Finance Operations Manager

Job Title: Finance & Operations Manager (Back Office Support)

Location: Hybrid / London-based (occasional on-site support across three schools)

Salary: £40,000–£60,000 FTE (40 hours / week) per annum + performance bonus + EMI share options

Reporting To: Director of Operations & CEO

Employment Type: Full Time / Part time permanent

About Hatching Dragons

Hatching Dragons is the UK’s premier multilingual early years education group, operating nurseries in Westminster, the City of London, and Canada Water. We provide a unique model that combines character education, multilingualism, and cognitive development for globally-minded families.

We are now entering a high-growth phase, supported by a dual-track strategy:

• Track 1: B2C growth via acquisitions of high-quality nurseries across London and the South East, integrating them into our centralised operating platform while preserving local brand identities.
• Track 2: B2B expansion through our Workplace Nursery Scheme, a full-stack childcare solution for corporate employers and landlords, co-developed with the London Business School .

This role is a core part of the central operating team, which is eligible for performance bonuses and equity participation under our Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI) share scheme, aligned to the delivery of commercial milestones across both growth tracks and would be a perfect fit for someone who’d like to benefit from our free childcare policy under the workplace nursery benefit

This hybrid role spans book-keeping, HR administration, operations management, and executive assistance and can be broken into two part time positions for candidates who demonstrate expertise in one of the two specific areas. 

You’ll work directly with the Operations Director and CEO to ensure seamless daily operations across three legal entities and support the scalable systems integration required for our expansion.

• Manage daily finance operations in Xero, Hubdoc, Revolut, and Hubspot
• Raise invoices, reconcile payments, and ensure accurate allocation to:
• Correct cost centres (Corporate, Westminster, City, Southwark)
• Appropriate accounting codes and legal entities (Hatching Dragons Ltd, HD City Ltd, Hatching Dragons Southwark Ltd)
• Oversee inbound payments from:
• Tax-Free Childcare, Student Finance Grants, Workplace Nursery Schemes, and others
• Maintain platform integrity across funding systems with appropriate account access for each OpCo
• Coordinate with external management accountants for month-end processes
• Track and manage local authority funding submissions through EY Works and LA portals each term

• Manage the finance inbox in Hubspot; respond to parent queries and resolve invoicing issues
• Monitor aged receivables and enforce fee policies, including:
• Late payment penalties
• Deposit drawdowns
• Child suspension where necessary
• Ensure structured communications and collections processes are followed across all sites

• Manage recruitment channels and ensure brand communications for staffing across relevant platforms maximises engagement
• Administer staff records, onboarding, and vetting processes using BambooHR
• Ensure full compliance with Ofsted safer recruitment procedures and ongoing staff supervision
• Process payroll, timesheets, and annual leave tracking in coordination with finance and school managers
• Maintain GDPR-compliant digital staff files and onboarding procedures across all three companies

• Support the Operations Director in overseeing day-to-day task execution across the group using:
• Motion AI (task/project management)
• Notion AI (internal comms and postings
• Google Workspace (calendar, forms, docs)
• Liaise with school managers to ensure operational priorities are being executed and documented
• Provide EA-level support to the CEO and Ops Director (meeting notes, reports, executive coordination)

Candidate Profile

• Bookkeeping qualifications (minimum AAT Level 2–3 or equivalent)
• Experience managing multi-entity finance in Xero, Hubdoc, and other SME accounting platforms
• Experience using BambooHR or similar HRIS for recruitment and onboarding
• Strong systems thinker with confidence using tools like Hubspot, Motion AI, and cloud-based workflows
• Organised, methodical, and detail-oriented
• Comfortable balancing competing deadlines in a fast-paced, mission-driven organisation

• Experience working in early years education, regulated care, or multi-site consumer-facing businesses
• Familiarity with EY Works, Tax-Free Childcare, GoCardless, and local authority funding platforms
• Understanding of compliance within Ofsted frameworks and safer recruitment expectations

• Salary: £50,000–£60,000 p.a. depending on experience
• EMI Share Options Scheme: Up to 15% of group equity reserved for key central team roles
• Performance-linked bonus based on operational and financial milestones
• A chance to join a high-growth company at a strategic inflection point
• Flexible working arrangements
• Opportunity to shape and scale a tech-enabled back office platform supporting both B2B and B2C growth across London

Please email your CV and a short cover letter outlining your suitability for the role to [email protected]. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.