AREA MANAGER, EARLY LEARNING OPERATIONS
Location: Lower Mainland, BC
Compensation: $70,000–$80,000 + Benefits + 3 Weeks Vacation
ABOUT US
We are a growing group of CEFA Early Learning schools committed to delivering exceptional early childhood education in premier locations across the Lower Mainland. We are seeking an experienced, hands-on Area Manager to help support our schools, strengthen our culture, maintain operational excellence, and ensure a consistently outstanding experience for children, families, and staff.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Area Manager is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations, performance, culture, and compliance of multiple CEFA schools. This role works closely with ownership and School Management Teams to ensure operational excellence, strong enrollment, high staff engagement, exceptional family experiences, and consistent execution of CEFA standards and curriculum.
This role is ideal for a proven school leader who is ready to expand their impact beyond a single location and help shape the future of a growing multi-site organization.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Operational Leadership
- Support and oversee multiple school locations.
- Ensure consistent execution of CEFA standards, policies, and procedures.
- Ensure CEFA standards are maintained at all times across all schools.
- Ensure the CEFA curriculum is consistently and effectively executed at each school.
- Conduct regular school visits and observations to verify curriculum quality, classroom execution, and adherence to CEFA operational standards.
- Monitor enrollment, staffing, occupancy, licensing compliance, and overall school performance.
- Identify operational issues quickly and develop action plans to resolve them.
- Ensure a consistently high-quality experience for children, families, and staff across all schools.
Leadership & Culture
- Create, maintain, and strengthen a positive culture across all schools.
- Coach, mentor, and develop School Management Teams and emerging leaders.
- Promote accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement throughout the organization.
- Lead difficult conversations and performance management when required.
- Support succession planning and leadership development within the schools.
Communication
- Serve as a strong communicator between ownership, School Management Teams, educators, and families.
- Ensure expectations are clear and communication is timely, professional, and solution-oriented.
- Foster strong relationships with staff, families, franchise support teams, and external stakeholders.
Growth & School Support
- Support operational initiatives, process improvements, and organizational growth.
- Assist with onboarding, training, and leadership development across the organization.
- Help ensure schools operate consistently and efficiently while maintaining CEFA standards and culture.
Problem Solving & Decision Making
- Make timely, decisive decisions and take ownership of outcomes.
- Develop and execute action plans to address operational challenges.
- Analyze performance metrics and identify opportunities for improvement.
- Ensure accountability for decisions and follow-through on action items.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Minimum 5 years of progressive leadership experience, including experience leading managers, teams, and operational performance.
- Multi-site leadership experience is strongly preferred.
- Strong leadership, coaching, and people-development skills.
- Exceptional communication and interpersonal abilities.
- Highly organized with strong operational and problem-solving capabilities.
- Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and locations simultaneously.
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment.
- Demonstrated success leading high-performing school teams and delivering exceptional educational and family experiences within a premium early learning environment is strongly preferred.
- Strong understanding of the CEFA educational philosophy, curriculum, operational standards, and family experience model is highly desirable.
- CEFA experience and/or CEFA certification is a very strong asset.
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Within the first 6–12 months:
- School Management Teams are supported, accountable, and performing at a high level.
- CEFA standards and curriculum delivery remain consistent and exceptional across all schools.
- Families experience a consistently high-quality CEFA program regardless of location.
- Operational issues are proactively identified and resolved.
- Enrollment, staffing, and operational metrics meet or exceed targets.
- A strong, positive culture is maintained throughout the organization.
- The organization becomes less founder-dependent and more systems-driven.
CANDIDATE EXPECTATIONS
This is a senior leadership role and is not an entry-level or developmental position. Applicants should have proven experience leading teams, driving accountability, and managing operations in a multi-site environment.
The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work closely with ownership, influence operational strategy, support school leadership teams, and contribute meaningfully to the continued success of the organization.
Due to the volume of applications received, only highly qualified candidates selected for further consideration will be contacted.
Pay: $70,000.00-$80,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Commuter benefits
- Company events
- Dental care
- Discounted or free food
- Extended health care
- Mileage reimbursement
- On-site childcare
- On-site parking
- Paid time off
- Vision care
Experience:
- managerial : 5 years (preferred)
Licence/Certification:
- ECE Licence for BC (preferred)
Work Location: In person
