How to hire a children's director

How to hire a children's director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step children's 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 children's director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new children's director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the children's director you need to hire. Certain children's director roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect children's director also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of children's directors.

   Type of Children's Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Children's Director		$12-40
   Director Training & Education	A director of training education spearheads and oversees the training programs of an organization. They primarily set goals, manage budgets, establish timelines, coordinate with experts in developing curricula, and liaise with internal and external parties, building positive relationships along the way... Show more	$21-52
   Youth Ministry Director	A Youth Ministry Director works with other church and community leaders to address the needs of youth and maximize their opportunities. They plan, organize, and lead complex projects and spontaneous activities related to youth ministries.	$12-33

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Child Care
   • Community Outreach
   • Nursery
   • Program Development
   • Medicaid
   • VBS
   • Child Development
   • Community Events
   • Background Checks
   • Program Budget
   • OB
   • RAN
   • Easter
   • Event Planning

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Achieve the largest VBS attendance ever.
   • Direct and manage every aspect of an extremely successful preschool, including enrollment, tuition, payroll, and all budgets.
   • Plan and implement youth ministry events complimentary to religious education sessions.
   • Coordinate and oversee adult volunteers for religious education and youth ministry events.
   • Direct VBS for 100 plus kids
   • Prepare and run technical support for weekly program.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your children's director job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A children's director can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, children's directors' average salary in iowa is 48% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level children's directors 68% less than senior-level children's directors.
   • Certifications. A children's director with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a children's director's salary.

   Average children's director salary

   $48,361yearly

   $23.25 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level children's director salary

   $27,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

4. Writing a children's director job description

   A good children's 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 children's director job description:

   Children's director job description example

   The Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) provides a wide array of services to more than 27,000 Alexandrians each year, working to advance the vision that all residents enjoy a sense of safety, well-being, and self-sufficiency. The services cover the life span from early childhood to aging services and cross multiple service domains including behavioral health and social services. Please see attached infographic to learn more about the department 's programs and services.
   
   DCHS works to provide the highest quality services to support individuals and families as they work to accomplish their goals and overcome critical challenges. The DCHS staff draw on their expertise and best practices to assure that those we serve are engaged most effectively and that their needs are met. The strength and resiliency of the residents who access our services are routinely demonstrated, and we continue to learn from their accomplishments.
   
   As an organization, DCHS focuses on key elements that provide the best experience and outcomes for those we support, including improving access to services, utilizing trauma informed approaches, focusing on racial equity, attracting, and retaining the best staff, unified planning approaches and increasing the integration of our services. In addition, we work to maximize revenue and diversify our funding to address resource challenges.
   Candidate
   
   DCHS seeks a highly motivated, innovative, and visionary leader for the position of the Director of the Center for Children and Families. The ideal candidate will be a strong communicator who is able to effect positive change and demonstrate a creative vision that reflects an understanding of the lives of community members and the members of their team. They will need to have the ability to implement approaches that reflect and achieve racial equity and drive toward systems change. This person will be a fair and empathetic leader who can hold individuals and systems accountable, while ensuring that the necessary tools and supports are available for achieving success. A creative and flexible partner who can be led as well as to lead. This individual will need to have comprehensive knowledge and experience in the services and support systems for children, youth, and adults, particularly those services/programs that are provided across the Center for Children and Families. The ideal candidate will also have knowledge of leadership and management principles, effective practices, program development and implementation strategies, quality improvement; the theories, principles, techniques, and practices used in the administration of human services programs; ability to evaluate services and to make recommendations for improvement; ability to interpret program policies and objectives; ability to plan and supervise the work of professional staff.
   
   Position
   
   This position leads and directs the activities and functions of the Center for Children and Families (CCF), which provides a continuum of services and supports for children, youth, and families. This includes Child Welfare, Children's Services Act, Youth Development, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Child and Family Behavioral Health, LGBTQ and Early Childhood Services, as well as the Children and Youth Community Plan. The work of the Center reflects best, and evidence based practices and offers prevention, intervention, and community-based supports. This position leads a large Center in the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS), with approximately 183 full time staff, a $37 million dollar budget, in community-based service locations, including schools, recreation centers, and in residents' homes. The incumbent plans, develops, leads, and evaluates all programs within the Center in partnership with the staff and community stakeholders. Tasks are performed under the general supervision of the Department of Community and Human Services Director.
   
   If you are a highly committed and experienced individual interested in joining an organization focused on transformation for itself and those it supports, you are encouraged to applyherefor this job opportunity.
   
   Notes
   
   Please clickhereto apply for this job opportunity.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right children's director for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with children's directors they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit children's directors who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your children's director job on Zippia to find and recruit children's director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with children's director candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to 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 children's director

   Once you've found the children's director candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new children's director first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

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.)

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