A Preschool or Childcare Director manages and directs programs for very young children. Supervises child care workers and pre-school teachers. Proposes policies, program fees and budgets for approval by a program board or administrative agency or implements policies of a national organization. Meets with parents and staff to discuss the development, learning and behavior of children in the program or center. Orders supplies and monitors maintenance and cleaning at a facility. Ensures that the program or center meets state and federal guidelines.
Director of Early Childhood Access Northern Colorado Kids Thrive Fort Collins, CO Job Details Full-time $78,000 - $91,000 a year 3 days ago Benefits Paid holidays Health insurance Dental insurance Tuition reimbursement Paid time off Employee assistance program Vision insurance Life insurance Childcare Retirement plan Qualifications Staff supervision Program management Management Program development Operations coordination Social service program staff supervision Managing budgets in a finance role Data interpretation Social service program compliance monitoring Cross-functional collaboration Establishing community partnerships in an education administration role Cross-functional communication Financial compliance in social service program administration Educational assistance administration
Full Job Description Job Title:
Director of Early Childhood Access Reports To:
Chief Program Officer (CPO)
Job Location:
Fort Collins, CO (Hybrid Remote)
Work Schedule:
Full-time; salaried (40 hours/week). May require occasional evening or weekend hours.
Hiring Range:
$78,000-$91,000 annually depending on qualifications and experience
Exemption Status:
Exempt For a link to the full job description and instructions to apply, please visit www.nocokidsthrive.org Applications received on Indeed will NOT be considered.
OVERVIEW OF NOCO KIDS THRIVE
Northern Colorado Kids Thrive is an independent nonprofit organization working to ensure every young child in our community has quality early childhood experiences so they can thrive from day one. We administer significant public and private investments that expand families' access to early care and education, strengthen the early childhood workforce, support child care providers, and improve coordination across the local early childhood system. This includes stewardship of more than $20 million annually in public funding, requiring a strong commitment to fiscal integrity, transparency, equity, and long-term sustainability.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Director of Early Childhood Access leads Northern Colorado Kids Thrive's strategy to expand equitable access to early care and education across Larimer County. The Director oversees a portfolio that includes local tuition subsidies, alignment with Universal Preschool and the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, Head Start coordination, provider participation, family support, and Navigation services. Reporting to the Chief Program Officer, the Director provides strategic leadership and oversight for up to $11 million annually in local tuition subsidy funding. This role is responsible for access strategy, policy development, funding alignment, partnerships, risk management, staff supervision, and overall portfolio performance. The Director supervises the Early Childhood Access Manager and the Family and Provider Navigators and works closely with Finance, Evaluation and Impact, Communications, Operations, Workforce Stability, Specialist Consultation, public agencies, providers, and community organizations. This position is suited for a systems-minded early childhood leader who can move between strategy and implementation, manage complexity, build strong partnerships, and lead a highly visible public funding strategy with integrity and care.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Lead Northern Colorado Kids Thrive's early childhood access strategy across local tuition subsidies, Universal Preschool, the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, Head Start, provider participation, Navigation, and other family access supports. Provide strategic oversight for up to $11 million annually in tuition subsidy funding, including utilization, enrollment, waitlists, provider participation, funding projections, access gaps, and implementation risks. Develop and refine policies related to eligibility, prioritization, waitlists, documentation, provider participation, exceptions, and coordination with other funding sources. Align local investments with existing public and private funding to reduce duplication, funding gaps, family burden, and administrative complexity. Ensure the tuition subsidy model is equitable, transparent, accessible, financially responsible, and operationally feasible. Supervise the Early Childhood Access Manager and Family and Provider Navigators, establishing clear priorities, responsibilities, decision-making authority, referral pathways, and accountability. Build partnerships with public agencies, school districts, Head Start, child care providers, family-serving organizations, and other early childhood stakeholders. Set strategies that improve the experience of participating families and providers while maintaining eligibility standards, documentation requirements, fiscal controls, and public accountability. Partner with Finance on payment controls, reconciliation, budget monitoring, risk management, and audit readiness. Partner with Evaluation and Impact to establish performance measures, dashboards, data-quality expectations, reporting requirements, and learning priorities. Work across the organization to ensure access investments support provider sustainability, workforce stability, quality improvement, inclusion, and continuity of care. Use data and feedback from families, providers, staff, and partners to identify barriers and continuously improve policies, processes, and programs. Represent Northern Colorado Kids Thrive in community, policy, and systems-level conversations related to early childhood access.
EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS
Required:
Bachelor's degree in education, public administration, social services, nonprofit management, public policy, early childhood, human services, or a related field. Minimum of 7-10 years of progressive leadership experience in early childhood programs, public benefit administration, subsidy management, family access systems, public funding administration, or related systems-level work. Experience overseeing multi-million-dollar funding streams, publicly funded programs, or complex public/private investment strategies. Experience supervising staff and leading operational or program teams. Strong understanding of eligibility systems, enrollment processes, family access barriers, provider participation, documentation standards, compliance requirements, and public accountability. Demonstrated ability to develop strategy, translate strategy into operational systems, and supervise implementation. Experience building partnerships across public agencies, providers, community organizations, school districts, or other early childhood systems partners. Strong ability to manage complexity, ambiguity, competing priorities, and cross-functional decision-making. Exceptional organizational, communication, facilitation, and problem-solving skills. Ability to analyze data, identify trends, and use information to inform strategy and continuous improvement. Commitment to equity, family-centered practice, provider partnership, public accountability, and responsible stewardship of public funds.
Desired:
Experience with preschool subsidy systems, tuition assistance programs, public early childhood funding initiatives, or access models such as Denver Preschool Program or similar programs. Experience with CCCAP, Head Start, child care subsidy systems, or other public early childhood access systems. Experience with blending and braiding public or private funding sources to support family access. Experience working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities. Experience developing policy frameworks, eligibility criteria, provider participation requirements, or public funding procedures. Familiarity with data systems, program performance metrics, dashboards, public reporting, or evaluation partnerships. Experience in Larimer County or Colorado early childhood systems. Bilingual or multilingual skills, especially Spanish or Arabic.
Note:
Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals may self-select out of opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who believes they have the skills and the drive necessary to succeed here to apply for this role.
JOB BENEFITS
NoCo Kids Thrive offers a comprehensive benefits package, including PTO, paid holidays, health, vision and dental, and retirement benefits. For more information on our benefits package, .
Pay:
$78,000.00 - $91,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Dental insurance Employee assistance program Health insurance Life insurance Paid time off Vision insurance
