Director of Operations – Child Care Center

Overview

Primrose School of Wake Forest at Highland Creek is seeking an experienced and energetic Director of Operations to lead the opening and ongoing operations of our brand-new Primrose School, scheduled to open in Spring 2027.

This is a unique opportunity to join our leadership team before the school opens and play a key role in building the school from the ground up. During the pre-opening phase, you will focus on enrolling our founding families, building strong community relationships, recruiting and developing an exceptional team, and preparing the school for a successful grand opening.

Following the school's opening, you will transition into leading all aspects of school operations, including team development, licensing compliance, enrollment, family engagement, financial performance, and operational excellence.

Why This Opportunity Is Different

This isn't a traditional Director position. You'll join our team before the school opens and have the unique opportunity to enroll our founding families, recruit and develop an exceptional team, establish the school's culture, and help shape every aspect of a brand-new Primrose School from day one.

Pre-Opening Work Location

As our new school is currently under construction, the selected candidate will initially work from one of our nearby sister Primrose Schools. This location will serve as your home base for pre-opening operations, including family tours, enrollment, recruiting, community outreach, and leadership training until the new school opens. During this time, prospective families will tour the sister school while learning about our new Wake Forest at Highland Creek location.

Responsibilities

Pre-Opening Responsibilities

• Lead all pre-opening enrollment efforts, including responding to inquiries, conducting tours, following up with prospective families, and achieving enrollment goals.
• Build lasting relationships with prospective families and serve as the primary ambassador for the new school within the community.
• Develop and execute marketing, networking, community outreach, and lead-generation initiatives to build brand awareness and drive enrollment.
• Recruit, interview, hire, onboard, and develop the school's leadership team, teachers, support staff, and chef prior to opening.
• Partner with ownership to prepare the school for a successful opening, including licensing readiness, operational planning, staff training, vendor coordination, and opening-day execution.
• Collaborate with ownership, contractors, and vendors throughout the construction process to ensure the school is operationally ready for opening.

Ongoing Responsibilities

• Provide overall leadership for the school's daily operations, ensuring excellence in education, customer service, licensing compliance, and financial performance.
• Lead enrollment efforts, family tours, classroom transitions, and retention initiatives to maintain maximum enrollment.
• Recruit, coach, mentor, develop, and evaluate teachers and leadership team members while fostering a culture of accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure compliance with North Carolina licensing regulations, health and safety requirements, and Primrose Schools standards.
• Manage staffing, classroom ratios, scheduling, payroll, budgets, purchasing, inventory, and other operational functions.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with families by delivering exceptional customer service and promptly resolving concerns.
• Maintain a safe, clean, organized, and welcoming learning environment for children, families, and staff.
• Identify opportunities to improve school operations and implement systems and processes that support long-term success.
• Collaborate with ownership to achieve enrollment, financial, operational, and quality goals while promoting the Primrose Schools mission and values.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education or a closely related field (or equivalent education and experience).
• North Carolina Level III Administrator Credential (NCDCDEE WORKS) is required. Applications that do not meet this requirement will not be considered.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of leadership experience in a licensed early childhood education or child care setting.
• Demonstrated success leading enrollment, conducting family tours, and building strong relationships with prospective and existing families.
• Proven experience recruiting, hiring, developing, coaching, and retaining high-performing teams.
• Strong knowledge of North Carolina child care licensing regulations, health and safety requirements, and operational compliance.
• Experience managing staffing, classroom ratios, payroll, budgets, purchasing, and daily school operations.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to manage labor, expenses, and operational performance.
• Excellent organizational, communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong customer service skills with a commitment to creating an exceptional experience for children, families, and staff.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and the ability to learn school management systems such as Procare and other operational software.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends to support enrollment events, community outreach, staff recruitment, training, and school opening activities.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience opening a new child care center or preschool.
• Experience with Primrose Schools or another high-quality early childhood education organization.
• CPR and First Aid certification (or willingness to obtain upon hire).

Physical Requirements

• Ability to move throughout the school, classrooms, playground, and outdoor areas for extended periods.
• Ability to sit, stand, walk, bend, kneel, stoop, reach, push, pull, and climb stairs throughout the workday.
• Ability to lift, carry, and move up to 40 pounds.
• Ability to participate in classroom observations, staff training, school events, emergency drills, and licensing inspections.
• Ability to work both indoors and outdoors in varying weather conditions.
• Reasonable accommodations will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with applicable law.

Conditions of Employment

Employment is contingent upon successfully meeting all North Carolina child care licensing requirements, including:

• Successful completion of all required criminal background checks and fingerprinting.
• Medical examination and TB screening as required by the North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education (NCDCDEE).
• Ability to obtain and maintain CPR, First Aid, and other required certifications.
• Valid driver's license, satisfactory driving record, and reliable transportation for local travel related to community outreach, meetings, training, school visits, and other business-related activities.

Employment Type: Full-time, Salaried, Exempt

Compensation is commensurate with the candidate's education, experience, qualifications, and demonstrated leadership ability.

If you're excited about the opportunity to build a brand-new Primrose School from the ground up, we'd love to hear from you. Join our team and help create an exceptional learning environment for our founding families while making a lasting impact on the Wake Forest community.

Pay: $54,000.00 - $64,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person

Salary : $54,000 - $64,000