Experienced Centre Director | Lower North Shore | Supportive Ownership
About Firefly HR
At Firefly HR, we specialise in Early Childhood Education and OSHC and partner with organisations that genuinely value quality, strong leadership and positive outcomes for children.
We're conducting a confidential search for an experienced
Centre Director
to lead an established early learning service in
Sydney's North
.
We're looking for more than someone who can keep a service running.
We want a leader who lives and breathes quality, communicates exceptionally well and takes genuine ownership of their service.
About the Opportunity
This role will suit a Director who enjoys being trusted to lead.
You'll have autonomy across the day-to-day operation of the service, while working with supportive and engaged owners who value regular communication, transparency and collaboration.
There is an established team around you, together with broader operational and administrative support.
Your role is to bring everything together – people, quality, families, compliance and commercial performance – and continue moving the service forward.
What You'll Own
You'll have genuine responsibility for the performance and direction of your service, including:
Leading, mentoring and developing your educator team
Driving a culture of
quality, best practice and continuous improvement
Maintaining high standards across compliance and child safeguarding
Building strong relationships with children and families
Creating a positive, accountable and supportive team culture
Engaging with the local community and building the service's profile
Conducting tours and creating a welcoming experience for prospective families
Developing initiatives that strengthen family and community engagement
Managing staffing, rostering and operational requirements




Understanding your numbers and working within agreed budgets
Supporting professional development and career progression within your team
Communicating openly and regularly with ownership
This is a hands-on leadership position. You'll be visible across the service and comfortable supporting the team wherever required, while still maintaining oversight of the bigger picture.
About You
We're looking for an experienced Director who doesn't need to be micromanaged.
You'll see what needs doing, take initiative and follow things through – while understanding that autonomy also comes with communication and accountability.
You'll ideally be:
An experienced Centre Director or highly capable senior ECE leader
Passionate about quality and best practice
A strong, clear and confident communicator
Warm, approachable and able to build trust quickly
A leader who develops people while maintaining clear expectations
Confident addressing difficult conversations when required
Commercially aware and comfortable with occupancy, staffing and budgets
Engaging with families and confident conducting centre tours
Proactive, creative and willing to bring new ideas
Highly organised and accountable
Someone who genuinely enjoys being part of the wider community
We're particularly interested in leaders who can
balance
great educational outcomes with great people leadership and sound operational thinking.
Why Consider This Opportunity?




$100,000-$115,000 plus super
, depending on experience
Additional performance-based bonus prospect
Genuine autonomy to lead your service
Supportive and accessible ownership
Established team and positive workplace culture
Broader administrative and operational support
Opportunity to bring your own ideas and initiatives
Genuine influence across quality, culture and commercial performance
Potential longer-term progression into broader multi-site leadership
Chance to grow alongside an organisation with future expansion plans
Child Safeguarding
We're looking for a leader who understands that child safeguarding is much more than a compliance requirement.
You'll be expected to actively promote a culture where the safety, rights and wellbeing of children are embedded in everyday decisions, behaviours and practice.
Pre-employment screening will include:
NSW Working With Children Check
Thorough candidate screening
Reference checks
National criminal history check
A Confidential Search
This recruitment process is being managed
exclusively and confidentially by Firefly HR
.
We've deliberately kept identifying information about the organisation and service out of this advertisement.
If your experience aligns, we'll have a confidential conversation with you first and provide further information about the opportunity before progressing.
What Now?
If you're a strong ECE Director who wants to take genuine ownership of a service, drive quality, build an exceptional team and become part of the community around you, we'd love to hear from you.
Firefly HR – Great leaders. Better services. Brighter futures.
We partner with services that value quality, relationships and genuine care for children, families and educators.
#J-*****-Ljbffr

📌 Experienced Centre Director | Lower North Shore | Supportive Ownership (Sydney)
🏢 Firefly HR
📍 Sydney