What Does a Child Care Director Do?
Child Care Directors typically work for daycare centers, preschools or nurseries to provide leadership to their staff and maintain a clean facility. They train Child Care Workers and make sure that the facility and its employees comply with child care laws. Their job is to organize parent contact information and dietary restrictions or medical conditions for each child. They contact parents when a child becomes ill and collect payment from parents. They may also oversee the implementation of safety measures like installing security cameras and automatic-locking doors to promote a safe environment for the children.
Child Care Director Skills and Qualifications
A great Child Care Director will need to have the following key skills:
- Business management: A Child Care Director runs all aspects of a childcare facility from setting up the security system to creating the budget. Besides being detail-orientated and organized, they need to keep up with federal and state daycare laws and requirements.
- First aid: Child Care Directors must have a good knowledge of child safety requirements and be up-to-date on first aid protocol.
- Excellent communication skills: As the face of the childcare facility, the Child Care Director must be an excellent communicator, being able to confidently take prospective parents on a tour, write newsletters and run staff meetings.
- Good crisis management: A Child Care Director must have strong crisis management abilities, being able to remain cool and composed in a crisis.
- Leadership skills: The Child Care Director’s job is to keep staff motivated and resolve conflicts, which takes good leadership skills.
- Classroom experience: Since a Child Care Director is responsible for hiring teaching staff, they need to know how to handle a group of children, understand childhood development and have the know-how to establish classroom structure.
Child Care Director Salary Expectations
A Child Care Director can expect to earn a salary of $37,797 a year. This salary estimate is based on 698 salaries anonymously submitted to Indeed by employees, users or collected from data over the last 36 months.
Child Care Director Education and Training Requirements
A Child Care Director needs an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in education or early childcare. In addition, Child Care Directors need to have a CPR and first aid certification, with most states also requiring state licensure.
Child Care Director Experience Requirements
Early childhood experience is required for most advertised positions. Most professionals start off as a lead teacher in a childcare facility, working up to becoming a Child Care Director after a number of years of experience.
Job Description Samples for Similar Positions
This is a great sample job description, but if it’s not quite what you’re looking for, you can try the following: