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Early Childhood Center Director

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Reports to: Preschool Board and Church Council

Directly Supervises: Honey Tree Administrative Assistant/Bookkeeper, Lead Teachers, Assistant Teachers

Status: Full Time, $68,640-$72,000; expected work hours Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm during the school year, with some church or preschool board meetings in the evening. Summer hours are flexible. 

FLSA: Exempt

Position Start Date: June 15, 2025

Application Deadline: March 30, 2025

Job Summary

The Honey Tree Early Childhood Center has been an outreach of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church of Thousand Oaks since 1973 with the commitment to positively influence the lives of young children in our community, help each child to value themselves as a unique individual created by God, and to develop a joyful curiosity in knowing and learning about God’s world. 

Honey Tree is seeking a dynamic Director to lead our outstanding Early Childhood Center serving ages two through Kindergarten. The ideal candidate will bring an inspired, forward-thinking vision to all aspects of our early childhood program. The Honey Tree Early Childhood Center Director is a strong leader who stands for the ideas and values of Honey Tree and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. Honey Tree Early Childhood Center has an over fifty year history in the community, and a critical focus of the role will be to continue to foster the growth of our excellent program.

Essential Functions:

• Ensure all California Licensing (CCLD) requirements are met
• Responsible for overseeing the daily successful operations of the center
• Lead, listen, observe, inspire, and provide regular critical and constructive feedback to the faculty.
• Be visible and accessible to families and staff, promoting a positive, caring climate for learning. 
• Management of fiscal, administrative and facilities functions
• Guide and advise lead teachers in designing and maintaining the center’s curriculum. 

Other Responsibilities:

• Promote the school in community events and tours.
• Effectively communicate with staff, families and children; effectively articulate the center’s programs, goals, and expectations to staff, families, Honey Tree board, and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church council. 
• Serve on the senior leadership team (board) of the school; serve as liaison between the Early Childhood Center and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church with the goals of developing a strong relationship with the church. 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Arts or Science Degree (or higher) in Child Development/Early Childhood Education or related field
• Master's Degree (preferred), minimum 15 semester units of Early Childhood Education or Child Development; 3 units must cover administration or staff relations. California Child Development Site Supervisor Permit or Child Development Program Director Permit (preferred).
• Current CPR, First Aid, and Health and Safety Training (required)
• Preschool director experience, minimum 2 years (preferred, but not required)
• Experience in a classroom and management or leadership in an early childhood learning setting
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively with staff, families, and children
• Strong working knowledge using technology and applications relevant to preschool/child center management (Honey Tree currently utilizes ProCare) 
• Supports Christian values and education in word, practice, and leadership

Physical Requirements:

• Be able to meet physical demands of the position including bending, kneeling, lifting items up to 50 pounds, prolonged time at a computer, dealing with interruptions. 

Core Competencies:

• Mission Partnership: Demonstrates understanding and consistently behaves in a manner congruent with the mission, vision, values and beliefs of Honey Tree Early Childhood Center and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church; recognizes that Honey Tree is a community outreach and ministry of Holy Trinity. 
• Child Development Expertise:  Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of developmental milestones and developmentally appropriate practices for young children.  Guides teachers in implementing curriculum aligned with early childhood education standards. Implements effective methods to observe and assess children's development and document progress.  Supports teachers in communicating effectively about children's development and progress.  Fosters positive relationships with families, actively involving them in center activities.  Maintains a safe and nurturing learning and care environment for young children.
• Integrity, Trust, Professionalism:  Is seen as trustworthy by staff and families, practices direct, honest communication; maintains high ethical professional standards; upholds confidentiality; admits mistakes; responds to situations with reliability.
• Interpersonal Skills, Compassion and Care: Engages children, families, staff and campus visitors with a natural sense of care for the well-being of others; practices active listening, responds with empathy to the life circumstances of others, and assists in resolving interpersonal conflicts. Communicates a sense of support with their presence; demonstrates appropriate boundaries in expressions of care. 
• Organizational Knowledge: Knowledgeable about how communication, decision making and leadership works; utilizes formal and informal decision-making channels; establishes good working relationships with Honey Tree board, staff, and church members. 
• Leadership and Management Skills:  Creates and communicates vision, direction and goals of the program to staff, families and Board. Leads and motivates staff; guides teachers and assistant teachers in the process of sharing best practices; delegates tasks and employs resources to get things done. Guides all staff in identifying and resolving common problems and conflicts.  Identifies and addresses challenges within the program and makes informed decisions to improve program quality
• Creativity and Innovation: Generates new ideas; makes new connections among existing ideas to create fresh approaches; takes acceptable risks in pursuit of innovation; learns from mistakes; has good judgment about which creative ideas and suggestions will work. 

About Us: 

For our mission statement and further information about Honey Tree Early Childhood Center, please visit myhoneytree.com. 

Honey Tree is a licensed childcare facility and is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Education Association.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

• Resume
• Letter of Intent
• Copies of college transcripts and certificates 
• Three letters of recommendation, or three references 

Applications will be received on Indeed. Please submit all application requirements on Indeed. If you are having difficulty, email application requirements to applications@htlcto.org.