How to hire a center director

How to hire a center director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step center director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a center director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new center director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a center director do?

Post a center director job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The center director hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A center director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, center directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents center director salaries for various positions.

   Type of Center Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Center Director	Preschool and childcare center directors supervise and lead staffs, oversee daily activities, design curriculums, and prepare budgets. They are responsible for all aspects of their center’s program.	$31-82
   Parent Educator	A parent educator is a professional who specializes in tutoring parents on skills to help them raise children who are healthy and well-rounded. You will help parents learn the skills they may need to raise children who are healthy emotionally, psychologically, and physically... Show more	$13-25
   Center Manager	A call center manager is a professional who is responsible for managing and supervising call center employees. Call center managers are required to identify and solve call center problems as well as communicate with dissatisfied customers to find a satisfactory solution... Show more	$16-43

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Service
   • Oversight
   • Proficiency Testing
   • Center Management
   • State Regulations
   • Federal Regulations
   • Child Care
   • Patients
   • Local Laws
   • Childhood
   • Pathogens
   • OSHA
   • Immunization
   • Patient Care

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage programs provide by SDE, DMH, DHS.
   • Design, implement and manage day-to-day operation of the 21st CCLC grant support afterschool program.
   • Manage daily operations of NAEYC accredit childcare center.
   • Manage daily operation for a family-own business with responsibility for sales, production, and administrative functions including payroll.
   • Manage delivery of quality early childhood education programs by establishing an environment of learning and maintaining the integrity of the programs.
   • Lead a staff of 76 FTE's.

   More center director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your center director job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A center director salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, center directors' average salary in alaska is 40% less than in rhode island.
   • Seniority. Entry-level center directors earn 62% less than senior-level center directors.
   • Certifications. A center director with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a center director's salary.

   Average center director salary

   $106,505yearly

   $51.20 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level center director salary

   $65,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average center director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Delaware	$125,529	$60
   2	District of Columbia	$124,702	$60
   3	Indiana	$119,978	$58
   4	Nevada	$118,317	$57
   5	Georgia	$115,569	$56
   6	Arizona	$113,920	$55
   7	Oregon	$113,681	$55
   8	Massachusetts	$113,394	$55
   9	New York	$113,058	$54
   10	Pennsylvania	$111,333	$54
   11	Mississippi	$109,136	$52
   12	Illinois	$107,042	$51
   13	New Jersey	$106,754	$51
   14	California	$106,581	$51
   15	Nebraska	$106,548	$51
   16	Kansas	$106,443	$51
   17	Virginia	$105,478	$51
   18	Missouri	$102,369	$49
   19	Wisconsin	$98,723	$47
   20	Texas	$98,141	$47

   Average center director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center	$157,317	$75.63
   2	St. Joseph Healthcare	$157,170	$75.56
   3	Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center	$155,569	$74.79
   4	Providence Community Health Centers	$154,864	$74.45	2
   5	JCPenney	$149,859	$72.05	33
   6	Plastic Omnium Auto Exteriors	$147,636	$70.98
   7	Nova Medical Centers	$146,476	$70.42	2
   8	St. Joseph's Health	$146,129	$70.25	1
   9	The New York Academy of Medicine	$145,164	$69.79
   10	National Medical Association	$138,793	$66.73
   11	Detroit Medical Center	$138,602	$66.64
   12	Stanford University	$138,530	$66.60	33
   13	Microsoft	$138,483	$66.58	64
   14	New York University	$136,523	$65.64	9
   15	Japanese American National Museum	$135,427	$65.11
   16	FTI Consulting	$134,511	$64.67	1
   17	The Heritage Foundation	$133,179	$64.03
   18	Oregon Health & Science University	$132,914	$63.90	3
   19	Albemarle	$132,017	$63.47	1
   20	Cnsi	$130,078	$62.54

4. Writing a center director job description

   A good center director job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a center director job description:

   Center director job description example

   The Director functions under the direction of Patient Care Services - MercyOne Medical Center - Dubuque and the MercyOne Medical Center - Dyersville Board of Trustees. Plans, directs, and organizes the day-to-day operations of MercyOne Medical Center - Dyersville. In doing so, the position maintains the Dyersville's operation budget, goals and objectives, and ensures that services are provided in a manner consistent with the mission and philosophy of MercyOne Medical Center. Provides necessary leadership to assure continuance of Shared Governance and Magnet certification.
   
   Consistent with the American Nurses Association Scope & Standards for Nurse Administrators (White Paper, January 2003), the Director is a member of the MercyOne Medical Center leadership team and is responsible to allocate available resources to promote efficient, effective, safe and compassionate nursing care based on current standards of practice. S/he supports a shared leadership philosophy and advances the professional practice model for patient care services.
   
   The Director ensures an effective departmental structure, inclusive decision-making, creative and supportive personnel policies, professional models of care that promote excellent patient services, collegial interdisciplinary relationships and professional development opportunities for nursing staff. S/he provides clinical and administrative leadership and expertise within their service area(s). The Director facilitates interactive management and the development of strong relationships among nursing personnel and with others throughout the organization and the community. S/he carries out the mission, vision, plans, and standards of the nursing organization and of MercyOne Medical Center as a whole.
   
   The Director is accountable for the environment in which clinical nursing is practices. S/he enhances the practice environment, consistent with Magnet hospital criteria, encouraging staff accountability for their own practice, and recruiting and retaining employees with the appropriate values, experience, education and background. The Director is responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of the defined service area(s) and collaborates with the nurse executive and others in organizational planning, innovation and evaluation.
   **Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion**
   
   Trinity Health is a family of 115,000 colleagues and nearly 26,000 physicians and clinicians across 25 states. Because we serve diverse populations, our colleagues are trained to recognize the cultural beliefs, values, traditions, language preferences, and health practices of the communities that we serve and to apply that knowledge to produce positive health outcomes. We also recognize that each of us has a different way of thinking and perceiving our world and that these differences often lead to innovative solutions.
   
   Our dedication to diversity includes a unified workforce (through training and education, recruitment, retention, and development), commitment and accountability, communication, community partnerships, and supplier diversity.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find center directors for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any center directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level center directors with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your center director job on Zippia to find and attract quality center director candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit center directors, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new center director

   Once you have selected a candidate for the center director position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a center director?