Join Early Years – the organisation for young children as Toybox Manager

Location: Frequent travel across the region, Hybrid working policy in place

Base: Belfast, Dungannon, Omagh or other regional office (TBD)

Hours: 37 hours per week

Tenure: Permanent

Salary: Point 32-35, £43,532.22-£46,834.62 per annum pro rata

Do you have a passion for making a meaningful impact in early childhood education?

Do you believe in the power of play to unlock potential?

Be part of our team and help shape the futures of children by fostering growth and learning through purposeful opportunities.

At Early Years, we are committed to fostering growth for both the children and our staff. Joining means an opportunity to enhance your skills, make a meaningful difference, and collaborate with a team that upholds dedication, compassion, and excellence in early years care and education.

In return, Early Years provides a comprehensive rewards package, including a competitive salary, 38 days of annual leave (pro-rata), inclusive of statutory/public holidays, a contributory pension scheme, options to purchase additional leave, and access to healthcare schemes.

The role

As Toybox Manager you will be responsible for leading, managing and further developing the Toybox Project. The post holder will manage a regional team to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of the project against agreed objectives with the Department of Education.

The postholder will be promoting and developing high quality, evidence-informed services for Traveller, Roma and Newcomer children and their families within local communities that instil the vision and values of the Early Years Organisation.

We're looking for people who:

At the closing date have:

Essential criteria

• A Degree level qualification or equivalent in Education or Early Years or Social Work or Community Work.

• A minimum of two years’ practical or project management experience working within Education or Early Years or Social Work or Community related field.

• A minimum of one years’ experience in managing staff.

• A full current driving license enabling the holder to drive in both Ireland and Northern Ireland and have the use of a vehicle for official purposes.

Desirable criteria

• Demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of evidence based approaches to Early Years Education.

An information pack containing the job description and personnel specification is available by clicking here.

Please note, the information pack will not be available after the job posting closes therefore you may want to download it.

As part of the application process, you will need to demonstrate how you meet the criteria as outlined above and, on the personnel specification, and provide a copy of your CV.

Shortlisting will be completed based on the information contained with the application form, therefore it is important to clearly outline how you meet the criteria.

Please note that your CV will only be used to support your application in assessing employment history.

Once you begin the application, it must be completed in one session, as there is no option to save and return to it later.

The closing date for receipt of completed applications is Tuesday 28 April 2026.

For shortlisted applicants it is anticipated that interviews will take place on Wednesday 20 May 2026.

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to six months for the same or similar roles – if this applies to you, we’ll let you know via email.

Should you need to contact us, please use the following methods:

Email: monitoringofficer@early-years.org

Phone: 028 9066 2825 Option 5

Early Years is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to providing flexible friendly working conditions. As Protestants and males are currently known to be under-represented in the Organisation, we would particularly welcome applications from these groups.