Director, Child Development Center

Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City; Leawood (KS); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City seeks a dynamic Child Development Center (CDC) leader to oversee high-quality education and safe, inclusive programming for children aged 12 months to five years. You will guide the CDC Leadership team, set strategic priorities, and drive enrollment, staffing, and financial performance.

We value collaborative leadership, strong communication, and a commitment to community and inclusion.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or related field required; master’s preferred.
• Minimum 5–7 years of progressively responsible experience in early childhood education or similar program with leadership responsibility.
• Experience supervising and developing managers or experienced staff.
• Strong knowledge of licensing, program quality, and safe care practices.
• Experience with budgeting, enrollment management, staffing, and operations.
• Ability to lead collaboratively with clear accountability and decision-making authority.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, written communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to build strong relationships with employees, families, colleagues, and community partners.
• Alignment with the mission and community-centered approach of The J.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and accountability for high-quality, safe, inclusive programming.
• Set priorities for the CDC Leadership team and support a collaborative leadership model.
• Supervise, coach, evaluate, and develop the CDC staff.
• Ensure leadership teams supervise and manage performance effectively.
• Own enrollment, retention, family experience, staffing strategy, and financial performance.
• Develop and manage the CDC budget in collaboration with senior leaders; monitor finances and staffing ratios.
• Maintain licensing, regulatory compliance, safety, and program quality; delegate responsibilities accordingly.
• Oversee curriculum implementation, teacher development, and continuous quality improvement.
• Lead recruitment and retention for leadership, teaching, and administrative roles.
• Collaborate with HR, Finance, Facilities, Marketing, and other departments to support operations.
• Use data, feedback, and financial information to identify opportunities for improvement and growth.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Budgeting

Staffing & development

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Budgeting software

HRIS

Job description

Description

The Child Development Center (CDC) at The J provides high-quality, full-time early childhood education and care for children ages 12 months through five years. With more than 80 years of experience serving families, the CDC is committed to maintaining exceptional standards in early childhood education, providing a safe, nurturing and engaging environment where children of all faiths and backgrounds can learn, grow, and thrive.

Essential Functions

• Provide overall leadership and accountability, ensuring high-quality, safe, inclusive, mission-aligned programming.
• Establish clear priorities for the CDC Leadership team while supporting a collaborative leadership model.
• Supervise, coach, evaluate, and develop the employees assigned to them.
• Ensure that leadership team members effectively supervise, observe, coach, and manage the performance of the employees assigned to them.
• Own overall enrollment, retention, family experience, staffing strategy, and financial performance.
• Develop and manage the CDC budget in collaboration with the Senior Director, Youth Programs & Protection and Finance; monitor enrollment, labor, staffing ratios, revenue, expenses, and variances.
• Maintain accountability for licensing, regulatory compliance, safety, program quality, and operational readiness, delegating functional responsibilities appropriately across the leadership team.
• Supervise the Assistant Directors to ensure strong curriculum implementation, teacher development, assessment practices, and continuous quality improvement.
• Supervise the Assistant Director-Operations to ensure effective staffing systems, scheduling, payroll processes, records, facilities coordination, and day-to-day operational consistency.
• Partner with the Inclusion Specialist to ensure responsive inclusion practices, child support planning, teacher consultation, and family partnership.
• Collaborate with the Senior Director, Youth Programs & Protection in supporting the Inclusion Specialist’s work and development.
• Build and maintain positive relationships with families; respond to significant concerns and serve as the primary escalation point for complex family matters.
• Lead recruitment and retention strategy and participate in hiring for leadership, teaching, administrative, and specialty positions.
• Collaborate with HR, Finance, Facilities, Marketing, and other departments to support effective CDC operations.
• Use program data, family feedback, staffing trends, and financial information to identify opportunities for improvement and growth.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, child development, education administration, nonprofit management, or a related field required; master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 5–7 years of progressively responsible experience in early childhood education or a comparable child and family serving program, including significant leadership responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience supervising and developing managers or experienced professional staff.
• Strong knowledge of early childhood education, licensing requirements, program quality, and safe care practices.
• Demonstrated experience with budgeting, enrollment management, staffing, and program operations.
• Ability to lead collaboratively while maintaining clear accountability and decision-making authority.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, written communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to build strong relationships with employees, families, colleagues, and community partners.
• Alignment with the mission, values, and community-centered approach of The J.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to remain seated at a desk and work on a computer for extended periods of time.
• Ability to communicate clearly in person, over the phone, and in writing.
• Ability to frequently stand, walk, bend, kneel and sit on the floor to engage with children at their level.
• Must be able to lift, carry, and move children or materials weighing up to 40 pounds.
• Ability to move quickly and respond promptly to the needs and safety of children.
• Sufficient vision, hearing, and speech to supervise and communicate effectively with children, parents, and staff.
• Capable of performing indoor and outdoor activities in a variety of weather conditions.