Executive Director of Child Care Operations

Job Description

Executive Director of Child Care Operations

Director of Department of Education

Recruitment #26-005054-0001

Department

MSDE - Division of Early Childhood

Date Opened

6/26/2026 1:45:00 PM

Filing Deadline

7/10/2026 11:59:00 PM

Salary

$118,937.00 - $185,523.00/year

Employment Type

Full-Time

HR Analyst

Christopher King

Work Location

Baltimore City

Telework Eligible

Yes

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Introduction

The Maryland State Department of Education is dedicated to supporting a world-class educational system that prepares all students for college and career success in the 21st century. With excellent stewardship from our divisions, we oversee State and federal programs that support the needs of a diverse population - students, teachers, principals, and other educators throughout Maryland.

GRADE

State
Salary Grade 25
Salary
Range: $120,722 - $190,376
*State
Salary Guidelines apply for current State employees.

STATE OF MARYLAND BENEFITS

LOCATION OF POSITION

Nancy
S. Grasmick Education Building
200
West Baltimore Street
Baltimore,
MD 21201

Main Purpose of Job

The Executive
Director (ED) of the Child Care Operations Bureau (CCOB) provides statewide
leadership, strategic direction, and operational oversight for Maryland's Child
Care Licensing (CCL) and Child Care Scholarship (CCS) programs. The ED ensures
statewide consistency, equity, responsiveness, and high-quality customer
service for families, child care providers, and community partners. The ED
oversees all regulatory, operational, policy, fiscal, and workforce components
of the Bureau while driving modernization, customer-centered service delivery,
and continuous improvement aligned with the Office of Early Childhood's
strategic vision.

A core
responsibility of the ED is leading a comprehensive statewide restructuring of
the Child Care Licensing system to improve responsiveness, reduce the time
needed to license new programs, strengthen provider capacity-building, and
modernize operations. This includes evaluating national models, designing a
dual-director structure (inspections/compliance and capacity-building/technical
assistance), and implementing a data-driven, evidence-based, user-centered
design process involving regional offices, licensing staff, unions, providers,
Child Care Resource Centers (CCRCs), and interest holders. The ED ensures
alignment with HB 477 (2025), which directs MSDE to analyze and propose updates
to child care licensing rules-covering staffing, ratios, physical standards,
profitability, and cross-state benchmarks-with interim and final reports due in
2026.

While the ED does
not oversee IT systems directly, they work in continuous partnership with the
Executive Director of Finance and IT Systems to ensure that CCOB's business
requirements, data needs, workflows, and user experiences inform the design,
procurement, enhancement, and implementation of IT systems that support
licensing and scholarship operations.

The ED ensures CCS
program operations meet federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)
compliance expectations and collaborates with the CCS Director and the ED of
Finance and IT Systems to strengthen processes, improve data use, enhance
payment accuracy, and reduce improper payments. The ED serves as MSDE's lead
for monthly statewide child care provider meetings, ensuring transparency,
feedback, and partnership.

As a key member of
the Office of Early Childhood leadership team, the ED leads statewide efforts
to ensure safe, developmentally supportive, and high-quality child care for all
Maryland children while improving outcomes for families and child care providers.

POSITION DUTIES

Provides
statewide executive leadership for CCOB to ensure unified, consistent
implementation of licensing and scholarship operations.

Leads Bureau participation in statewide
initiatives including the CCDF State Plan, Preschool Development Grant (PDG),
Blueprint for Maryland's Future, COMAR modernization, and HB 477 alignment.
Develops annual Bureau and Branch
workplans with KPIs tied to inspection timeliness, licensing throughput,
provider capacity-building, scholarship processing timelines, payment accuracy,
and customer service
·
Directs the use of evidence-based
operational practices such as risk-based monitoring, efficient licensing
pathways, and improved provider business supports.
Ensures coordinated work across CCRCs and
Local Early Childhood Advisory Council (LECACs) to assess local child care
needs, support provider start-up and expansion, and strengthen early childhood
infrastructure.
Oversees operational and fiscal
management of CCOB contracts, grants, procurements, and vendor relationships
with strong internal controls.
Leads data-driven continuous improvement
initiatives using Lean processes, human-centered design, and real-time feedback
from staff and providers.
Ensures compliance with state laws,
federal regulations, fiscal policies, audit requirements, and proactive risk
management.
Leads the statewide restructuring of the
Child Care Licensing system, designing and implementing a modern dual-director
model to support health and safety inspections, compliance, provider
capacity-building, technical assistance, and root-cause resolution for
non-compliance.
Leads statewide communication on child
care licensing, CCS, regulatory changes, and operational updates.
Incorporates user experience and
customer-centered design principles into Bureau operations through structured
feedback loops with families, providers, and staff.
Serves as the primary liaison with CCRCs
to align technical assistance, provider training, business supports, and
recruitment/retention initiatives with statewide goals.
Ensures consistent implementation and
interpretation of child care licensing and scholarship policies statewide.
Leads modernization of CCS and licensing
regulations (COMAR), including HB 477 implementation and related stakeholder
engagement and change management.
Directs data-informed monitoring and
evaluation systems to track inspection timeliness, compliance trends, licensing
throughput, CCS processing, fiscal integrity, and provider capacity.
Leads statewide communication on child
care licensing, CCS, regulatory changes, and operational updates.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION: Bachelor's
degree from an accredited college or university in Public Administration,
Business Administration, Education, Early Childhood Education, Human Services,
Community Engagement, Social Work, Public Policy, Organizational Leadership, or
a related field.

EXPERIENCE: Five (5)
years of progressively responsible management experience in early childhood
education, childcare administration, human services, regulatory operations,
public administration, or a related field -and- At least five (5) years of
senior-level leadership experience overseeing multiple programs, divisions, or
operational units with responsibility for strategic planning, policy
implementation, fiscal management, and workforce supervision.

DESIRED OR PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Preference will be given to applicants who possess the
following preferred qualification(s). Please include clear and specific
information on your application regarding your qualifications.

Experience:

Experience
leading statewide childcare licensing, childcare subsidy/scholarship, early
childhood education, or regulatory compliance programs.
Experience
implementing large-scale organizational restructuring, business process
redesign, or operational modernization initiatives.
Experience
designing and implementing customer-centered service delivery models,
human-centered design strategies, or Lean process improvement methodologies.
Experience
overseeing childcare licensing systems, inspections, compliance monitoring,
technical assistance, provider capacity-building, or quality improvement
initiatives.
Experience
developing or revising regulations, policies, or administrative rules,
including stakeholder engagement and change management processes.
Experience
administering federal grant-funded programs, including Child Care and
Development Fund (CCDF), Preschool Development Grants (PDG), or similar
federally funded initiatives.
Experience with
organizational readiness for regulatory reviews, licensing inspections, and
funding-related monitoring.
Experience
presenting policy recommendations, legislative analyses, or operational reports
to executive leadership, governing boards, or legislative bodies.
Experience managing large-scale, interdependent operational programs
involving regulatory compliance, service delivery, grants, contracts, or public
benefit programs.
Experience managing budgets, contracts, procurements, and fiscal
accountability processes.
Experience collaborating with diverse stakeholders, including
government agencies, community organizations, service providers, advocacy
groups, and the public.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Extensive
knowledge of childcare licensing regulations, subsidy administration, early
childhood systems, and national best practices in regulatory modernization.
Knowledge of
state and federal early childhood funding streams, fiscal accountability
requirements, and program integrity standards.
Skill in leading
complex, statewide change initiatives involving multiple stakeholder groups and
competing priorities.
Ability to build consensus among diverse stakeholder
groups while maintaining accountability for outcomes.
Ability to drive innovation, operational excellence,
and customer-focused service delivery across a statewide organization.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

Applicants
must consent to State and FBI (CJIS) background check as a routine procedure
for all employees.

SELECTION PROCESS

Please make sure that
you provide sufficient information on your application to show that you meet
the qualifications for this recruitment. All information concerning your
qualifications must be submitted by the closing date. Successful candidates
will be ra

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION: Bachelor's
degree from an accredited college or university in Public Administration,
Business Administration, Education, Early Childhood Education, Human Services,
Community Engagement, Social Work, Public Policy, Organizational Leadership, or
a related field.

EXPERIENCE: Five (5)
years of progressively responsible management experience in early childhood
education, childcare administration, human services, regulatory operations,
public administration, or a related field -and- At least five (5) years of
senior-level leadership experience overseeing multiple programs, divisions, or
operational units with responsibility for strategic planning, policy
implementation, fiscal management, and workforce supervision.

DESIRED OR PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Preference will be given to applicants who possess the
following preferred qualification(s). Please include clear and specific
information on your