Executive Director

Tick Tock Early Learning Center; Avondale (PA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Short-term disability insurance

SIMPLE IRA with employer match

Paid holidays and time off

Child care tuition discount

Job summary

Tick Tock Early Learning Center in Avondale, PA seeks an Executive Director to lead a long-standing nonprofit focused on affordable, high-quality early education. You will guide strategy, operations, and fiscal stewardship, while nurturing community partnerships and staff development to sustain enrollment and impact.

You will collaborate with a dedicated team of 20–25 employees and a supportive Board, advancing a mission that benefits working families and the broader Southern Chester County

Qualifications

• Five or more years of leadership experience in nonprofit or related sectors.
• Financial and operational fluency, including budgets, data, and resource allocation.
• Proven fundraising success through grants, public funding, partnerships, or similar activities.
• Ability to translate strategic plans into measurable action.
• Strong communication, integrity, adaptability, emotional intelligence.

Responsibilities

• Provide visible leadership for employees and families, promoting high-quality education and a welcoming environment.
• Lead strategic planning with the Board of Directors and translate mission into priorities.
• Oversee policies, procedures, and compliance with requirements and best practices.
• Supervise administrative team and partner with Program Director for teaching staff oversight.
• Oversee financial performance, operations, risk management, and compliance with leadership input.
• Grow funding through grants, fundraising, partnerships, and donor stewardship.

Skills

Leadership experience

Staff management

Operations

Planning

Organizational performance

Fundraising

Budgets

Performance data

Resource allocation

Strategic planning

Communication

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Avondale, Pennsylvania | Full-time, Exempt | On-site

Reports to: Board of Directors | Anticipated Start: December 2026

Lead a respected nonprofit that helps children thrive, enables parents to work, and strengthens Southern Chester County.

Tick Tock Early Learning Center (TTELC) is seeking a strategic, approachable Executive Director to guide our next chapter of growth and impact. For more than 60 years, TTELC has championed the belief that accessible, high-quality early childhood education and care help children thrive, families build stability, and communities prosper. Our income-based tuition model puts that belief into practice, making early education and care affordable for working families in Southern Chester County. When children have a strong foundation and parents can depend on reliable care, employers benefit from a stable workforce and our entire community grows stronger.

Today, our Pennsylvania Keystone STAR 4 program serves up to 95 children each day through year-round early education, school-age care, and summer programming. Our support extends beyond the classroom through nutritious meals, developmental support, and comprehensive family services.

The incoming Executive Director will lead a financially stable, highly respected organization with strong operations, an experienced team, an engaged Board of Directors, deep community partnerships, and planned leadership transition.

This is an opportunity to honor TTELC's legacy while shaping its future. You will partner with local nonprofits, businesses, service organizations, elected officials, and dedicated community members to advance opportunities for children, families, businesses, and the broader community.

The Opportunity

As Tick Tock Early Learning Center’s Executive Director, you will:

• Provide visible, approachable leadership for employees and families, promoting exceptional early childhood education and care, clear communication, and a safe, welcoming, inclusive environment.
• Lead strategic planning with the Board of Directors, translating TTELC’s mission into clear priorities and sustainable action.
• Manage and establish organizational policies and procedures consistent with applicable requirements and best practices.
• Lead and support the administrative team, partnering with the Program Director, who manages teaching staff, to build a collaborative, accountable, mission-centered organization of 20 to 25 employees.
• Oversee financial performance, operations, risk management, and regulatory compliance, working with the Business Manager and leadership team to address gaps and improve efficiency.
• Grow and diversify funding through grant writing, public and private fundraising, corporate partnerships, advocacy, and community engagement. Lead major-donor cultivation and stewardship.
• Lead marketing and enrollment planning in collaboration with Program Director and Family Services Director to achieve and sustain full enrollment while anticipating future needs.
• Partner with the Family Services Director to provide whole-family support through responsive communication, resource navigation, and referrals to community support services.
• Expand community awareness of Tick Tock’s impact on children, working families, and the local economy.
• Cultivate trusted relationships with families, employees, donors, public officials, schools, businesses, and community partners.
• Preserve program quality and affordability while identifying mission-aligned opportunities for innovation and growth that expand opportunities for children and families.
• Position TTELC as an employer of choice through staff development, supportive workplace culture, and competitive pay and benefits while responsibly stewarding community resources.

The Executive Director is not expected to be the lead educator or the functional expert in every discipline. This role calls for an Executive Director who can empower experts while retaining accountability for overall organizational performance.

Candidates with transferable leadership experience from a broad range of sectors are encouraged to apply.

First-Year Focus

• Ensure a successful leadership transition and continuity for employees, families, and community partners.
• Develop a three-year strategic and financial plan with clear priorities and measures of success.
• Expand sustainable revenue and strengthen community partnerships to support long-term impact.

What You’ll Bring

Required:

• A genuine commitment to children, working families, affordability, and community well-being
• Five or more years of leadership experience, with skills including staff management, operations, communications, planning, and organizational performance
• Financial and operational fluency, including experience with budgets, performance data, and resource allocation.
• Success developing revenue through fundraising, grants, public funding, partnerships, or comparable business-development activities
• A record of translating strategic plans into measurable action
• Initiative and resourcefulness to recognize gaps in knowledge, learn new skills, and seek appropriate expertise when needed.
• Integrity, sound judgment, adaptability, emotional intelligence
• Demonstrated ability to understand, respect, and work effectively with families and community members from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office software, including Word, Excel, and Outlook
• Familiarity with social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) and basic website updating

Valued but not required:

• Advanced education or related professional credentials
• Experience in nonprofit management, human services, education, or child care.
• Familiarity with applicable licensing regulations and program requirements such as The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), PA Keystone STARS, and the local health department.

Why Tick Tock?

• More than six decades of trusted nonprofit community service
• Pennsylvania Keystone STAR 4 designation
• Experienced and dedicated team of administrators, educators, and support staff
• Strong operations and healthy financial reserves
• Supportive, engaged volunteer Board of Directors
• Established funder, government, school, business, and community partnerships.
• Planned transition with meaningful knowledge transfer
• Location: Avondale, Pennsylvania
• Position type: Full-time, exempt
• Work arrangement: Primarily on-site, with hours that may extend beyond a standard 40-hour work week, including periodic evening and weekend meetings, community events, and responsiveness to urgent operational needs outside regular hours
• Reports to the Board of Directors
• Compensation: $95,000-$105,000 annually, plus a generous benefits package
• Benefits:Employer contributions toward health, dental, vision, life, short-term disability insurance; SIMPLE IRA with employer match; paid holidays and time off; and a substantial child care tuition discount
• Anticipated start: December 2026

Employment is contingent upon:

• Completion of all legally required background checks and clearances for a licensed child care environment
• Meeting applicable staff health assessment and immunization requirements, subject to applicable exemptions and reasonable accommodations
• Being able to perform essential physical duties associated with caring for children, including lifting, bending, reaching, and working indoors and outdoors, with or without reasonable accommodation

Applications received by November 20, 2026 will receive priority consideration. The position will remain open until filled.

Professional references may be requested.

If you are a mission-driven executive who can unite people, strengthen a sustainable organization, and expand its impact for children and working families, we would welcome your application.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Tick Tock Early Learning Center is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made in accordance with applicable law and without unlawful discrimination. We value the perspectives, experiences, skills, and backgrounds that contribute to a strong organization and encourage qualified candidates from a broad range of professional backgrounds to apply.