Senior Director of Early Childhood Programs

Overview

The Senior Director of Early Childhood Programs provides strategic leadership and association-wide oversight for all YMCA early childhood programs, including licensed preschool, half-day preschool, and related summer programming. This role ensures high-quality, consistent, and compliant program operations through the supervision of site leaders, alignment of program and operational standards, oversight of licensing and regulatory requirements, and use of performance data to guide continuous improvement.

The Senior Director works closely with the Vice President of Youth Development, branch leadership, and other senior leaders to strengthen program quality, enrollment, family experience, financial performance, and operational excellence across all early childhood services.

• Recruit, hire, onboard, supervise, coach, and evaluate Preschool Directors, Childcare Directors, and other assigned early childhood leadership staff.
• Hold Preschool Directors, Childcare Directors, and other assigned leaders accountable for program performance, operational execution, staff development, regulatory compliance, enrollment, financial performance, and family experience within their assigned programs.
• In collaboration with the Vice President of Youth Development and other senior leaders, establish leadership meeting rhythms, professional development priorities, and accountability structures for early childhood program leaders.
• Provide strategic leadership and association-wide oversight for all YMCA early childhood programs, including licensed preschool, half-day preschool, and related summer programming.
• Establish and monitor association-wide systems, standards, and expectations for program quality, curriculum alignment, staffing, compliance, safety, family experience, and operational consistency across all early childhood programs.
• Provide leadership for the development, alignment, and continuous improvement of the YMCA’s early childhood program model to ensure consistency across branches, counties, and program types.
• Develop and oversee year-at-a-glance planning tools and timelines for early childhood programming to ensure deadlines are met and planning remains aligned with YMCA priorities.
• Oversee compliance with NC Child Care Rules and other applicable regulations by ensuring effective systems are in place for licensing readiness, sanitation, documentation, monitoring, corrective action, and continuous quality improvement across all sites.
• Oversee the administration and monitoring of CACFP systems and requirements, including internal processes, accountability measures, and coordination with support staff to ensure accuracy, compliance, and operational effectiveness.
• Collaborate with compliance, finance, HR, and other association support teams to ensure early childhood programs meet licensing, sanitation, safety, staffing, and operational expectations.
• Establish, monitor, and analyze key performance indicators across early childhood programs, including enrollment, capacity utilization, staffing alignment, family retention, compliance trends, budget performance, and other operational measures; use data to guide planning, accountability, resource allocation, and strategies that strengthen growth, sustainability, enrollment, retention, and overall program effectiveness.
• Provide leadership and oversight for the development, maintenance, and administration of early childhood and related summer program budgets across the association; monitor revenue and expenses, support forecasting and planning, ensure responsible stewardship of resources, and make recommendations to strengthen financial performance and long-term sustainability.
• Provide leadership and oversight for Pre-K and Kindergarten summer camp programs operated within early childhood program areas, including planning expectations, staffing models, readiness timelines, and operational alignment.
• Establish and monitor expectations for strong family engagement, communication, and service across early childhood programs, ensuring systems are in place to promote responsiveness, consistency, trust, and a high-quality family experience.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with branch leadership, regulatory agencies, community partners, and other stakeholders to support program success, visibility, and sustainability.
• Provide leadership and accountability for annual campaign performance within assigned program areas, including achievement of assigned campaign goals, active…