Director of Location Excellence

Tierra Encantada HQ • Minneapolis, MN

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

Tierra Encantada is the fastest-growing Spanish immersion early education company in the U.S., providing high-quality care and education to children ages 6 weeks to 6 years. Their model blends language immersion, strong operational standards, and a focus on whole-child development. Backed by a $30M investment, the company is scaling nationally and aims to double in size every 18-24 months over the next five years. They emphasize operational excellence and accountability, recognizing the critical need for consistent performance and strong leadership across centers during rapid growth. This role offers an opportunity for a leader who excels at problem-solving, driving measurable results, and building high-performing teams in a fast-paced, high-growth environment. The company's values include nurturing children's growth, creating intentional learning environments, celebrating diversity, and being driven by optimism for the future of every child, family, and team member.

The Director of Location Excellence is a high-impact, field-based leadership role focused on rapidly improving underperforming childcare centers. The mission is to diagnose root causes, strengthen leadership capability, reinforce operational discipline, and build sustainable performance habits to ensure each center meets company standards for quality, customer experience, compliance, and profitability within defined timelines. This individual acts as a hands-on turnaround leader, coach, and trainer, embedded within centers to address challenges, stabilize operations, strengthen leadership, and improve enrollment, labor management, and financial performance. The role is responsible for both immediate issue resolution and building the capability of Center Directors, Assistant Directors, and local teams to sustain improvements. Operating with strong judgment and urgency, this position reports into Finance to maintain a data-driven focus on performance and profitability, while collaborating with Operations, HR, and other support functions. The role requires extensive travel (80%+) with assignments typically lasting 4-12 weeks per center, and requires weekly progress updates.

Requirements

• 5–10+ years of experience in multi-unit operations, turnaround, or field leadership roles
• Proven track record of improving underperforming locations and delivering measurable results
• Demonstrated ability to lead through change, assess talent, make difficult people decisions, and build strong teams
• Strong coaching and training capability, with the ability to develop struggling or inexperienced leaders into stronger operators.
• Ability to influence without direct authority and build trust quickly in challenging environments.
• Proven success leading turnarounds while preserving team morale and strengthening culture.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguous, high-pressure environments
• Strong financial acumen (experience with P&L, labor, and cost management)
• Strong written communication skills with the ability to synthesize findings, track KPI movement, and provide concise executive-level weekly updates.
• Ability and willingness to travel 80%+ and temporarily relocate as needed (4-12 weeks at a time)

Nice To Haves

• Experience in childcare, education, hospitality, retail, healthcare, or similar multi-site environments preferred

Responsibilities

• Embed on-site in assigned centers and take ownership of or coach on performance improvement efforts.
• Complete a root cause assessment and establish initial turnaround priorities within the first 10-14 days of each assignment.
• Coach and train Center Directors, Assistant Directors, and key staff on leadership routines, labor management, enrollment practices, staffing discipline, and accountability.
• Model high-performing operational and leadership behaviors in-center.
• Evaluate talent using Right Person, Right Seat principles and recommend coaching, role changes, or talent upgrades in partnership with HR and Operations.
• Reinforce consistent execution of company standards, routines, and SOPs.
• Identify barriers to enrollment, parent experience, staffing, and service delivery, then help implement stronger practices.
• Partner with Finance to improve labor management, scheduling efficiency, cost discipline, and progress toward center-level profitability.
• Quantify the primary financial drivers of underperformance and identify the highest-impact actions needed to improve contribution margin and operating discipline.
• Provide weekly written progress updates for each assigned center, including wins, risks, KPI movement, talent actions, and next-step priorities.
• Prepare the center for handoff with stable leadership, clear accountability, improved operating routines, and a practical 30/60/90-day action plan.
• Ensure center leaders can independently sustain core operating, labor, and enrollment routines prior to transition back to Operations.

Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Dental insurance
• Vision insurance
• 12 paid holidays
• PTO accrual of 160 hours per year
• 401(k) with 3% employer match
• Discounted childcare and waitlist priority for enrollment
• Company paid professional development
• Corporate office amenities (gym, wellness/nursing room, onsite company cafe with coffee, espresso bar, beverages, and snacks available to employees at no cost, onsite free parking), casual work environment, and employee-focused events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees