Centre Director

bestchance; Armstrong Creek; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Armstrong Creek East Children’s Centre, part of bestchance Child Family Care, is seeking a Centre Director to lead a large centre and sustain high quality education, safety and family partnerships.

You'll work with the Assistant Centre Director and Educational Leader to guide strategy, staffing and operations, modelling strong governance and inclusive practice, and driving continuous improvement across the service.

Qualifications

• ACECQA approved early childhood qualification.
• Substantial leadership and management experience in centre-based education and care.
• Current Victorian Working with Children Check and relevant background screenings.
• Capacity to work across centre operating hours.
• Commitment to child safety and inclusion.

Responsibilities

• Inform the strategic development of the service: build on strengths and lead continuous improvement.
• Inspire and develop educators: coach, mentor and empower teams.
• Champion educational excellence: support high-quality learning experiences.
• Drive quality and compliance: lead in safety, regulatory compliance and risk management.
• Build outstanding family partnerships: foster genuine relationships with families.
• Make a real operational impact: strengthen daily operations, staffing coordination and communication.

Skills

Leadership

Operations management

Financial management

Regulatory knowledge

Family engagement

Change leadership

Diversity & inclusion

Education

ACECQA approved qualification

Early Childhood Teaching Degree

Job description

Centre Director – Early Childhood Education & Care

Armstrong Creek East Children’s Centre | bestchance Child Family Care

Centre Director, fulltime permanent employment in Armstrong Creek

Ready to lead change, inspire educators and make a lasting difference in children's lives?

Lead with purpose: this is your moment to reshape the future of early childhood education as our new Centre Director.

Lead Armstrong Creek East Children’s Centre, bringing together child safety, educational quality, team development and operational leadership. Working with the Assistant Centre Director and Educational Leader, you will help create a centre where children thrive, educators grow and families feel they belong.

We are looking for a leader who doesn't just maintain standards — they elevate them.

About the role

At our Armstrong Creek East Children’s Centre, you will hold primary accountability for the successful leadership of a large centre, providing integrated leadership of child safety, educational quality, people, operations, families and financial sustainability.

You will manage the full staff team; including the Assistant Centre Director (2IC) and the Educational Leader, sharing leadership and management responsibilities whilst maintaining your delegated authority and accountability. You will lead the team to understand their responsibilities and recognise their contribution.

We want someone who brings experience, confidence, initiative and fresh thinking. Someone who can see potential in people, identify opportunities for improvement and inspire a team to work towards something exceptional.

You will have the responsibility to:

• Inform the strategic development of the service: Build on the existing strengths and lead continuous improvement.
• Inspire and develop educators: Coach, mentor and empower team members to grow their confidence, capability and professional practice.
• Champion educational excellence: Support engaging, inclusive and high-quality learning experiences that reflect the needs, strengths and interests of every child.
• Drive quality and compliance: Lead by example in child safety, regulatory compliance, supervision, risk management and continuous improvement.
• Build outstanding family partnerships: Foster genuine relationships that help families feel welcomed, respected, heard and connected to their children's learning.
• Make a real operational impact: Strengthen daily operations, staffing coordination, team communication and service effectiveness.

This is an opportunity for a leader who wants to contribute beyond the day-to-day — someone who wants to help build a stronger team, a better learning environment and a service the community can be proud of.

If you are ready to bring your experience to a role where your leadership can have a lasting impact, we would love to hear from you.

Relevant experience and capability

We are looking for an experienced early childhood professional who combines strong early childhood knowledge with the confidence and capability to lead others.

You will bring:

• Demonstrated successful leadership of complex long day care services with multiple age groups, educators, teachers and competing operational priorities.
• Proven operational and financial capability including workforce scheduling, occupancy, budgets, service performance and risk management.
• Excellent practical knowledge of the National Law and Regulations, National Quality Framework, Victorian Child Safe Standards and early childhood safeguarding responsibilities.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach and performance manage multidisciplinary teams and to improve service quality.
• Strong family engagement, sound judgement, conflict resolution, communication and change leadership.
• Proven operational and financial capability including workforce scheduling.
• Commitment to inclusive education, cultural safety, children’s participation and evidence-informed pedagogy.

To be considered, you will need:

• ACECQA approved early childhood qualification (Diploma or Degree); an approved Early Childhood Teaching Degree is highly regarded.
• Substantial leadership and management experience in centre-based education and care; demonstrated capability to meet Nominated Supervisor suitability requirements.
• Current and valid Victorian Working with Children Check, satisfactory relevant background screening and mandatory child protection and child safety training.
• Current approved First Aid, CPR, Anaphylaxis and Asthma management training.
• Capacity to work across the centre operating hours as required.
• Any additional checks, training or licences required by bestchance.

bestchance purpose and benefits

bestchance Child Family Care is a community-focused, not-for-profit organisation committed to helping children, families and individuals thrive.

Our work is grounded in inclusion, care and education. We believe children deserve safe, supportive and inspiring environments, families deserve genuine partnerships, and educators deserve leaders who invest in their development.

When you join bestchance, you become part of a team that values:

• Safety Always — putting children’s safety and wellbeing first.
• Collaboration & Courage — working together and having the confidence to make things better.
• Integrity & Accountability — taking ownership and following through.
• Respect & Inclusion — creating a sense of belonging for everyone.
• Innovation & Improvement — continuously learning, growing and finding better ways forward.

You will have the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution, grow your leadership capability and help create an environment where children, families and educators can thrive.

bestchance Child Family Care is committed to child safety, inclusion and equal opportunity. All employees are expected to uphold our child safety obligations and contribute to a safe, respectful and inclusive environment for every child.