Managing Director | Childcare

Managing Director – Early Childhood Education

Reports To: Vice President of Operations / Executive Leadership
Classification: Full-Time, Exempt
Leadership Level: Senior School Executive

Position Summary

The Managing Director is the highest-ranking leader of their assigned early childhood education center and serves as the chief executive of the building. This role carries full responsibility for child care operations, educational quality, enrollment growth, financial health, regulatory compliance, team development, family experience, and school culture.

The Managing Director owns the success of the school.

This position requires decisive leadership, strong business acumen, a deep understanding of early childhood education and child care operations, regulatory expertise, and the ability to build, coach, and hold teams accountable to high standards. The Managing Director ensures the center operates with excellence in child safety, classroom quality, curriculum implementation, family service, staffing, compliance, and financial stewardship — while reflecting the organization’s mission and brand.

The ideal candidate understands that leading a successful early learning center requires both exceptional educational leadership and strong business leadership.

Core Areas of Responsibilities

Operational & Business Leadership

• Direct full daily operations of the early childhood education center, including classrooms, staffing, enrollment, family services, and administrative functions.
• Maintain appropriate classroom staffing and child-to-teacher ratios throughout the school day.
• Own enrollment growth and retention strategy.
• Monitor staffing ratios, labor management, and operational efficiency.
• Oversee tuition billing, collections, and financial accuracy.
• Maintain budget awareness, controlling expenses while maximizing revenue.
• Ensure facility cleanliness, organization, safety, and readiness at all times.
• Partner with school leadership to ensure classrooms are appropriately staffed, equipped, and supported.
• Provide timely operational reporting to executive leadership.

The Managing Director treats the school as a business unit with measurable outcomes while never losing sight of the children and families at the center of the work.

Early Childhood Education & Classroom Quality

• Provide leadership and oversight for the delivery of high-quality early childhood education and care.
• Ensure classrooms provide safe, nurturing, engaging, and developmentally appropriate learning environments.
• Monitor curriculum implementation and classroom quality across infant, toddler, preschool, and Pre-K programs, as applicable.
• Conduct regular classroom observations and ensure teachers receive meaningful coaching and feedback.
• Partner with Program Supervisors and educational leaders to strengthen instructional practices and teacher performance.
• Ensure classroom environments, lesson implementation, routines, transitions, and teacher-child interactions meet organizational expectations.
• Support teachers in creating environments where children feel safe, supported, challenged, and excited to learn.
• Ensure educational practices align with licensing requirements, Keystone STARS standards, organizational expectations, and developmentally appropriate practices.

The Managing Director is visible in classrooms and understands that educational quality is one of the most important measures of a successful school.

Enrollment & Family Experience

• Lead tour conversions and build waitlists.
• Ensure enrollment goals are met each quarter.
• Ensure consistent follow-up on all prospective family leads and enrollment inquiries.
• Meet school enrollment goals set by the organization.
• Build strong relationships with current and prospective families.
• Maintain high service standards throughout the family experience, from initial inquiry through enrollment and ongoing care.
• Address parent and family concerns quickly, professionally, and compassionately.
• Ensure family communication reflects professionalism and brand standards.
• Create a school environment where families feel welcomed, informed, and confident in the care and education their child receives.

Enrollment and retention are leadership responsibilities — not administrative tasks.

Staff Leadership & Culture Development

• Recruit, interview, and recommend hiring decisions for early childhood teachers, support staff, and school leadership positions.
• Develop Program Supervisors, Office Managers, lead teachers, and teaching teams.
• Conduct consistent classroom observations and performance meetings.
• Deliver coaching that improves instruction, professionalism, and accountability.
• Ensure new teachers are effectively onboarded and understand classroom, curriculum, safety, and regulatory expectations.
• Lead monthly team meetings focused on performance, professional development, child and family experience, and mission.
• Address performance concerns promptly and professionally.
• Build a culture where early childhood educators feel supported while also being held to clear and consistent expectations.
• Develop future leaders within the school.

The Managing Director sets the standard for how leadership functions inside the building.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Maintain 100% compliance with Pennsylvania DHS child care licensing requirements, Department of Education requirements, Keystone STARS, and all applicable early childhood regulations and standards.
• Ensure required child, staff, classroom, health and safety, and regulatory documentation is accurate and timely.
• Maintain appropriate staff-to-child ratios and supervision standards at all times.
• Proactively audit classrooms and files to prevent violations.
• Ensure health, safety, emergency, and mandated reporting procedures are consistently followed.
• Immediately correct compliance gaps.
• Ensure teachers and school leaders understand and follow licensing standards at all times.
• Maintain a center that is prepared for licensing, STARS, and other regulatory visits every day — not only when an inspection is expected.

Compliance is non-negotiable.

Brand Representation & Professionalism

• Model executive-level professionalism at all times.
• Enforce Business Professional Dress Code.
• Ensure the school environment reflects organizational standards.
• Build positive relationships with families, community partners, schools, and other stakeholders.
• Represent the organization positively in the community.
• Protect the organization’s reputation at all times.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Education, Child Development, Business Administration, Organizational Leadership, or related field required.
• Minimum five (5) years of leadership experience in early childhood education, child care center operations, preschool leadership, or a closely related management setting.
• Previous experience as a Child Care Center Director, Preschool Director, Early Childhood Director, School Director, Program Director, or comparable leadership role strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated success managing teams of 10+ employees.
• Experience leading and developing teachers and early childhood education professionals.
• Strong working knowledge of Pennsylvania DHS child care regulations, Department of Education requirements, and Keystone STARS strongly preferred.
• Understanding of child development, developmentally appropriate practices, classroom quality, and early childhood curriculum implementation.
• Proven ability to improve performance, drive accountability, and manage operations effectively.
• Strong financial literacy and organizational skills.
• Strong communication skills and ability to build relationships with children, families, employees, and community partners.
• Ability to lead through structure, clarity, and high expectations.

Performance Expectations

The Managing Director will be evaluated on:

• 100% regulatory compliance.
• Child safety and quality of care.
• Classroom quality and curriculum implementation.
• Enrollment growth and waitlist development.
• Tuition collection rate of 97% or higher.
• Achievement or maintenance of Keystone STARS Level 4.
• Staff retention and leadership development progress.
• Teacher performance and professional development.
• Classroom quality and instructional improvement.
• Family satisfaction and retention metrics.
• Operational reporting accuracy and timeliness.

Leadership Standard

The Managing Director understands:

• The way they work sets the standard.
• The way they communicate becomes the culture.
• The way they lead determines the results.
• The quality of their leadership directly impacts the experience of every child, family, and educator in their school.

This role requires resilience, decisiveness, ownership, and a genuine commitment to early childhood education and the children and families we serve.