LinkedIn Alternatives for Hiring Childcare Directors and Lead Teachers

LinkedIn lets employers post a job for free, and that free post is the honest starting point — promotion is what costs money.

A promoted post is pay-per-click: LinkedIn says you only pay for clicks in the country in which the job is posted, billed against a daily average budget or a total budget you set.

A daily-budget post stays active until you close it or for up to 6 months, then closes automatically; a total-budget post pauses when the money is spent, and paused posts are not visible to job seekers.

LinkedIn publishes no rate for promotion — the recommended budget varies depending on the specific job — so what a search costs depends on the clicks it attracts, up to the budget you set.

A free trial to promote a first job exists for posters who have never used a trial or promoted a job, but it is subject to posting limits, may not be available to all, and a post left running past the trial is charged at the recommended budget.

That cost shape suits a small, senior search more than a volume one.

A director, assistant director or Head Start manager opening is a single niche role, and the candidates for it are the kind that keep professional profiles — worth one targeted promoted post, or worth the free post alone if your network reaches them.

Filling lead teacher, assistant and floater openings is a different problem: several roles at once, a constant cycle, and a general audience that has to be screened industry by industry.

That is where childcare-specific boards and free public job banks are the more direct route, at a price you know in advance or nothing at all.

ChildcareHires is a job board built only for early-education jobs — lead and assistant teachers, aides and floaters, directors, cooks, drivers and front-office staff at childcare centers, preschools, Head Start programs and other early education programs.

A Standard post is $199 at launch pricing and a Featured post is $399; each runs 30 days, is a one-time payment with nothing to sign, and appears on the matching role and city pages and in Google Jobs.

Candidates apply on the center's own application page or inbox.

Centers that are always hiring can move to a monthly slot plan instead.

Details on the pricing page and in the fact sheet.

NAEYC's Early Childhood Career Center charges $195 for a 30-day posting for NAEYC members and $220 for non-members, and every posting package includes resume search access, with 1 year to use what you buy.

The employer account also covers reviewing and organizing applications and searching the resume database by key criteria.

It fits centers that want a second use out of the spend: a database to search in parallel, not just a post.

The Child Care Career Center run by Child Care Aware of America charges $199 for a 30-day posting, and its Job Flash packages add email distribution to qualified child care professionals.

Child Care Aware of America members can post basic 30-day listings free, and members and non-members alike can upgrade.

It fits programs that want the opening pushed out to childcare professionals directly, or that already hold a CCAoA membership.

State and local job banks are the no-cost end of the market.

Delaware's Office of Child Care Licensing posts openings as a courtesy to licensed child care facilities — without endorsing the organizations — showing positions posted within the last 4 weeks, each with the role, full- or part-time status, salary and contact details.

New York's Early Childhood Career Center lets employers create an account and post openings at no cost, and runs an ECE Employment Network with advisors.

What exists varies by state and city, so it is worth checking your state child care licensing agency's website.

EarlyDay, run by Wonderschool, describes itself as a dedicated career marketplace for early childhood educators where centers post openings and receive applications from a pool of qualified, pre-screened candidates.

Those descriptions of its candidate pool are self-reported, and its pricing is not published, so cost is something to confirm with the company before committing.

Indeed is the volume option.

Many jobs can be posted for free, subject to Indeed's terms, conditions, quality standards and usage limits — though some jobs are sponsored only, for example jobs aggregated directly from a career site or company website, or published jobs from an applicant tracking system.

Sponsored jobs run on a budget: Indeed recommends one based on the job title, location and description, a minimum price applies, and the account is billed on the first day of the month or when spending reaches $500.

Indeed's preschool teacher, child care worker and teacher assistant hiring pages offer a $75 credit to sponsor a first job — only for new accounts in the US that post a job, expiring 1 year after account creation, with charges following the sponsored budget after that.

The trade is reach against screening.

A general audience brings in candidates from every industry, so the center does the filtering, and sponsored spending follows the budget and minimum price Indeed recommends.

It fits a center hiring several hourly roles at once with the staff hours to work a wide funnel.

Published prices, as each company listed them when we checked in October 2026:

• ChildcareHires: $199 per Standard post or $399 per Featured post at launch pricing (regular prices $299 and $499), each a one-time payment for a 30-day post; slot plans are $899 a month for 10 posts live at once or $1,749 a month for 25, billed monthly and cancellable anytime.
• NAEYC career center: $195 per 30-day posting for NAEYC members, $220 for non-members; a 5-posting package costs $790 for members or $825 for non-members; optional add-ons include Featured Jobs starting at $100 and Targeted Job Distribution starting at $150.
• Child Care Aware career center: $199 for a 30-day posting; Job Flash $299, Premium Job Flash $399, Ultimate Recruitment $599; a single resume purchase $35. CCAoA members post basic 30-day listings free.
• State and local job banks: free where they exist — Delaware's licensing office courtesy listings and New York's Early Childhood Career Center at no cost are two examples.
• Indeed: many jobs free within usage limits; a $75 credit for a first sponsored job on new US accounts; after that a sponsored budget applies, billed on the first day of the month or at $500 in account spending.
• EarlyDay: not published.

LinkedIn is absent from the price list because it publishes no rate: promoted posts bill per click against a budget you set, so the total depends on the search.

Budgets are set per post, a daily-budget post closes by itself after up to 6 months, and a total-budget post pauses when spent.

Match the channel to the hiring problem:

• One director or assistant director opening: start with LinkedIn's free post, and add a promoted post if a small trial budget suits the search — it is the channel built around professional profiles.
• Hourly classroom roles, filled constantly: a childcare-only board with a flat price keeps costs predictable, and a slot plan suits a center whose openings never stop.
• A resume database to work in parallel: the NAEYC career center, where resume search access comes with every posting package.
• The job pushed to candidates' inboxes: Child Care Aware's Job Flash packages — or free basic posting if your program is a CCAoA member.
• No budget at all: the free state and city job banks, plus the free posting options on LinkedIn and Indeed.

Two cautions before you spend.

Prices here are what each company published on the day we checked, and they change — confirm on the provider's own page before you commit.

And a posting is not a hire: ChildcareHires states plainly that it does not screen, interview or vouch for candidates or employers and does not guarantee that a listing will result in a hire, so plan your own interviews and reference checks whichever channel you use.