Senior Program Director of Early Learning & Childcare

The Valley of the Sun YMCA is honored to be among the top 50 YMCA associations in the United States.

The Sr. Program Director of Early Learning provides strategic and operational leadership for the Early Learning Center, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, compliant, and financially sustainable programming aligned with YMCA standards and best practices. This role owns overall program performance, including enrollment growth, budget management, grant compliance, and quality assurance, while ensuring full adherence to all AZ DHS, DES, licensing, accreditation, and risk management requirements.

The Director leads, develops, and retains a high-performing, diverse team by overseeing hiring, onboarding, performance management, scheduling, and payroll in partnership with HR. This position also drives community engagement and program growth through strong partnerships, family relationships, and targeted outreach, while fostering a culture of safety, accountability, and continuous improvement to ensure exceptional outcomes for children, families, and the organization.

• Minimum age of 21.
• Three to four years experience in leadership in the early learning or related fields.
• Ability to relate effectively to diverse groups of people from all social and economic segments of the community.

• Assist with reconciling participant accounts and collection procedures for childcare programs.
• Provide support to membership trainer for new branch staff training in CORE regarding Child Care admin procedures.
• Train existing and new childcare directors on branch childcare administration processes for their respective branches to include DES compliance monitoring and coaching as needed.
• Work with branches on the retention of all department rosters.
• Assist in the compilation of program statistics and reporting as assigned by Associate Executive.
• Serve as a liaison to the childcare cabinets as needed.
• Assist in childcare grant reporting and administration when required.
• Monitor the childcare website for accuracy of information.
• Oversee the management of an early learning center and affiliated programs, including developing and monitoring program operations, curriculum, alignment to high‑quality standards and best practices.
• Ensure programs and services meet community needs by maintaining student enrollment and expanding the program within the community as needed. Assist in the marketing and distribution of program information.
• Monitor program deliverables to include the program budget to meet fiscal objectives; compiling program statistics to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of and participation in program; securing and scheduling the needed facilities; and creating and scheduling the classes, activities, or events.
• Ensure grant compliance for all grants allocated and implemented within the program, adhering to grant objectives, deadlines, and deliverables.
• Recruit and hire diverse staff and volunteer teams across multiple dimensions of diversity. Onboard new employees and develop them for success.
• Manage staff members, including full‑time employees, monitoring staff schedules, employee payroll, performance and coordinate human resource needs with the Managed Services Organization (MSO).
• Model relationship‑building skills in all interactions. Develop and maintain collaborative relationships with community organizations. Maintain regular, clear, and concise communication within area of responsibility.
• Support program and staff compliance to all safety standards, adhering to risk management and child abuse prevention policies.
• Maintain all quality and accreditation standards for the center by coaching staff and volunteers, regularly auditing the program and keeping all required documentation up to date.
• Ensure programs and staff adhere to AZ Department of Health Services Childcare Facility Licensing and Department of Economic Services regulations, standards, and processes.

• Communication & Influence
• Developing Self & Others
• Engaging Community