Compensation: $25 to $32 per hour, depending on experience, plus performance incentives
About the Opportunity
I am the founder of a new technology platform designed specifically for Alberta's early learning and childcare sector.
The platform has already been built and has progressed through initial development and testing. We are now preparing for a focused Calgary launch.
I am looking for one exceptional person to take responsibility for that launch.
This is not a software development position, and you will not be expected to build or code the platform.
It is also not a traditional administrative position where you will be given a detailed task list every morning.
Your role is to take an existing product into the market, build its initial community of users, help those users successfully adopt the platform, identify what is and is not working, and create the systems necessary for us to determine whether the business can scale.
The right person will be highly independent, resourceful, organized, persistent and comfortable speaking with people they have never met.
Experience within childcare or early learning would be a significant advantage, particularly if you understand the realities of staffing shortages, ratios, educator credentials and last minute staff absences.
However, exceptional candidates from recruitment, staffing, sales, customer success, marketplace businesses or startup environments are also encouraged to apply.
What You Will Actually Be Responsible For
Your primary objective during the first 90 days will be to help establish and validate the platform within the Calgary childcare market.
This will include identifying and contacting licensed childcare programs throughout Calgary, introducing the platform to owners and directors, scheduling and conducting demonstrations, helping centers create accounts, supporting their initial use of the platform, and following up consistently.
On the educator side, you will recruit qualified Alberta early childhood educators to join the platform, guide them through onboarding, help ensure profiles and required documentation are completed, answer questions and encourage ongoing participation.
You will also be responsible for helping create enough activity on both sides of the marketplace for the platform to become genuinely useful.
This means that simply accumulating registrations is not the objective.
We need active childcare programs and active educators who actually use the platform.
You will monitor what happens when centers attempt to use the service, identify barriers, follow up with inactive users, collect feedback and communicate recurring problems directly to the founder.
You will also maintain accurate records of outreach, registrations, activation, usage and other key launch metrics.
A Typical Week Might Include
You may spend part of a morning contacting childcare directors who have not previously heard of us.
Later that day, you might conduct an online demonstration for a center interested in joining.
You might then follow up with several educators who started registration but have not completed their profiles.
The following day, you could visit several Calgary childcare programs, speak with directors, recruit educators through local networks, help a center navigate its first use of the platform, and investigate why another center registered but never became active.
You may notice that users repeatedly encounter the same issue. Rather than simply reporting that "people aren't using it," I expect you to investigate why, document what you are seeing and recommend a practical response.
There will be considerable autonomy in how you accomplish the objectives of this role.
This Position Requires Someone Who Takes Initiative
This is probably the most important part of this posting.
I am specifically looking for someone who does not require constant supervision.
You will receive clear objectives, access to the tools and information necessary to do your job, and regular communication with the founder.
However, you should be comfortable deciding what needs to happen next.
If ten centers are contacted and nobody responds, I expect you to think about why and change the approach.
If educators register but don't complete onboarding, I expect you to investigate the barrier.
If one recruitment channel works exceptionally well, I expect you to recognize that and pursue it further.
If something isn't working, I want you to bring possible solutions rather than simply bringing the problem.
There will certainly be questions and decisions that need to come back to the founder. Independence does not mean operating without communication.
It means taking ownership of results.
Who I Am Looking For
You may be a particularly strong candidate if you are someone who:
- Is extremely reliable and follows through on commitments
- Is naturally organized and able to manage multiple conversations and follow ups simultaneously
- Communicates confidently and professionally by telephone, email, video and in person
- Is comfortable initiating conversations with businesses and people you do not know
- Can hear "no" without becoming discouraged
- Is persistent without being pushy
- Learns new technology quickly
- Is comfortable demonstrating software to other people
- Notices patterns and problems without needing someone else to point them out
- Can work independently without needing a manager to structure every hour of your day
- Understands that startup environments change quickly
- Is willing to test an idea, determine that it isn't working, and try something different
- Is comfortable receiving direct feedback
- Communicates problems early rather than hiding them
- Can distinguish between being busy and actually producing results
- Is trustworthy with confidential business and user information
- Is genuinely interested in helping build something from its earliest stages
Particularly Relevant Experience
Experience in one or more of the following areas would be valuable:
Early childhood education
Childcare administration or management
Childcare staffing
Recruitment or staffing agencies
Business development
B2B sales
Customer success
Community development
Marketplace businesses
Startup operations
Account management
SaaS/software implementation
You do not need experience in all of these areas.
An exceptional childcare professional with strong communication, organization and initiative may be more suitable than someone with extensive corporate sales experience.
What This Position Is NOT
This is not a childcare classroom position.
It is not a software development position.
It is not a social media manager position.
It is not a traditional administrative assistant position.
It is not a passive work from home position where tasks are assigned and completed independently of measurable outcomes.
And it is not a cofounder position.
You will be joining an existing founder owned business and helping take an already developed product into its next stage.
Hours and Location
Approximately 15 to 20 hours per week initially.
There is flexibility in how some hours are scheduled, although availability during normal weekday business hours will be necessary because childcare owners and directors are generally working during those times.
The position will involve a combination of remote work, telephone and online communication, and some in person work throughout Calgary.
Applicants must therefore be located in Calgary or the surrounding area and have reliable transportation.
This is not intended to be a fully remote position.
Compensation
$25 to $32 per hour, depending on experience and demonstrated capability.
Performance based incentives may also be available for achieving meaningful launch milestones.
Performance incentives will be based on actual activation and usage, rather than simply generating registrations.
The initial position will be approximately 15 to 20 hours per week.
For an exceptional person, there is significant potential for this role to grow if the Calgary launch demonstrates that the business has the potential we believe it does.
The First 90 Days
The initial 90 days will be treated as a focused market launch and validation period.
Together, we will establish measurable targets related to:
Active childcare centers
Qualified educators
Completed onboarding
Platform activity
Successful connections between centers and educators
Repeat usage
Customer feedback
Conversion to paid accounts
You will have a regular meeting with the founder to review results, obstacles and priorities.
Outside of those meetings, you will have substantial independence in executing the launch strategy.
Why This Role Could Be Interesting
This is an opportunity to join something before we know how large it can become.
The product already exists.
The industry problem exists.
What we need to determine now is whether we can successfully connect the two.
If the model proves successful in Calgary, the intention is not to remain a small Calgary platform. There is potential to expand geographically and continue developing the business considerably.
The person joining now could therefore have the opportunity to grow into a much larger role as the company develops.
At the same time, I want to be transparent: this is an early stage business.
There are no guarantees about what it becomes.
We are looking for someone who finds the process of figuring that out exciting rather than uncomfortable.
How to Apply
Please do not submit only a resume.
Along with your resume, please provide short answers to the following questions.
1. Why does this particular position interest you?
Please be specific. Generic answers are unlikely to move forward.
2. Tell me about something you were responsible for where nobody gave you detailed instructions about how to accomplish it. What did you do and what happened?
3. Imagine you have been asked to recruit 50 qualified early childhood educators in Calgary within 30 days. You have a limited advertising budget. What are the first three things you would do?
4. Imagine you contact 30 childcare centers and only two respond. What would you do next?
5. Tell me about a time something you tried did not work. How did you respond?
6. Are you comfortable making unsolicited telephone calls and approaching businesses that have never heard of the company? Please explain.
7. What experience, if any, do you have with childcare, recruitment, sales, business development, technology platforms or startup environments?
8. This position requires approximately 15 to 20 hours per week, including some weekday daytime availability and some travel within Calgary. Describe your current availability.
9. What hourly compensation are you seeking?
Finalists
Candidates who progress beyond the initial interview may be asked to complete a short paid practical exercise involving the development of a hypothetical Calgary launch strategy.
References will be required before an offer is made.
Pay: $25.00-$32.00 per hour
Expected hours: 15.0 – 20.0 per week
Benefits:
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Calgary, AB
