Infant & Toddler Director
We’re Hiring an Infant & Toddler Director!
60,000 – 70,000 per year
60,000 – 70,000 per year
Are you passionate about early childhood education and leadership? Come grow with us and help create a nurturing environment for infants, toddlers, families, and staff.
Position Summary
The Infant & Toddler Director is responsible for the leadership, administration, and day-to-day oversight of the infant and toddler program serving children from birth through age three. This position ensures the delivery of safe, nurturing, relationship-based, and developmentally appropriate early childhood services that support healthy attachment, responsive caregiving, and children’s social-emotional, cognitive, language, sensory-motor, and physical development.
The Infant & Toddler Director provides direct supervision and support to education staff, oversees classroom quality and curriculum implementation, ensures timely completion of child screenings and developmental assessments, and maintains compliance with Early Head Start Performance Standards, Missouri childcare licensing regulations, NAEYC accreditation standards (as applicable), and all organizational policies and procedures. This position also promotes strong family partnerships, continuity of care, individualized routines, and successful transitions within and beyond the infant/toddler program.
Essential Functions and Responsibilities
- Provide leadership and day-to-day operational oversight of the infant and toddler program, including planning, implementation, and evaluation of high-quality education and caregiving services that support healthy development and positive child outcomes.
- Ensure classrooms maintain appropriate staffing patterns and ratios in accordance with Early Head Start Performance Standards, Missouri childcare licensing requirements, and organizational standards.
- Promote and monitor continuity of care, primary caregiving practices, individualized routines, and relationship-based services for children from birth through age three.
- Oversee effective implementation of the approved infant/toddler curriculum and caregiving framework, including Creative Curriculum for Infants, Toddlers & Twos, Conscious Discipline, and other program-approved educational approaches.
- Monitor classroom environments and conduct regular observations to ensure safe, nurturing, developmentally appropriate practices, strong teacher-child interactions, active supervision, and curriculum fidelity.
- Provide coaching, guidance, and ongoing feedback to teaching staff to strengthen responsive caregiving practices, classroom quality, and child outcomes.
- Support and reinforce best practices in infant/toddler development, attachment, co-regulation, social-emotional development, and trauma-informed care, as appropriate.
- Ensure strict compliance with infant/toddler health and safety requirements, including safe sleep, active supervision, feeding procedures, sanitation and diapering procedures, handwashing, infection control, and emergency response protocols.
- Ensure compliance with all applicable Early Head Start Performance Standards, Missouri childcare licensing regulations, CACFP requirements, health and sanitation regulations, fire and life safety requirements, NAEYC accreditation standards (as applicable), and agency policies and procedures.
- Serve as a primary point of contact for Missouri State Licensing follow-up, Early Head Start monitoring, self-assessment corrective action plans, and related compliance reviews for the infant/toddler program.
- Oversee timely and accurate completion of developmental and social-emotional screenings, including ASQ, ASQ:SE, DECA, and other approved screening tools.
- Ensure child assessment data is used to individualize caregiving and learning experiences and support school readiness goals for infants and toddlers.
- Coordinate referrals, intervention processes, and outside services for children requiring additional developmental, behavioral, social-emotional, or educational support, including children with IFSPs.
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, specialists, families, and community partners to support inclusive practices and timely access to services.
- Oversee transitions between infant and toddler classrooms and from Early Head Start to Head Start or preschool programs, ensuring continuity of care, family-centered planning, and required documentation.
- Support and promote strong family partnerships through effective communication, family engagement, and recognition of parents and guardians as children’s primary caregivers and educators.
- Interview, hire, onboard, supervise, and evaluate teaching staff and assigned program staff.
- Conduct performance evaluations at the end of probationary periods, midpoint reviews, and annual review cycles, and recommend personnel actions as appropriate.
- Support and monitor staff professional development plans, credential attainment, and continuing education requirements.
- Hold staff accountable to Early Head Start Performance Standards, licensing regulations, accreditation standards, and all organizational policies and procedures.
- Implement progressive discipline procedures, when necessary, to address unprofessional conduct or performance concerns in accordance with agency policy and interdisciplinary supports, as appropriate.
- Assist in managing the facility’s education budget for the infant/toddler program and review purchasing plans for educational materials, classroom equipment, and program resources in alignment with budget and program priorities.
- Participate in family meetings, transition planning, and interdisciplinary meetings as needed.
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education or Child Development; or a baccalaureate or advanced degree in any field
- At least 30 credit hours in early childhood education
- Experience teaching children aged 0-5 years old
- Excellent communication skills, interpersonal skills, ethics, and cultural awareness Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and commitment to and passion for educating young children
- Proficient in using technology as a management reporting tool
Physical Demands
- Ability to lift, carry, push, and/or pull up to 40 pounds.
- Ability to bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, climb, reach, sit on the floor, and actively participate in classroom and playground activities.
- Ability to safely assist with infant and toddler care routines, including lifting children, supporting feeding routines, and responding to children’s physical needs throughout the day.
- Ability to move throughout classrooms, hallways, offices, and outdoor play areas for extended periods.
- Ability to respond quickly and appropriately in emergency situations involving children.
- Regular exposure to childhood illnesses and communicable diseases.
- Regular exposure to varying indoor and outdoor environmental conditions, including heat and cold.
To learn more, please contact:
Human.Resources@earlystartkc.org
Job Type: Full Time
Salary Range: $50,000 - 74,999
