Director of Early Childhood

Director of Early Childhood
JCC of Binghamton, NY
500 Clubhouse Rd
Vestal, NY 13850

Title: Early Childhood Director

Reports to: Chief Program Officer

Direct Reports: Early Childhood Business Manager, Curriculum Manager, Administrative Manager, and a team of 50+ educators

Schedule: Monday-Friday

Status: Full-time, exempt

The Early Childhood Director provides visionary leadership and operational oversight for the Binghamton JCC Early Childhood program, including Infant, Toddler, Preschool, and Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) classrooms serving approximately 200 children. This role is responsible for shaping and leading the strategy, culture, and long-term vision of the program to meet the evolving needs of children and families in our community.

As a key member of the JCC Leadership Team, the Early Childhood Director oversees one of the JCC's largest core programs and plays a vital role in advancing organizational goals through high-quality early learning experiences. The successful candidate will demonstrate strong expertise in curriculum leadership, child development, behavior guidance, scheduling and operations, and compliance with JCC policies and New York State requirements.

They will lead and develop staff, strengthen family engagement, and foster an inclusive community where children, educators, and families thrive.

• Provide day-to-day leadership, guidance, and accountability for the Early Childhood Leadership Team, including the Assistant Director, Experience Manager, and Administrative Manager.
• Recruit, supervise, coach, and develop a team of 40+ early childhood educators, building a supportive, accountable, and high-performing culture.
• Partner with the Chief Program Officer to translate organizational priorities into a clear vision, annual goals, and continuous improvement priorities for Early Childhood.
• Plan and lead professional development, including the annual weeklong training series, monthly learning opportunities, staff meetings, classroom observations, coaching, and performance support.
• Build leadership capacity and succession readiness throughout the department by empowering managers and educators to take ownership, solve problems, and grow professionally.

• Lead and strengthen implementation of The Creative Curriculum across Infant, Toddler, Preschool, and UPK classrooms.
• Ensure classrooms consistently reflect child-centered, play-based, developmentally appropriate practice and strong social-emotional learning.
• Support the Assistant Director in educator supervision, lesson-plan review, reflective coaching, classroom structure, and behavior guidance.
• Oversee developmental screening and assessment practices, including Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ), and ensure appropriate family follow-up and individualized support.
• Use enrollment trends, family feedback, classroom observations, quality indicators, and program outcomes to evaluate effectiveness and drive continuous improvement.
• Maintain at minimum a 4-star Quality Stars NY rating and actively pursue opportunities to strengthen program quality and recognition.

• Oversee daily program operations, including staffing plans, schedules, classroom coverage, resource allocation, communication systems, and program logistics.
• Ensure full compliance with applicable New York State regulations, OCFS standards, licensing requirements, JCC policies, and UPK requirements.
• Maintain strong systems for attendance, documentation, reporting, required records, and timely school-district submissions, in partnership with the Administrative Manager.
• Oversee the Early Childhood Health and Safety Plan, collaborate with the Medical…