Center Director

Centre Director

Founded in 1983, Busy Bees is one of the largest and most comprehensive childcare services providers in the world with about 1,000 education locations globally. In Asia, Busy Bees currently manage 15 successful early childhood education brands in Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, each with its own distinct strengths. The centres by Busy Bees Asia are renowned for its industry-leading learning environments and high-quality educators. Through about 3,000 passionate educators and education professionals, innovative pedagogy, rigorous curricula, and the use of sophisticated educational technology, Busy Bees Asia is able to touch the lives of more than 15,000 students annually.

Busy Bees Singapore is looking for an experienced Centre Director to lead centre operations, people, and pedagogical excellence while ensuring high-quality early childhood education aligned with ECDA standards and Busy Bees global values.

Job Description

Leadership and People Management

• Lead workforce planning and deployment to ensure optimal staffing aligned with enrolment, programme and operational needs.
• Build a positive, collaborative and high-performing centre culture.
• Lead, coach and develop team leaders and staff to strengthen capabilities, engagement and performance.
• Drive staff development, mentoring and succession planning to build a strong talent pipeline.
• Manage staff performance through clear expectations, regular feedback, recognition and appropriate performance interventions.

Centre Operations and Governance

• Oversee the overall day-to-day operations of the centre, ensuring smooth and effective delivery of services.
• Drive the implementation and continuous improvement of centre systems, processes and operational practices.
• Manage centre resources and budgets responsibly to achieve operational and financial objectives.
• Ensure full compliance with regulatory requirements, organisational policies, licensing standards and standard operating procedures.
• Identify and manage operational risks, escalating and addressing issues in a timely manner.

Programme Quality and Service Excellence

• Drive centre strategies and initiatives to achieve high standards of programme quality and service excellence.
• Monitor centre performance and implement improvement plans where required.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, professional learning and accountability.
• Ensure centre practices consistently reflect the organisation's vision, mission, values and quality standards.
• Champion a positive experience for children and families.

Curriculum and Programme Leadership

• Provide leadership and oversight to ensure the effective delivery of engaging, developmentally appropriate and high-quality programmes.
• Work closely with curriculum and teaching teams to monitor programme effectiveness and strengthen teaching practices.
• Ensure appropriate health, safety, hygiene and child safeguarding practices are consistently implemented.
• Champion the adoption of effective teaching approaches, tools and practices that enhance children's learning experiences.

Stakeholder Engagement and Enrolment

• Build strong and trusted relationships with families, employees and community stakeholders.
• Lead parent engagement and communication to strengthen satisfaction, confidence and retention.
• Drive centre enrolment and retention efforts in partnership with relevant internal teams.
• Represent the centre at events, outreach activities and community initiatives to strengthen its presence and reputation.
• Develop partnerships and opportunities that contribute to the centre's growth and community engagement.

Centre Performance and Continuous Improvement

• Take ownership of the centre's overall performance across people, operations, programme quality, enrolment and service standards.
• Monitor key centre indicators and take timely action to address performance gaps.
• Develop the leadership capabilities of team leaders through coaching, mentoring and delegation.
• Drive improvement initiatives that enhance centre effectiveness, quality and sustainability.

Job Requirement

• Degree in Early Childhood Education (preferred)
• Diploma in Early Childhood – Leadership and Teaching (recognised by ECDA)
• Minimum 4 years of relevant leadership experience in the early childhood sector
• Strong working knowledge of ECDA regulatory requirements, licensing standards and quality frameworks
• Demonstrated leadership and people management capabilities
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written
• Working knowledge of centre financial performance management, including revenue optimisation, manpower cost planning and operating expense control
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively within a team environment
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and relevant digital tools