Child Care Director in White Plains, New York at YWCA WHITE PLAINS AND CENTRAL WESTCHESTER

Organizational Overview

We are seeking an established, mission-driven nonprofit serving children, families, and communities throughout Westchester County. Our work is grounded in equity, opportunity, and the belief that families should have access to high-quality programs that help children learn, grow, and thrive.

Our year-round children’s programming includes an OCFS-licensed early childhood education center, school-age afterschool services, and summer day camp. We are strengthening and expanding this portfolio and seeking an experienced leader who can bring vision, structure, sound judgment, and a deep commitment to children and families.

Job Summary

We are seeking a Director of Early Childhood Education & Youth Programs to lead a year-round portfolio serving children from infancy through age 12.

This is a build-and-strengthen leadership opportunity for someone who understands that child care is both an essential support for working families and an important part of a child’s development and enrichment. The Director must be an advocate for children and families, a strong people leader, and a practical systems thinker who can turn ideas and expectations into consistent daily operations.

The right candidate will understand NYS OCFS requirements, early childhood education, school-age programming, and summer camp operations. They will also be comfortable managing budgets, monitoring enrollment, forecasting staffing and revenue needs, strengthening community partnerships, and making thoughtful decisions based on both program quality and financial sustainability.

We are looking for a grounded, resourceful, and experienced professional who can lead through change, establish clear systems, hold teams accountable, and help shape the program’s next stage of growth. This is not a maintenance role. It requires someone ready to assess what is working, address what is not, and build the structure needed for long-term success.

Essential Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for an OCFS-licensed infant through preschool program, school-age afterschool programming, and summer day camp serving children through age 12.
• Ensure full and ongoing compliance with NYS OCFS regulations, Department of Health requirements for children’s camps, contractual obligations, and internal safety and quality standards.
• Supervise, coach, and evaluate the Assistant Director, Head Teachers, and other program leaders, creating clear expectations and a culture of accountability, professional growth, and teamwork.
• Maintain appropriate staffing patterns, classroom ratios, credentials, training records, and coverage across all programs.
• Lead the implementation and evaluation of developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive curriculum and enrichment activities, including Creative Curriculum, QualityStarsNY, and NAEYC-aligned practices.
• Develop and manage the annual program budget in partnership with Finance, including revenue and expense monitoring, enrollment forecasting, staffing projections, purchasing, and corrective action when performance is off target.
• Establish and monitor enrollment goals across early childhood, afterschool, and summer camp programs, including outreach, tours, intake, placement, waitlist management, retention, and conversion of inquiries into enrollment.
• Use enrollment, attendance, staffing, family feedback, and financial data to identify trends, anticipate challenges, and make timely operational decisions.
• Build relationships with schools, public agencies, community organizations, and referral partners to strengthen enrollment, family resources, and program visibility.
• Maintain accurate and timely licensing, funding, incident, enrollment, attendance, and internal reporting documentation.
• Serve as the administrative lead for child care management and family communication platforms, including Brightwheel, Daxko, or similar systems.
• Develop strong relationships with families through responsive communication, orientation, engagement activities, and clear resolution of concerns.
• Collaborate with Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Facilities, and other departments to support hiring, purchasing, compliance, safety, building readiness, and smooth daily operations.
• Lead program improvement and expansion efforts, including the development of procedures, performance measures, staff workflows, and continuity plans.
• Respond appropriately to urgent operational, staffing, safety, and family matters while maintaining sound judgment and clear communication.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Education, Child Development, Human Services, Nonprofit Management, or a related field required; master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of five years of progressively responsible leadership experience in early childhood education, child care, youth development, or a related setting.
• Demonstrated experience leading an OCFS-licensed child care program; knowledge of applicable NYS OCFS regulations is required.
• Experience overseeing school-age programming and/or Department of Health-regulated summer day camp operations strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of developmentally appropriate practice, social-emotional development, family engagement, and culturally responsive education.
• Demonstrated experience with program budgeting, enrollment management, revenue forecasting, staffing analysis, and financial monitoring.
• Experience supervising managers, teachers, and multidisciplinary program teams.
• Ability to develop systems, manage competing priorities, respond to urgent needs, and lead effectively in an evolving environment.
• Strong written, verbal, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience using Brightwheel, Lillio, or a comparable child care management platform preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and related business systems.
• Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred.
• Valid New York State driver’s license.

Compensation: $90,000-$95,000 annually, commensurate with experience

Benefits

• 403(b) retirement plan
• Health, dental, and vision insurance
• Health savings and flexible spending accounts
• Life insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Employee discounts

Schedule

• Monday through Friday
• Eight-hour shift
• Some schedule flexibility may be required based on program operations, family needs, emergencies, and seasonal programming.