Head Start Compliance Director — Systems & Readiness Leader

NEXT DOOR FOUNDATION INC; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Next Door in Milwaukee seeks a Director of Compliance to lead organization-wide compliance systems across Head Start programs and licensing. You will embed compliance into daily practice, partnering with program leadership, HR, finance, and IT to ensure readiness and alignment with standards.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, communicates clearly, translates complex regulations into practical tools, and drives corrective actions across departments to prevent risks and support program

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, public administration, education, or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in compliance, program operations, grants management, or related field.
• Strong understanding of regulatory compliance, documentation systems, monitoring preparation, and corrective action processes.
• Experience working in a complex, multi-department organization.
• Ability to manage deadlines, organize large volumes of information, and coordinate across multiple stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills are important.
• You must have access to a personal vehicle to use on a daily basis, maintain a valid driver's license and automobile insurance.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain an organization-wide compliance calendar covering Head Start, licensing, grant, governance, monitoring, reporting, and internal review requirements.
• Lead planning and preparation for federal monitoring reviews, licensing visits, audits, and other external reviews.
• Create and manage a centralized corrective action tracking process.
• Partner with program, HR, finance, IT, and other departments to support compliance across all service areas.
• Prepare regular compliance dashboards or summaries for COO and executive leadership.
• Support governance documentation, Board approvals, and Policy Council actions.

Skills

Regulatory compliance

Policy development

Cross-functional leadership

Documentation systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in nonprofit/related field

Tools

Microsoft 365

Childplus

Job description

Next Door in Milwaukee seeks a Director of Compliance to lead organization-wide compliance systems across Head Start programs and licensing. You will embed compliance into daily practice, partnering with program leadership, HR, finance, and IT to ensure readiness and alignment with standards.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, communicates clearly, translates complex regulations into practical tools, and drives corrective actions across departments to prevent risks and support program