How to hire a day care director

How to hire a day care director, step by step

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

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your day care director job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a day care director for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A day care director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, day care 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 shows salaries for various types of day care directors.

   Type of Day Care Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Day Care 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.	$12-31
   Test Center Administrator	A test center administrator is responsible for overseeing the daily operations at test centers, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. They typically set goals, establish guidelines and timelines, liaise with external partners such as vendors at suppliers, coordinate staff, monitor the progress of all operations, and address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently... Show more	$10-14
   Day Manager	A day manager oversees the daily operations of an organization, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently according to company standards and regulations. As a day manager, it is their duty to set priorities and goals, establish timelines and guidelines, manage budgets, delegate responsibilities among teams, and supervise staff performances, solving issues or concerns when any arise... Show more	$14-30

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Patients
   • Direct Care
   • CPR
   • Quality Care
   • Social Work
   • Kids
   • Child Care
   • Developmental Disabilities
   • Vital Signs
   • Community Agencies
   • Care Program
   • Medicaid
   • Background Checks
   • State Regulations

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage curriculum along with school budget, accounts receivable and payables.
   • Attend annual and semi annual ISP meetings
   • Work on daily outcomes up to and including ADL and ILS skills.
   • Monitor and facilitate employee trainings, annual TB records, attend ISP meetings, process and approve payroll.
   • Assist participants with ADL's, Dr.s appointments and other appointments to enhance the participants overall quality of life.
   • Complete bi-weekly payroll requirements for program staff.

   More day care director duties

3. Make a budget

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

   • Location. For example, day care directors' average salary in georgia is 39% less than in delaware.
   • Seniority. Entry-level day care directors 61% less than senior-level day care directors.
   • Certifications. A day care 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 day care director's salary.

   Average day care director salary

   $42,010yearly

   $20.20 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level day care director salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average day care director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	Pennsylvania	$49,709	$24
   2	Rhode Island	$48,486	$23
   3	Nevada	$48,428	$23
   4	Massachusetts	$47,927	$23
   5	Washington	$46,568	$22
   6	Michigan	$45,708	$22
   7	California	$45,672	$22
   8	Arizona	$45,357	$22
   9	New York	$45,333	$22
   10	New Jersey	$42,352	$20
   11	Ohio	$42,110	$20
   12	Texas	$41,333	$20
   13	Florida	$38,798	$19
   14	Illinois	$37,084	$18
   15	Hawaii	$36,229	$17
   16	South Carolina	$34,743	$17
   17	Minnesota	$34,598	$17
   18	North Carolina	$34,034	$16

   Average day care director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Emanate Health	$73,376	$35.28	4
   2	Lancaster General Health	$64,610	$31.06
   3	CITRUS VALLEY PHYSICIANS GROUP	$63,064	$30.32	3
   4	Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas	$62,281	$29.94
   5	Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego	$60,816	$29.24
   6	Doctors Hospital at Renaissance Health System	$60,519	$29.10
   7	University of California-Berkeley	$57,092	$27.45	1
   8	RWJBarnabas Health	$55,793	$26.82	32
   9	Hackensack Meridian Health	$55,652	$26.76	129
   10	MUFG EMEA	$52,596	$25.29
   11	Temple University	$45,875	$22.06
   12	Brown University	$45,524	$21.89	23
   13	Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital	$44,446	$21.37	3
   14	Children's Health Corporation	$44,411	$21.35	15
   15	MGRM Group	$44,144	$21.22
   16	Prime Healthcare	$43,022	$20.68	41
   17	OpenSquare	$43,017	$20.68
   18	Charter Schools USA	$42,409	$20.39
   19	John Muir Health	$41,965	$20.18	6
   20	Kettering Health Network	$40,971	$19.70

4. Writing a day care director job description

   A good day care 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 day care director job description:

   Day care director job description example

   Responsibilities

   Spring Valley Hospital is a member of The Valley Health System, a network of six acute care hospitals that provide care for patients throughout Southern Nevada and nearby communities. Located in southwest Las Vegas, the 364-bed hospital offers emergency care, advanced cardiovascular and neurological surgeries and procedures, surgical services, women s health, comprehensive maternity services, a level III neonatal intensive care unit, and specialty programs in stroke, chest pain, acute inpatient rehabilitation, advanced wound care and hyperbaric medicine with a limb salvage program.

   Job Description:

   Responsible for the 24-hour management of multiple departments which may include: ICU, IMC, Central Telemetry units assuring facility meets the Established standard of care.

   Qualifications

   Job Requirements:

   Education Graduate of an accredited school of Nursing, BSN required, Master's preferred.

   Experience Minimum of three (3) years clinical experience and a minimum of five (5) years progressive

   management experience preferred.

   Technical Skills Computer proficiency to include word processing, spreadsheet and database.

   License/Certification Current RN license in the State of Nevada

   Other Must be able to demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to provide care/service

   appropriate to the age of the patients served on the assigned unit/department.

   Compensation range

   $ 104,000.00 - $ 135,000.00 / Year

   EEO Statement

   All UHS subsidiaries are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates. UHS subsidiaries are equal opportunity employers and as such, openly support and fully commit to recruitment, selection, placement, promotion and compensation of individuals without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), genetic information, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

   We believe that diversity and inclusion among our teammates is critical to our success.

   Notice

   At UHS and all our subsidiaries, our Human Resources departments and recruiters are here to help prospective candidates by matching skillset and experience with the best possible career path at UHS and our subsidiaries. We take pride in creating a highly efficient and best in class candidate experience. During the recruitment process, no recruiter or employee will request financial or personal information (Social Security Number, credit card or bank information, etc.) from you via email. The recruiters will not email you from a public webmail client like Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc. If you are suspicious of a job posting or job-related email mentioning UHS or its subsidiaries, let us know by contacting us at: or 1-800-###-####.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find day care directors for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your day care director job on Zippia to find and attract quality day care 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 day care 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.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates 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 day care director

   Once you've selected the best day care director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   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 day care 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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