Director

About the role

As a Director of Child Care, you will lead the day-to-day success of an early learning center by balancing enrollment growth, parent satisfaction, staff leadership, and educational quality. You’ll be responsible for ensuring the center operates effectively from both a commercial and operational perspective: driving tours and community outreach, supporting family retention, overseeing administrative and licensing-related responsibilities, and spending meaningful time in classrooms to ensure curriculum standards are being delivered consistently. This full-time role is critical to the health of the center, with a direct impact on reputation, team performance, and student experience. You’ll work closely with the local owner and play a central role in building a strong, stable, and high-performing school environment for children, families, and teachers.

What you'll be doing

• Lead the overall operation of the child care center, ensuring a strong balance between enrollment growth, daily administration, classroom quality, and family experience
• Drive sales and community engagement through family tours, follow-up, local outreach, and reputation-building efforts that support new enrollments
• Oversee parent communication and retention by resolving concerns effectively, building trust, and creating a positive experience that keeps families engaged long term
• Spend significant time with teachers and in classrooms, observing delivery of the curriculum, supporting staff performance, reinforcing standards, and ensuring children receive a high-quality learning experience
• Manage and develop the team, including coaching, culture-building, accountability, and handling underperformance when needed
• Ensure the center stays organized and compliant by managing required documentation, operational processes, and licensing-related expectations

What we're looking for

• A hands-on leader who is equally comfortable talking to prospective families, supporting teachers, and managing the operational needs of a center
• Strong sales and enrollment mindset, with the ability to grow occupancy while maintaining a high-quality family experience
• Experienced people manager who can build trust with staff, create alignment across the team, and handle conflict with professionalism and maturity
• Naturally strong communicator, able to work effectively with parents, teachers, and ownership while navigating sensitive situations calmly and confidently
• Passion for early childhood education and genuine motivation to help children thrive in a safe, structured, and engaging learning environment
• Organized and dependable, with the ability to balance administrative work, classroom visibility, and multiple priorities at once
• Prior child care or early learning leadership experience is strongly preferred, especially in roles involving center operations, licensing, or educational oversight

What you'll need

• Previous experience leading or helping lead a child care center, preschool, daycare, or early learning environment
• Good understanding of the realities of running a center, including staffing, parent relationships, enrollment, classroom standards, and operational follow-through
• Ability to demonstrate real examples of handling difficult parent conversations, retaining families, managing team challenges, and improving center performance
• Familiarity with licensing requirements and compliance expectations relevant to child care operations; eligibility for or possession of a Large Center Director's license is highly valuable
• Confidence working in both strategic and practical aspects of the role: from center growth and reputation to classroom observation and staff support
• A track record of being accountable, consistent, and present — someone who follows through, leads by example, and takes ownership of outcomes
• Flexibility to operate in a fast-moving environment where the needs of children, families, staff, and the business must all be managed together

What we offer

• Work in a role where your impact is highly visible and directly shapes the success of the center
• Join a local environment where ownership is present and invested in supporting the right leader
• Opportunity to make a meaningful difference for children, families, and teachers every day
• A position with real ownership across enrollment, team leadership, educational quality, and center performance
• The chance to lead a school in a competitive market and play a key role in strengthening its reputation and long-term growth
• An environment that values people who are proactive, accountable, and willing to step in where needed
• A meaningful leadership opportunity for someone who wants to combine child-focused care with operational and commercial responsibility
• Competitive compensation structure with salary and performance-based bonus potential

Still not convinced? This role offers the opportunity to take ownership of a center that has strong potential, local support, and a clear need for a leader who can build trust, drive enrollment, and deliver a great experience for both families and staff.