Early Childhood Center Director

Thrive Preschool • Golden, CO

2d • $65,000 - $75,000

About The Position

Thrive is looking for a highly qualified Preschool Director with significant experience in leadership, stability, and success of an early childhood school community. This includes supporting and developing a strong team of educators, enrolling new families, maintaining compliance with all state licensing and health regulations, ensuring high-quality early childhood programming, and cultivating meaningful relationships with prospective and current families.

Thrive is a nurturing community of early childhood professionals who share a deep belief in the power of play, discovery, and meaningful relationships in children’s learning. Across our schools, we strive to create environments where children, families, and educators thrive together, while supporting both personal and professional growth for our team. We seek leaders who are passionate about early childhood education and committed to building strong teams, meaningful family partnerships, and inspiring learning environments.

Requirements

• Proven successful results in ECE enrollment processes and conversions, taking families confidently from first contact through the first day of school.
• A positive attitude, warm personality and passion for working with young children, families, and teachers
• Strong organizational, leadership, and communication skills
• Deep knowledge of hiring, recruiting and retaining quality staff for childcare programs
• Skilled in the use of electronic systems for the management of enrollment, staffing, student documentation, staff time management, and capable of learning and adapting to new systems as they are introduced to improve the efficiency of our programs
• Looking to grow and evolve with a new and forward-thinking organization for many years to come
• High levels of self-awareness (emotional IQ, emotional awareness, strengths & weaknesses), and passionate about growth.
• Intentional, mindful and reflective in professional practices
• Ability to receive and utilize feedback and constructive criticism, as well as to provide and give the same collaborative feedback to staff you manage
• Ability to create and maintain professional and positive energies throughout the building and among staff
• Creative and “go-getter” mindset
• Ability to work occasional weekends and evenings (open houses, family-teacher conferences, seasonal holiday celebrations, etc.)
• Must meet minimum qualifications for employment as a director of a large childcare center in the state of Colorado, including training, experience, and background check requirements and have an active director’s certificate
• Minimum of three years of experience as a director of a large childcare center in the state of Colorado.

Nice To Haves

• A Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from a regionally accredited college or university and/or a master’s degree with a major emphasis in child development, early childhood education, or early childhood special education is preferred but not required as we are open to alternative pathways to leadership credentials.
• A love of, or appreciation for, nature and spending time outdoors
• Dedication to play-based, child-led learning
• Experience, training, and/or knowledge surrounding child-led educational practices and philosophies and Conscious Discipline.
• A special talent, skill, or hobby (artistic, multi-lingual, play an instrument, singing, puppetry, storytelling, woodworking, knitting, cooking, gardening etc.) that you would enjoy sharing with the children and staff. We take the “play” part very seriously.

Responsibilities

• Prioritize families throughout the enrollment process and maintain detailed records through all stages of the enrollment and attendance process for students and families utilizing the school’s software systems
• Recruit, hire, train and evaluate primary and supporting staff
• Define and manage efficient staff schedules and ensure staff are accurately logging attendance and time off in the school’s systems
• Oversee the implementation of inquiry-based emergent curriculum, documentation, and work projects of children in accordance with our guiding educational philosophy
• Establish educational standards and goals, and build and uphold policies, procedures, and programs to carry them out
• Foster culture that is in alignment with school missions and philosophies
• Manage budgets and determine allocations of funds for classroom supplies, materials, and equipment; authorize staff purchase requests
• Direct and coordinate activities with teachers and staff, including monthly staff meetings, professional development, staff scheduling, and special events (i.e., open house events, back-to-school nights, parent-teacher conferences, holiday celebrations, etc.)
• Review and evaluate new and current programs to determine their efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance with state, local, and federal regulations, recommending any necessary modifications
• Create and disseminate informational materials for program marketing, family/community engagement, and parent education
• Monitor facility safety, security, and maintenance operations and procedures
• Maintain all documentation as mandated by the State of Colorado (i.e., attendance logs, vaccination records, student and employee files)
• Substitute for staff in classrooms or provide direct care to children if needed
• Facilitate teachers monitoring student progress and gathering information for assessment
• Assist teachers in developing everyday classroom behavioral management solutions
• Support teachers and staff in goal-setting and overall quality program improvement
• Observe classroom to assess teacher-student interactions and instructional methods
• Complete performance evaluations
• Host warm and engaging tours of the school and consistently communicate with families during the onboarding process, including offering virtual tours where families may not be able to tour in-person
• Confer with parents and staff to develop educational programming and school policies that will support all students

Benefits

• 6 weeks of paid holidays and breaks with additional non-student contact days for professional development and teambuilding
• 80 hours of paid time off each year in addition to the regular school holidays and breaks
• Full group medical, dental and vision coverage
• Supplemental insurance offerings (disability, accident, hospital, etc.)
• 401(k) plans with employer contribution matching
• Monthly community give-back programs.
• Seasonal festivals with pumpkin patches, food trucks, ice cream socials and more
• Catered meals in the centers
• Extensive professional development and continuing education opportunities as you grow with the organization

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager