Center Director (Hershey)

CHS Hershey - Hershey, PA

Full-Time

The CHS Hershey Center Director is passionate about making a positive impact on the lives of children ages six weeks to five years old from under resourced and overburdened backgrounds by providing high-quality early childhood education and care. This individual oversees operations of a state-of-the-art Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC) in Hershey, PA, serving as a model for other CHS ECECs.

Responsibilities of the CHS Hershey Center Director include providing leadership and guidance to a team of up to 80 individuals in line with CHS policies, guidelines, and curriculum. They are accountable for ensuring the delivery of a top-tier early childhood and family support program that delivers results for up to 150 CHS children and families. The CHS Hershey Center Director manages the day-to-day operations, implementation, and administration of the center, leading scholastic, family success, health services, and operations teams to deliver the CHS mission, vision and values.

As the leader of CHS Hershey, the Center Director reports to the CHS Central Office's Senior Director of Programs. They are expected to exemplify leadership for administrators, teachers, children, and families, setting a national standard for quality early childhood education and guiding staff towards achieving this standard. Starting salary is in the range of $94,854 to $126,630, based on expertise.

Responsibilities:

Supervising and guiding the center departments to deliver high quality, child-centered education tochildren. Department staff include Teachers, Family Success, Health & Safety, Facilities, and additional operations support roles
Establishing an inclusive, welcoming environment and Center culture through value-inspired leadership for all employees
Observing and resolving gaps, inefficiencies, and conflicts in the day-to-day operations
Mediating issues with families and employees
Providing proper resources for children and employees
Collaboratively spearheading staff recruitment, hiring, training, benefit, and retention efforts.
Leading child recruitment, acceptance, and retention efforts alongside the Family Success and Central Office teams
Implementing policies and procedures to safeguard health and safety of families and employees in compliance with the state requirements (DHS/OCDEL) and NAEYC standards
Establishing and reinforcing rules of behavior and compliance with procedures
Ensuring adherence to all CHS policies, procedures, and governance standards
Creating an effective system of reporting and progress tracking
Maintaining clear and transparent communications with children, parents, and caregivers and formulating public communications to this audience on major events and issues
Obtaining necessary approvals, licenses, and accreditations for the Center's operations alongside the Operations Director
Managing the Center's local community outreach and relationships alongside the Communications Director and Enrollment Director
Developing and fostering relationships with on-site partners
Working closely with the Assistant Director to ensure consistent high-quality programming and on track operations
Supporting the development of Center budget and ensuring that funding, contract, and reporting requirements are met fully
Building and encouraging a positive and collaborative working environment, showing appreciation and unity of all employee contributions
Collaborating with CHS Central Office to implement strategic plans and achieve comprehensive outcomes and established implementation goals

Qualifications:

Bachelor's Degree or equivalent in Early Childhood Education, Family Relations/Child development, or related field. Master's Degree preferred
8 years of experience as an ECE teacher and leader
Fluency in Spanish preferred
Significant experience overseeing several operations/departments and workstreams, including leading teams with a successful record of spearheading initiatives
Experience in creating, analyzing, and presenting outcome-related reporting to leadership
Exceptional interpersonal skills including the ability to influence, lead, and educate large teams
Demonstrated understanding of and ability to effectively work with low-income families
Ability to proactively identify problems and implement solutions
Willingness to be held accountable and receive feedback
Responsible, enthusiastic, and cares about working in a mission-focuses organization
Comfortability with technology including MS Office Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and/or willingness to learn
Commitment to the mission and values of CHS and MHS and demonstrated high degree of integrity as all
CHS and MHS staff are considered to be role models for children
US work authorization and successful completion of pre-employment background checks and clearances

Who we are and what we’re looking for

At CHS, we are leaders passionate about early childhood education and community betterment. Our work is driven by the desire to endow children with the resources for educational and physical well-being, while supporting and empowering their families. We listen to the needs of our diverse community and adapt to give everyone a voice. We hold each-other accountable for bringing our best and most authentic selves to school every day, creating an environment of mutual respect.

We strive to build a team of individuals that is passionate about our mission, brings in new creative ideas, and loves their work. If this sounds like you, we look forward to seeing your application.

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About Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning

At Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning, we nurture children, support them in discovering their world, and help them grow to reach their fullest potential. We are passionate educators, caregivers, and role models dedicated to successful early childhood development. We believe that a rich and solid foundation, along with a nurturing and supportive environment, is critical to helping children grow. We focus on the whole child, helping them flourish in mind and body. And we set them on a path to become their strongest, brightest, and best selves in school and beyond.

Catherine Hershey’s dream was to provide children with a well-rounded education. That dream lives on in her name and is our mission at Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning.

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Equal employment opportunity policy

Catherine Hershey Schools for Early Learning does not discriminate against applicants or employees, in hiring, promotion or any terms or conditions of employment, on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, sex, age, religion or religious creed, veteran status, disability or use of a guide or support animal because of the blindness, deafness or physical handicap of the user or because the user is a handler or trainer of support or guide animals, or any other status protected under applicable federal or Pennsylvania law.