Director, Operations & Family Experience

About Us

Palisades Preschool was founded in 1965 in Fort Lee, NJ, and has served children ages 2–6 ever since. The school remains proudly family-owned and operated today by the third generation, Tiffany and Rich Hubschman, honoring the traditions established by Maryann and Richard Hubschman Sr. while thoughtfully expanding to new locations.

Our mission is to raise the next generation of community leaders — helping shape kind, compassionate, generous citizens of the world through everything we teach. Our vision is to become a recognized leader in the preschool space across the United States through our distinct approach to early childhood education. Everything we do is guided by our core values: Kindness, Compassion, Generosity, and Community.

Good Beginnings Never End.

Position Overview

Palisades Preschool is seeking an experienced, hands-on, and accountable Director of Operations & Family Experience to lead our Fort Lee location. This role owns the overall success of the school's operations — ensuring every staff member is performing to standard, every family feels heard and supported, every classroom meets our quality and licensing requirements, and the physical facility is safe, well-maintained, and welcoming.

This is a leadership role for someone who is comfortable being the final point of accountability. The Director of Operations & Family Experience sets the tone for the school, supervises and develops the team (including the Assistant Director), serves as the primary relationship-holder with families, and represents the school to state licensing agencies and the broader community. Working closely with ownership, this role also plays a key part in supporting Palisades Preschool's growth as we expand to new locations.

This is an operations and leadership role, not a classroom teaching position. Curriculum design and pedagogy are owned by our Curriculum Director — the Director of Operations & Family Experience ensures the school runs smoothly so that great teaching can happen.

This role reports directly to Tiffany Hubschman, CEO & Executive Director. The Executive Director is off-site day-to-day, so the Director of Operations & Family Experience must be comfortable operating with a high degree of independence — proactively communicating status, flagging issues early, and managing the relationship with an off-site owner effectively, rather than relying on in-person oversight to stay aligned.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Staff Accountability

● Directly supervise and manage the Assistant Director, lead teachers, and support staff

● Set clear performance expectations and hold every staff member accountable for their role, conduct, and results

● Work efficiently with team members, setting clear deadlines and holding staff accountable for meeting them

● Conduct regular performance reviews, coaching conversations, and, when necessary, disciplinary action

● Lead hiring, onboarding, and training so every new team member is set up to succeed

● Build and maintain a positive, professional, and collaborative school culture

● Oversee staffing plans, scheduling, and classroom coverage to ensure ratios and quality are never compromised

● Review staff meeting agendas prepared by the Assistant Director, adding any additional topics before meetings are held

● Make the final call on school closures or schedule changes due to inclement weather or other emergencies

Quality & Compliance (Ultimate Accountability)

● Serve as the final point of accountability for state licensing compliance, health and safety regulations, and quality standards school-wide

● Own the relationship with state licensing agencies; personally lead inspections, audits, and license renewals

● Establish, communicate, and enforce school-wide policies, procedures, and quality benchmarks

● Ensure all required documentation — staff certifications, background checks, student records, incident reports — is complete, accurate, and always audit-ready

● Review, approve, and follow through on corrective action plans whenever a compliance or quality gap is identified

● Champion a culture of continuous quality improvement across every classroom and department

● Hold ultimate responsibility for health and safety protocols (allergies, medication administration, emergency drills, incident documentation), with the Assistant Director leading day-to-day execution

Family & Client Experience

● Serve as the primary point of contact for parent concerns, escalations, and feedback

● Build and maintain strong, trusting relationships with families from enrollment through graduation

● Lead the school's family communication strategy, including newsletters, conferences, and community events, alongside the guidance of the Executive Director

● Personally resolve escalated family concerns with professionalism, empathy, and discretion

● Personally lead tours for prospective families, showcasing the school's programs, curriculum, and culture

● Ensure the school is clean, organized, and presentation-ready at all times, with particular attention on scheduled tour days

● Follow up promptly with prospective families after tours to answer questions and drive enrollment

● Oversee the overall enrollment and re-enrollment process, stepping in directly for prospective families who need director-level engagement

● Hold ultimate responsibility for waitlist management and re-enrollment timing, reviewing the Assistant Director's tracking to guide capacity decisions

Facilities & Maintenance

● Own the overall condition, safety, and cleanliness of the facility, grounds, and equipment

● Coordinate routine maintenance, repairs, and vendor relationships (custodial, landscaping, HVAC, and similar)

● Conduct regular facility walkthroughs to proactively identify and resolve safety hazards or maintenance needs

● Work with the Executive Director to manage the facilities budget and prioritize capital improvement or repair needs

● Ensure the physical environment consistently meets licensing, fire, and building/safety code requirements

Program Oversight (Operational)

● Ensure day-to-day operational implementation of the Palisades curriculum runs smoothly across all classrooms — staffing, scheduling, and materials support

● Partner with the Curriculum Director and Assistant Director to ensure operational consistency classroom to classroom

● Review and approve enrichment programs, outside vendors, and instructors from a business and logistics standpoint

● Support the Curriculum Director in ensuring developmentally appropriate practices are consistently applied school-wide

School Operations & Business Administration

● Oversee day-to-day operations, enrollment targets, and the school's operating budget

● Manage tuition billing, vendor contracts, and general business administration

● Partner with ownership on strategic initiatives, including Palisades Preschool's planned expansion to new locations

● Represent the school within the local community and relevant business and family-services associations

Qualifications

● Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Operations Management, Hospitality, or a related field (preferred); early childhood education background is not required

● 5+ years of experience in an operations, general management, or client/customer success leadership role — childcare, hospitality, healthcare administration, retail, or similar service-based industries all translate well

● 2+ years directly managing and holding a team accountable for performance and results

● Strong working knowledge of, or demonstrated ability to quickly learn, state licensing regulations, health and safety codes, and accreditation standards

● Experience overseeing facilities, vendors, or building maintenance a strong plus

● Exceptional communication and conflict-resolution skills, with a track record of building trust with clients, customers, or families

● Comfort with budgets, P&L, and general business administration

● Independently proficient with core technology and business management systems (email, scheduling, billing/enrollment platforms, communication apps) — able to learn and execute new tools on their own, without relying on staff assistance

● Candidates must pass comprehensive criminal history (CHRI) fingerprint checks and child abuse record information (CARI) checks

● A confident, calm, and fair leadership style — someone families and staff alike can count on

● Proven ability to manage independently and communicate effectively with an off-site owner/executive — proactively surfacing updates, decisions, and issues rather than waiting to be asked

What We Offer

● A leadership role at a respected, family-owned school with over 60 years of history

● Direct involvement in shaping operational standards as we grow

● Opportunity for further leadership growth as we expand to 20 schools over the next 5 years

● A collaborative, supportive ownership team invested in your success

● The ability to make a meaningful, lasting impact on children, families, and staff

Benefits

● Complimentary tuition at Palisades Preschool for the Director's biological, adopted, or legal ward children, ages 2–6, subject to standard enrollment and space availability

● Paid time off — 2 weeks of PTO, your choice of dates, plus approximately half of the school's non-session days (the school is closed approximately 34 days per year); the remaining non-session days will depend on active projects and construction/maintenance work at the school, which the Director is expected to be on-site for

● 5 paid sick days

● Professional development assistance

● Referral program

● Performance-based bonus potential (based on quality, compliance, and enrollment outcomes)

Hours

• ● Full time, M–F, 8:30am – 5:30pm (some flexibility required for family events, staff needs, and licensing visits)