Child Care Center Director

Childcare Center Director

LIFE Four Corners Child Development Center
Full-Time | In Person
Salary: $52,000–$54,000 annually
Benefits: Paid Time Off, Paid Vacation, Paid Sick Time, Professional Development Assistance & Employee Discount

About LIFE Four Corners

LIFE Four Corners Child Development Center is a small, community-focused early childhood education program committed to providing high-quality education, family support, and meaningful community resources.

Our center includes a Pre-K partnership with the local school district, and we work closely with district staff to support children, families, and classroom quality.

We utilize Creative Curriculum and Brightwheel for curriculum implementation, enrollment, family communication, documentation, and reporting. Our program is also committed to continuous quality improvement and preparation for NJ Grow evaluation.

Community involvement is an important part of our mission. Our outreach initiatives include a monthly community feeding program, coat and toy drives, family support programs, and partnerships with local organizations.

We are seeking an experienced, energetic, organized, and family-focused Childcare Center Director who can lead daily center operations while helping our staff, children, families, and community programs grow.

Position Overview

The Childcare Center Director is responsible for overseeing the center's daily operations while working collaboratively with the CEO/Executive Director.

This is a hands-on leadership position. The Director should be comfortable being visible throughout the center, supporting teachers in classrooms, communicating with families, managing staff, solving day-to-day operational issues, and building relationships within the community.

The Director will provide leadership in the areas of:

• Staff supervision and development
• Daily center operations
• Classroom quality and curriculum implementation
• Pre-K and school district collaboration
• Student development and assessment
• Family support
• Enrollment and recruitment
• Brightwheel administration
• Community outreach and engagement

Key ResponsibilitiesStaff Leadership & Daily Operations

• Recruit, interview, onboard, supervise, and support qualified employees.
• Develop and maintain staff schedules.
• Coordinate classroom coverage, breaks, call-outs, and substitutions.
• Provide ongoing coaching, training, and professional development.
• Conduct employee observations and performance evaluations.
• Address performance concerns professionally and in collaboration with executive leadership.
• Maintain a positive, professional, and team-oriented workplace culture.
• Oversee daily center operations and ensure classrooms are appropriately staffed and prepared.
• Assist with resolving staff, parent, classroom, and operational concerns.
• Support opening and closing procedures as needed.
• Maintain a safe, organized, welcoming, and professional center environment.

Classroom Quality & Curriculum

• Support consistent and effective implementation of Creative Curriculum.
• Conduct regular classroom observations.
• Coach teachers on classroom management, instructional practices, routines, and teacher-child interactions.
• Review lesson planning, classroom documentation, and instructional practices.
• Support developmentally appropriate teaching practices.
• Identify staff training and professional development needs.
• Help prepare staff and classrooms for NJ Grow evaluations and quality-improvement initiatives.
• Develop improvement plans with teachers and leadership when needed.

Pre-K & School District Partnership

• Work collaboratively with school district representatives supporting our Pre-K partnership.
• Help ensure Pre-K classrooms meet program and district expectations.
• Participate in school district meetings when appropriate.
• Maintain strong communication between center staff and district partners.
• Conduct observations and provide coaching and classroom support.
• Collaborate with the Family Liaison to identify additional ways to support Pre-K children and families.

Student Development & Family Support

• Support student observations, developmental assessments, and progress reporting.
• Help teachers identify developmental, behavioral, academic, and social-emotional concerns.
• Assist teachers in developing appropriate strategies for children who may need additional support.
• Participate in parent conferences when appropriate.
• Work closely with the Family Liaison to identify family needs and connect families with community resources.
• Maintain positive and professional communication with parents and guardians.
• Assist in resolving family concerns related to classroom experiences, staff, development, or center operations.

Enrollment & Brightwheel Administration

• Support enrollment growth and family retention.
• Respond to prospective families and conduct center tours.
• Guide families through the enrollment and orientation process.
• Follow up with prospective families and monitor classroom availability.
• Track inquiries, tours, applications, and completed enrollments.
• Monitor enrollment and attendance trends.
• Support staff and families in the effective use of Brightwheel.
• Ensure attendance, enrollment records, family communication, documentation, and reports are completed accurately and consistently.

Community Outreach & Engagement

Community involvement is central to the mission of LIFE Four Corners. The Director will help strengthen existing programs while developing new opportunities to serve children and families.

Responsibilities include:

• Support and expand our monthly community feeding program.
• Assist with annual coat drives and toy drives.
• Develop partnerships with local businesses, schools, churches, nonprofits, and community organizations.
• Identify opportunities for LIFE Four Corners to participate in local events.
• Develop creative family-engagement and community-outreach initiatives.
• Identify potential sponsors, donors, volunteers, and community resources.
• Promote programs and events through Brightwheel, social media, flyers, and partnerships.
• Help increase awareness and enrollment in our childcare and Pre-K programs.

Potential initiatives may include family resource fairs, preschool-readiness workshops, literacy nights, developmental screening events, parent workshops, school-supply drives, health and wellness events, family nights, hygiene drives, and kindergarten-transition activities.

Growth & Outreach Goals

The Director will work with leadership to establish measurable goals for program growth and community engagement, including:

• Developing at least two new community partnerships per quarter.
• Coordinating or participating in at least one outreach initiative per month.
• Increasing enrollment inquiries, tours, and completed enrollments.
• Developing new family-engagement opportunities.
• Identifying sponsorship, donation, and partnership opportunities.
• Bringing creative ideas to leadership for expanding the organization's community impact.

Leadership Structure

The Childcare Center Director manages the center's day-to-day operations while reporting to and working collaboratively with the CEO/Executive Director.

The CEO/Executive Director maintains primary responsibility for organizational leadership, regulatory compliance, budgeting and financial oversight, contracts, preschool expansion, strategic planning, major partnerships, and overall organizational development.

This structure allows the Director to focus primarily on staff, classrooms, children, families, enrollment, program quality, and daily center operations.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor's degree.
• Minimum of 2 years of childcare center director or comparable early childhood leadership experience.
• Previous early childhood education or childcare experience.
• Experience supervising, coaching, and evaluating employees.
• Strong knowledge of child development and developmentally appropriate practices.
• Experience conducting classroom observations and providing teacher feedback.
• Strong communication, organization, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to build positive relationships with employees, children, families, and community partners.
• Ability to use technology for communication, scheduling, documentation, and reporting.
• Must meet all applicable New Jersey childcare licensing and Director qualification requirements.

Preferred:

• Experience with Creative Curriculum.
• Experience with Brightwheel.
• Experience with public Pre-K or school district partnerships.
• Experience with NJ Grow or other early childhood quality-improvement programs.
• Experience with enrollment, family engagement, community outreach, or partnership development.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary: $52,000–$54,000 annually

Full-time benefits include:

• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Paid Vacation
• Paid Sick Time
• Employee Discount
• Professional Development Assistance
• Leadership and advancement opportunities
• Supportive small-center work environment

Schedule

Full-Time | In Person

The Director must have flexibility based on the operational needs of the center and be available to provide leadership and support during normal center operating hours.

Who We're Looking For

We are looking for someone who wants to do more than manage a schedule.

Our ideal Director is a leader, coach, problem-solver, relationship-builder, and community connector who enjoys helping teachers grow, supporting families, improving classroom quality, strengthening enrollment, and creating new opportunities for children and families.

If you are passionate about early childhood education and want to help lead a growing, community-centered organization, we would love to hear from you.

LIFE Four Corners Child Development Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Pay: $52,000.00 - $54,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Employee discount
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance

Application Question(s):

• How many years of experience do you have working in an early childhood education or childcare setting?
• How many years of supervisory or management experience do you have in a childcare, preschool, school, or family-services environment?
• Please briefly describe your experience managing staff schedules, call-outs, classroom coverage, and daily center operations.
• Do you have experience conducting classroom observations and providing coaching or feedback to teachers?
• Do you have experience with community outreach, family engagement, enrollment recruitment, or developing partnerships with local organizations?

• Please describe one example of how you have helped improve classroom quality, staff performance, or family engagement.

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Experience:

• Child Care Center Director: 2 years (Required)

Work Location: In person