Director, JCC Hingham Early Learning Center

Join our team as our newly envisioned Early Learning Center Director! 

JCC Greater Boston seeks a dynamic and experienced Director for its Early Learning Center in Hingham, a year-round program serving young children and families in a nurturing, community-centered environment.

About JCC Greater Boston

Since opening its doors in 1983, JCC Greater Boston has been committed to its mission of creating a vibrant, inclusive, and diverse community by nurturing meaningful relationships. Through our network of early learning centers, day camps, regional teen and family programs, health and wellness offerings, and adult arts and ideas classes, JCC Greater Boston provides highly valued connections, learning, and experiences for the Jewish community and friends.

The JCC is deeply committed to valuing and celebrating the uniqueness of each constituent. We welcome staff and participants from diverse backgrounds. While being proudly Jewish, we strive in every way to provide an open and welcoming setting for all, irrespective of personal practices, beliefs, or background. We are guided by JCC Greater Boston’s core values: Belonging, Joyfulness, Collaboration, and Transformation, which we hope resonate with all.

JCC Core Values:

About the Hingham JCC Early Learning Center

• The JCC’s Early Learning Centers are united by a shared structure and pedagogical approach while maintaining their own unique character shaped by community needs and staff vision.
• At Hingham we provide a nurturing and engaging environment for children aged 15 months to 5 years. Our school serves roughly 60 students with 12 teachers distributed across 5 classrooms.
• Our educational approach is Reggio-inspired — we strive to foster a sense of curiosity in all our students, encouraging children of all ages and stages of development to explore multiple domains of learning through the lens of their own curiosity.
• While the Hingham Early Learning Center is proudly a Jewish school, our community is open to all — above everything, we celebrate diversity, and teach our students to treat everyone with dignity, kindness, and respect.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Senior Director of JCC’s Early Learning Centers, the Director of the Hingham JCC Early Learning Center is the senior leader responsible for overseeing all aspects of school operations, education, employee success and excellence, and community engagement. As the principal administrator, the Director ensures that the year-round school provides a nurturing, high-quality educational experience while upholding the mission, values, and strategic vision of JCC Greater Boston.

This is a high-impact leadership role that requires strategic thinking, operational excellence, and a commitment to early childhood education. Responsible for the overall oversight of the school, ensuring excellence in educational programming, staff leadership, operational management, compliance, and community engagement. The Director is responsible for creating and maintaining a cohesive and high-performing team in an environment that maintains the highest standards of instructional practice, customer service, school administration, and employee relations and performance.

Key Responsibilities

School Leadership & Strategy

• Provide overall leadership for the Hingham Early Learning Center and ensure alignment with the broader JCC early childhood strategy.
• Set and maintain high standards for curriculum, teacher development, operations, and family engagement.
• Lead long-term planning and continuous improvement efforts for the center.
• Partner with senior leadership to ensure the school contributes to the broader vision for JCC early childhood education.
• Maintain strong relationships with community partners, including Congregation Sha’aray Shalom.

Educational Excellence

• Ensure the delivery of a high-quality early childhood education program.
• Oversee implementation of a developmentally appropriate curriculum aligned with the Sheva Early Learning Framework and Massachusetts early learning guidelines.
• Support strong teaching practice through professional development, coaching, and ongoing evaluation.
• Monitor child development and assessment processes to support individualized learning and growth.
• Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning among educators.

Operations, Compliance & Enrollment

• Oversee the operational and financial health of the school.
• Ensure compliance with Massachusetts EEC licensing requirements and all health and safety standards.
• Manage the school’s budget and ensure responsible financial oversight.
• Partner with the Enrollment Coordinator to maintain strong enrollment and optimize class structures.
• Collaborate with JCC finance and administrative teams on tuition, payroll, and financial reporting.
• Ensure efficient day-to-day school operations, staffing, and program delivery.

Family & Community Engagement

• Build a strong and welcoming community for children and families.
• Serve as the primary leader and ambassador for the school with families and the broader community.
• Foster open communication with parents and address concerns with care and professionalism.
• Support parent engagement initiatives and community-building programs.
• Partner with marketing and enrollment teams to attract and retain families.
• Lead outreach efforts including school tours, open houses, and community events.

Team Leadership & Staff Development

• Lead and support a high-performing team of educators and staff.
• Supervise and mentor educators, the Assistant Director, and other key staff.
• Lead hiring, onboarding, evaluation, and professional development of staff.
• Foster a collaborative and supportive workplace culture focused on accountability, respect, and growth.
• Partner with Human Resources on recruitment, staff development, and employee relations.

What You'll Bring

This high-impact leadership role is an exciting opportunity for a strategic-thinking individual with experience managing a large school, a demonstrated track record of operational excellence, and a commitment to early childhood education.

The ideal candidate is a strong leader with a clear vision who is capable of overseeing budgeting, enrollment, and overall school success while shaping a positive, engaged, and high-performing school culture. They must possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills to build trust among teachers, families, and the broader JCC community. Strong problem-solving, adaptability, and decision-making skills will be critical in navigating change management and enhancing the school’s environment.

Education and Experience

This position requires a bachelor’s degree or higher in Early Childhood Education or related field with a minimum of five years successful experience in management/leadership role and supervising a team, including experience overseeing school operations, staffing, and compliance. Master’s degree strongly preferred and must be willing and able to attain EEC Director II Certification. Additionally, must have a demonstrated track record of operational excellence, and a commitment to education. An equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted at the JCC’s discretion to meet this minimum hiring criteria.

Skills and Abilities

• Excellent interpersonal and active listening skills, and skilled communicator in both written and oral mediums, demonstrating such work with parents, teachers and colleagues.
• Ability to lead organizational culture change, build trust, and foster a positive, collaborative work environment among staff to create a thriving culture of mutual accountability, respect, innovation, services and productivity.
• Must have a record of successfully working well independently and with others, building/sustaining collaborative working relationships.
• Proven ability to build strong partnerships; demonstrates a commitment to building strong relationships with a variety of stakeholders and the ability to build trust among teachers, families, and the broader JCC community.
• Strong problem-solving, adaptability, and decision-making skills.
• Strong leadership vision, financial & budgeting acumen, and be adaptable & resilient.
• Ability to maintain compliance with licensing standards by utilizing strong organizational & operational management.
• Track record of excellent judgement, problem-solving & decision-making skills; able to tactfully and effectively navigate sometimes difficult conversations.
• Must be able to create, articulate and advocate for a vision for the Early Learning Center and to demonstrate a passion for creating a caring and responsive community.
• Have comfort working within and contributing to a Jewish values-based curriculum and organizational culture.
• Ability to juggle sometimes competing, priorities, demonstrating excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Commitment to continuous professional growth is essential, examples such as leadership training, Jewish education, and the latest research and best practices in early childhood education.
• Knowledge of education and experience in educational theory, not necessarily limited to early childhood.
• Must have strong computer skills: social media literacy, proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel.

Physical Requirements

While some functions may be performed remotely, this position is primarily performed in person, requires occasional local travel to our other JCC locations, and some evening and weekend work is needed to fulfill job functions. Must be able to handle a fast-paced, child-centered work environment. In the course of regular work, you may need to bend, reach, lift and carry. Must be able to work well in a busy, dynamic, and sometimes noisy environment involving multiple tasks and priorities. Able to lift and carry objects weighing up to 40 pounds. Able to sit and kneel; getting down at eye level with children regularly. Must be able to stand and walk for long periods of time. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required.

ADA Statement:

Individuals must possess these criteria for knowledge, skills and abilities or be able to explain and demonstrate that the individual can perform the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation and using some other combination of skills and abilities.

Why It's Great to Work At

JCC Greater Boston

JCC Greater Boston staff enjoy working in an innovative, friendly, and welcoming environment where their talents and contributions are appreciated. In our recent employee survey, staff rated their direct management and organizational alignment experiences close to 90% positive. If you want to upgrade your working experience and have a better work-life balance, we encourage you to explore becoming part of the JCC team!

In addition to a rewarding career within our supportive, professional, values-driven, and family centric environment, JCC Greater Boston proudly offers full-time employees a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that includes:

• Competitive cost-sharing health and dental insurance
• JCC sponsored/paid health deductible reimbursement account
• JCC sponsored/fully paid group life insurance/LTD coverage
• Generous paid time off supporting a quality of work-life balance
• Tax-deferred 403(b) retirement savings plan and ROTH contribution options

This position is also eligible for a free family membership to JCC Greater Boston’s top class fitness, recreation, and wellness facility in Newton – offering virtual and in-person programs including indoor swimming, an extensive selection of fitness classes, state-of-the-art-fitness facilities, and discounts to JCCGB events, classes, outdoor pool membership, and more!

JCC Greater Boston is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any individual or group on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, genetic information, or disability. In a continuing effort to maintain and enrich a diverse environment, we actively encourage applications from women and members of underrepresented groups.