Early Years Advisor

Overview

Are you passionate about improving outcomes for young children and ensuring high‑quality, inclusive early years provision? We’re looking for an experienced Early Years & Childcare Advisor to play a vital role in supporting, challenging and guiding early years settings across the county.

This is an opportunity to use your expertise to influence practice, promote safeguarding, and help close the achievement gap for disadvantaged children—making a real difference to families and communities.

About us

Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally. 

About the role

As an Early Years & Childcare Advisor, you’ll provide authoritative advice, guidance and professional challenge to a wide range of early years and childcare providers, including maintained schools, private, voluntary and independent settings, childminders and out‑of‑school provision.

You’ll:

• Support providers to meet statutory requirements including the EYFS, safeguarding legislation and Ofsted regulations
• Promote high‑quality, inclusive practice that improves outcomes for all children, particularly vulnerable groups
• Deliver targeted and universal support visits, including to settings causing concern
• Analyse data, Ofsted outcomes and feedback to identify trends, risks and improvement priorities
• Provide expert guidance on safeguarding, child protection and managing allegations
• Contribute to service development, market management and commissioning activity
• Develop and deliver training, networking opportunities and specialist guidance across the sector
• Work collaboratively with partners, SENCOs and wider services to support children with SEND and early help needs

This is a mobile role requiring travel across the county, with occasional evening or weekend work to support providers and sector engagement.

About you

You’ll be a confident, credible professional with substantial experience in early years, education, health or social care, and a strong understanding of the statutory and regulatory landscape.

You’ll bring:

• In‑depth knowledge of the EYFS, safeguarding guidance, SEND Code of Practice and childcare legislation
• Experience advising and supporting early years providers to improve quality and outcomes
• Strong analytical and report‑writing skills, with the ability to interpret complex information and data
• Excellent communication and relationship‑building skills, with the confidence to challenge and influence practice
• The ability to organise and prioritise a varied workload, making sound professional judgements
• A collaborative, solution‑focused approach aligned with public service values

You’ll be educated to degree level (with QTS), have GCSEs (or equivalent) in Maths and English, a full driving licence and access to a vehicle.

Other information

If you would like to find out more about this role, please contact Claire O'Connell at [email protected]

Closing date: Midnight on Monday 18th May

Interview date: Friday 22nd May

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Buckinghamshire Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent convictions and conditional cautions
• All spent convictions and adult cautions that are not protected (i.e. that are not filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020 and 2023).

For further information on filtering please refer to Nacro guidance and the guidance published by the Ministry of Justice (see, in particular, the section titled ‘Exceptions Order’).

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/