Center Director

The Learning Experience; Rohnert Park (CA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The Learning Experience is seeking a Center Director to lead a thriving early childhood education center in California. You will drive enrollment, profitability, and a high-quality teaching environment, while upholding brand standards and ensuring licensing compliance.

You will oversee front-of-house and back-of-house operations, manage staff performance, develop and implement marketing plans, and maintain strong family engagement, all with a focus on safety, quality, and community impact.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2+ years of center management and people leadership experience, with 1+ year required.
• Strong knowledge of state licensing rules and regulations.
• Ability to meet enrollment and profitability goals while maintaining brand standards.

Responsibilities

• Meet or exceed KPIs at the School level (Utilization, Student Retention, Staff Turnover, Payroll Percentage, Lead to Tour Conversion).
• Lead recruiting and onboarding process; ensure staffing with well-trained teachers; uphold brand standards.
• Manage profitability by monitoring budget, billing, discounts and payroll. Implement marketing plans to drive enrollment and retention.
• Ensure health, safety, and licensing compliance; maintain organized records and inventory; use SOPs and Paylocity for performance processes.
• Drive ongoing marketing and lead tracking to optimize enrollments.
• Manage profitability, tuition billing and budget, reporting and cost controls.
• Ensure licensing compliance, health/safety standards and accurate records.

Skills

Center management

People leadership

Licensing compliance

Staff development

Customer communication

Education

High School Diploma

Bachelor’s degree in ECE or related field

Job description

Center Directors at The Learning Experience play a key role in advancing our mission to positively impact the lives of children, their families, and the communities we serve. They lead the team in fostering a nurturing, fun, and educational environment. Responsible for the center’s business outcomes, the Center Director ensures both front-of-house and back-of-house operations are executed to the highest standards. They are committed to meeting enrollment and profitability goals while maintaining a high-quality team and upholding the brand’s standards.

Position Requirements

• High School Diploma, GED or equivalent
• 21 years of age or older
• Two or more years center management/ people leadership experience highly preferred. At least one year of center management/ people leadership experience required.
• Bachelor’s degree in ECE or related field highly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of state licensing rules and regulations.
• Must meet any applicable background screening or state licensing requirements for the role.

Key Responsibilities

• Accountable for meeting or exceeding KPIs at the School level
  • Utilization
  • Student Retention
  • Staff Turnover
  • Payroll Percentage
  • Lead to Tour Conversion
• People
  • Consistently prioritizes recruiting. Responds to applicants within 1 business day.
  • Demonstrates good working knowledge of Career Plug and the hiring/onboarding process.
  • Ensures the center is fully staffed with well-trained teachers. Utilizes the teacher onboarding process as outlined in the SOP. Including onboarding tools & milestone celebrations.
  • Maintains high quality teaching team that demonstrates professionalism and upholds brand standards (dress code, quality interactions, classroom environment, etc.).
  • Demonstrates professionalism. Leads by example with enthusiasm as evidenced by center atmosphere & employee engagement.
  • Conducts and documents monthly staff development meetings to communicate important information, organize team building opportunities and/or training opportunities. Utilizes the provided TLE content.
  • Ensures Employee Annual Performance Reviews are conducted properly and submitted on time, filed in employee file, and uploaded into Paylocity.
  • Demonstrates strategic thinking. Utilizes available resources and asks for support as needed to problem solve.
  • Prioritizes employee retention. Makes efforts to "save" employees where appropriate. Employee turnover is <30% for hourly and 25% for salaried employees in a rolling 12-month period.
  • Holds the team accountable. Routinely provides clear instruction, constructive feedback and promptly addresses poor employee performance.
  • Promptly addresses and resolves parent and staff concerns at the center level. The center has had zero problematic complaints escalated to corporate in a 3-month timeline.
• Effectively executes an ongoing formal marketing plan with a focus on enrollment and retention.
• Prioritizes Lead Tracking and achieves high lead to start conversion.
• Consistently meets or exceeds the Center’s Active Enrollment Budget.
• Accurately forecasts new starts and drops by utilizing all systems and tools.
• Conducts competitive shops at least 2x/year and leverages that knowledge to remain competitive.
• Posts engaging photos and captions on social media platforms regularly.
• Exhibits strong family retention.
• Implements all brand initiatives in a quality and meaningful way.
• Profitability
  • Prioritizes efforts to ensure the center is meeting profit margin (EBITDA) budget.
  • Knowledgeable about current month/quarter budget goals.
  • Analyzes the monthly P&L to confirm and investigate center expenses and profit margin.
  • Maintains accurate family and agency billing.
  • Escalates billing errors or financial inquiries.
  • Collects tuition by specified due dates.
  • Manages center tuition discounts.
• Standards and Quality
  • Upholds health & safety standard operating procedures.
  • Maintains compliance with local and state licensing regulations.
  • Ensures supervision practices throughout the center are prioritized.
  • Maintains center wide compliance with Medical conditions, Allergies, Dietary Restrictions, Medications and accommodation requests.
  • Proactively maintains physical center environment. Ensures the center is organized, safe, tour ready, clutter free and clean.
  • Confirms Student & Staff files are organized, secured and in compliance with TLE and state licensing regulations.
  • Maintains accurate and organized TLE and State required records.
  • Remains up to date and adheres to all state mandates, labor laws, health regulations, fire code and TLE policies.
  • Responsibly manages and replenishes center inventory to ensure center is fully stocked within the center's budget.
  • Prepares and processes payroll on time and accurately.
  • Leverages required software/web platforms as well as proprietary TLE processes/systems to maximize operational efficiency.
  • Takes initiative, demonstrates forward thinking practices, operates autonomously, meets deadlines and is responsive.
  • Makes sound decisions to responsibly manage people, customers and business operations (exercises good judgment).

The Learning Experience

At The Learning Experience, we make early education joyful, engaging and fun so children are happy to learn, play and grow.

Our curriculum focuses on the six ages and stages of early childhood development and engages children in hands‑on learning activities that encourage them to explore and solve problems at their own rate of development. This forms a foundation for kids to Learn, Play and Grow under the care of our nurturing teachers and staff.

At TLE®, we’ve created a full cast of characters that become our little learners’ educators, partners and friends through their preschool education journey. Each character has a unique personality and area of interest and brings learning to life by allowing children to explore the world through fun and imagination.

This franchise is independently owned and operated by a franchisee. Your application will go directly to the franchisee, and all hiring decisions will be made by the management of this franchisee. All inquiries about employment at this franchisee should be made directly to the franchise location, and not to The Learning Experience Corporate.

Referral code from a current employee If no code provided, add their name instead.

Living TLE®’s mission and values every day

Our mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of a child, their families, and the communities we serve.We achieve this mission through three core values: an Innovative Mindset, a Collaborative Spirit, and Community Impact.

The enthusiasm, commitment and care from our people is what makes TLE® the best place to work in early childhood education. Your talents will shine in our Centers. They’re great places to pursue your passion for teaching, daycare and providing quality early childhood education.

See for yourself what makes TLE® Centers special

Step inside a TLE Center and see how we’ve designed and built every classroom to ensure our little learners and staff are safe and supported.

The Learning Experience 3.54K subscribers