Director of Early Childhood Development

Director of Early Childhood Development

Department: Birth to Three, Outpatient Therapy, Autism Intervention Services

Reporting Manager: Vice President of Programs

FLSA Status: Salary; Exempt

Supervisory Responsibility: Yes

Compensation Grade: 29

Compensation Range: $87,158 – $130,731

Bonus/Commission Eligible: No

Position Summary

Penfield Children’s Center is seeking a strategic program leader to guide Penfield’s pediatric (birth to 5) child development clinical services including Birth to Three early intervention services, outpatient therapy (OT, PT, SLP), and autism intervention; and the launch of a new neuropsychological assessment service. This individual will drive strategy, operational excellence, and multidisciplinary team leadership to ensure high-quality, equitable services for children and families.

The Director of Early Childhood Development will strengthen business performance, optimize staffing and workflows, and ensure compliance and quality assurance across all programs. Penfield is looking for a fast learner and confident leader who can quickly absorb program-specific regulatory and clinical nuances with support from our experienced clinical team. This role is ideal for a leader who excels at building strong systems, guiding diverse teams, and managing clinical programs for both mission impact and financial sustainability.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Program Leadership and Operations
  • Provide day-to-day operational leadership across Birth to Three, Outpatient Therapy, and Neuropsychological Assessment programs, ensuring consistent quality, coordination, and service delivery.
  • Oversee program performance and sustainability by managing budgets, staffing, productivity targets, KPIs, and process improvement initiatives to drive efficiency, access, and patient/family satisfaction.
  • Maintain strong partnerships with community organizations, funders, and contracting entities.
• Business & Financial Management
  • Manage a $3M operating budget, including P&L management, budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis in partnership with finance.
  • Oversee financial performance of the combined programs,
  • Drive revenue cycle integrity and organizational growth by optimizing billing, authorization, and reimbursement processes
  • Lead growth and program development by identifying new service lines and opportunities to meet emerging and unmet community needs.
• Staff Leadership and Development
  • Provide direct supervision and leadership to program managers, clinical supervisors, and lead clinicians across all service lines, ensuring effective staffing, onboarding, and performance management across a team of 30+ employees
  • Build and sustain a high-performing, collaborative team by partnering with clinical leaders to maintain clinical quality, supervision structures, and professional development across disciplines.
• Compliance and Quality
  • Ensure regulatory, payer, and accreditation of compliance across all programs by overseeing documentation, audit readiness, quality assurance, and adherence to applicable standards.
  • Serve as the primary escalation point for compliance, incident management, and risk mitigation, proactively addressing issues to protect program integrity and outcomes.
• Cross-Program Strategy
  • Identify opportunities for shared resources, referral pipelines, and operational synergy across all Penfield services and programs.
  • Represent the programs in leadership meetings, community/referral partner engagement, and organizational strategic planning.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in healthcare, administration, business, or related field
• Three (3) or more years of experience in a rehab director, clinical operations director, or business/practice manager role within a healthcare, therapy, or rehabilitation setting
• Knowledge of healthcare regulatory and payer requirements including documentation standards, billing/reimbursement processes, and compliance expectations for clinical programs
• Demonstrated experience managing budgets, staffing, and performance metrics for clinical programs
• Experience overseeing quality, audit readiness, and incident/risk management processes
• Experience leading and developing multidisciplinary teams and workflows

Preferred Education and Experience

• Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration, Business Administration, or related field.
• Experience overseeing early intervention, pediatric therapy, or assessment programs (Birth to Three, OT/PT/SLP, neuropsychology or similar)
• Experience working within Wisconsin Birth to Three/DHS 90 or similar early intervention regulatory frameworks
• Experience implementing process improvement or operational redesign in healthcare or therapy settings

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Ability to communicate effectively with multidisciplinary teams, families, referral partners, and organizational leadership
• Demonstrated ability to set expectations, coach staff, evaluate performance, and support accountability across diverse clinical and administrative roles
• Proven ability to build strong working relationships with clinical leaders, administrative teams, and external partners to ensure coordinated service delivery.
• Ability to analyze data, identify trends, and make informed decisions that strengthen program quality, efficiency, and financial sustainability
• Ability to navigate complex interpersonal or operational issues with professionalism, clarity and fairness
• Familiarity with EHR systems, billing platforms, payer authorization processes, scheduling workflows, and productivity metrics
• Understanding of documentation standards, audit readiness, incident reporting, and payer/regulatory requirements for clinical programs

Physical Requirements

• Must meet all required health and safety clearances in accordance with Penfield Children’s Center policy, including an annual flu vaccine.
• Ability to stand, walk, bend, and reach occasionally throughout the workday.
• Ability to work in an office environment with standard equipment and occasional exposure to clinical settings
• Ability to move throughout the facility to support staff, observe programs and attend meetings

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of all activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

Benefits Package: Management & Above

• 208 PTO Hours (5 weeks + 1 Day)
  • Earned per pay period, usable early
• 15 Paid Holidays (2026)
  • New Year’s Day, MLK Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, 3rd of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Day After Thanksgiving
  • Winter Closure (Christmas Eve through New Year’s)
• 1 Employee Choice Holiday
• Immediate 403b Retirement Enrollment & Company Match After 1 Year (50% of employee contribution up to 3%)
• Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance (1st of month after 30 days)
• Flexible Spending Account
• Health Savings Account OR Health Reimbursement Arrangement (Based on Health Plan)
• Voluntary Insurance: Short Term Disability, Critical Illness & Accident
• Company Paid Long Term Disability
• Company Paid Life Insurance (2x annual salary)
• 2 Weeks Paid Parental Leave
• Employee Assistance Program

Penfield Children’s Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer.