Preschool Assistant Director in Potomac, MD from Georgetown Hill Early School, US

Georgetown Hill Early School has 40 years’ experience serving Maryland families. Since 1980, we’ve guided more than 40,000 little feet through our halls. We take pride in meeting the individual needs of our students and fostering the independence of each child in a family-like environment of trust and warmth.

We are looking for a qualified Preschool Assistant Director to support the operations and management of our campus – in the heart of Potomac, Maryland.

This opening is full time and the current schedule is Monday through Friday 8am – 5pm, but hours may change based on an adjustment in operating hours. Some schedule flexibility will be required for occasional weekend and evening work as necessary.

Specifically, the job entails:

• Supporting the operations of a busy preschool. Our Potomac Village campus hosts over 150 children and staff meaning there is never a dull moment. You’ll need to be good at multi-tasking and keeping cool when things get hectic.
• Ensuring a clean and safe school. In the wake of COVID-19 we’ve developed strict health, safety, and sanitation protocols to protect our employees and the children in our care. You’ll be expect to adhere to and facilitate these high standard at your campus.
• Managing staff. As an assistant director, you’ll be responsible for developing and maintaining a positive work environment for all employees. This includes routine activities like new employee onboarding, scheduling, and mentoring – but also the hard stuff like performance reviews and conflict management.
• Clear and consistent communication. You’ll be responsible for communicating with staff and parents on a regular basis. This includes in-person interactions as well as phone calls and electronic communication.
• Marketing and growing your campus. We are expanding our brand across the board and our managers are an integral part of that development. You’ll need to learn and utilize the systems and protocols that keep our organization ticking. But on a more human level, you’ll be trusted to give stellar tours to prospective families and earn their trust – leading to full enrollment levels at your campus.
• Assuring the highest quality learning environment. We are very proud of our proven, whole child curriculum – encompassing play, learning, the arts, and nurturing – and we expect our managers to embrace and broaden that philosophy.
• Maintaining compliance and advancing accreditation efforts. You’ll be responsible for maintaining a good relationship with your licensing specialist and for ensuring that your campus is compliant with all federal, state, and local regulations, including MSDE and NAEYC. You’ll also be expected to support efforts to attain MSDE/NAEYC accreditation and EXCELS accreditation level 5 for your campus and staff.
• Relationship building. We are on a first name basis with our parents and staff (unless they prefer otherwise), and we are genuinely interested in their happiness and wellbeing. You’ll be expected to maintain positive relationships with all parents and staff. We are looking for individuals who can demonstrate the trust, compassion and empathy it takes to create and support a family… because that’s what we are.

In addition to the above duties, we expect our leadership to be:

• Nurturing. We’re looking for people who can create a caring campus community that will cultivate a climate of healthy and positive growth.
• Expert problem solvers. You’ll be relied on to use sound judgement and to take initiative when issues come up.
• Reliable. We take punctuality and attendance seriously at Georgetown Hill. If you are unable to commit to a full time job, this may not be the best place for you.
• Happy to be part of a team. We prize collaboration over competition and we hire folks who are positive and productive coworkers, supervisors, and employees.
• Discreet and trustworthy. You’ll be privy to private information belonging to staff and families and we’ll expect you to keep that information private. All our leaders must have the highest integrity at all times.

• Personable. A warm, friendly, and cool-tempered demeanor is essential to work here. And smiles. We love smiles.
• Genuinely interested in early childhood education. If you are passionate about kids, we’ll be passionate about you.

We share a commitment to excellence and a desire to work in a comfortable, friendly atmosphere, so we only hire nice, bright, funny people who are willing to work hard. We are looking to add amazing folks to our team who are eager to apply and explore their talents in the classroom and beyond

Requirements

Requirements for this position include:

• Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or related field.
• We prefer that applicants have at least two years’ experience in a school or childcare setting. Leadership or management experience is a plus!
• Applicants must have excellent technological skills and be able to utilize various company systems. It’s a plus if you have experience using: Child Care CRM, ProCare, Paylocity HRIS, Microsoft Office Suite, or Microsoft Teams.
• Applicants must have excellent communication skills including speaking, writing, and reading.
• Applicants must have the ability to manage physical demands of a school setting. This includes but is not limited to: sitting and standing for long hours, lifting up to 40 pounds, reaching and lifting above your head, etc.
• Per licensing requirements, all applicants will be subject to a state and federal background check. Applicants for our Federal Center campuses will also be subject to a more extensive background based on GSA and agency requirements.

Benefits

• Healthcare benefits. Full time employees (scheduled at least 30 hours per week) are eligible to enroll in our healthcare benefits which include medical, dental, vision, short term disability, term life, and flexible spending accounts
• 401(k) with match. We want our employees to be able to retire with confidence, knowing that they have enough saved to enjoy every bit of their well-earned retirement. Once you’re eligible to enroll, you could earn up to a 4% employer match on your yearly earnings… that’s free money. For real.
• Employee discount on child care. We offer a robust employee discount policy that covers at least 50% of tuition for all of our programs – Infants through School Age.
• Paid leave. At Georgetown Hill, we believe a healthy work-life balance is the key to happy (and sane) employees. So all eligible employees accrue Paid Time Off. Use it for sick days, college visits with your kids, vacation, or just some “me” time.
• Professional development. We are committed to supporting each employee’s goals for professional growth. We provide pre-service trainings to employees for free and offer financial assistance for additional certification and coursework.
• Free caffeine (decaf available). We know that working with kids can be exhausting and we are equipped to assist you in your mid-morning perk up needs. Each campus has a Keurig and pods in stock – coffee, tea, hot chocolate… whatever floats your boat, just ask