining to the role as described only and is not to be taken as a definitive all encompassed list of role deliverable responsibilities or expectations. The Company reserves the right at any time to ask the role holder to carry out other reasonable duties that are both relevant and in line with the incumbent’s skills, knowledge, and experience to aid in the organisation’s overall performance. The Company also reserves the right to review and update any part of its contents at any time. Should this be determined, you will be informed and involved in this process

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