NORTHERN COLORADO KIDS THRIVE
Director of Early Childhood Access
Job Title: Director of Early Childhood Access
Reports To: Chief Program Officer (CPO)
Job Location: Fort Collins, CO (Hybrid Remote)
Work Schedule: Full-time; salaried (40 hours/week). May require occasional evening or weekend hours. Hiring Range: $78,000-$91,000 annually depending on qualifications and experience Exemption Status: Exempt
Overview of NoCo Kids Thrive:
Northern Colorado Kids Thrive (NoCo Kids Thrive) is an independent nonprofit organization and steward of significant public investment dedicated to ensuring every young child in our community has quality early childhood experiences so they thrive from day one.
Through voter-approved early care and education tax funding and additional public and private investments, NoCo Kids Thrive oversees more than $20 million annually in public revenue, in addition to workforce supports, family tuition subsidies, and philanthropic funding. As administrator of these funds, the organization is entrusted with fiscal integrity, transparency, and long-term sustainability in service to children, families, educators, and taxpayers.
Position Summary:
At NoCo Kids Thrive, we are a close-knit team of professionals who value passion, innovation, adaptability and a sense of humor. The Director of Early Childhood Access plays a central leadership role in ensuring families can equitably access early care and education through tuition subsidies and universal preschool programming.
Reporting to the Chief Program Officer, this role oversees implementation and administration of up to $11M annually in child care tuition subsidies. The Director holds day-to-day operational oversight of the tuition application system, ensuring clear eligibility processes, efficient workflows, accurate documentation, and responsive family support. This leader is responsible for maintaining a system that is accessible, transparent, and aligned with funding requirements and public accountability standards.
The Director works closely with the Finance Director to coordinate timely and accurate subsidy payments, ensuring strong alignment between enrollment data, eligibility determinations, and financial reconciliation processes. This role ensures that funds are distributed equitably and responsibly while maintaining a positive and supportive experience for both families and providers.
In addition, the Director oversees Universal Preschool programming, including supervision of the Universal Preschool staff, and ensures strong coordination between local preschool implementation and broader family access systems.
This position requires strong operational leadership, systems thinking, attention to compliance, and a deep commitment to family-centered service delivery. The Director ensures that access systems are efficient, scalable, and positioned to support the
long-term sustainability of public investment in early childhood.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Tuition Subsidy Administration & Oversight
● Provide day-to-day operational leadership of the child care tuition subsidy program, administering up to $11M annually in public funding.
● Oversee the full tuition application lifecycle, including eligibility determination processes, documentation standards, review protocols, approval workflows, and system quality control.
● Ensure the tuition application system is accessible, equitable, and user-friendly for families while maintaining strong compliance with funding requirements and policy guidelines.
● Monitor enrollment levels, waitlists, utilization rates, and fund projections to ensure responsible allocation and proactive fiscal management.
● Partner closely with the Finance Director to coordinate accurate and timely subsidy payments, ensuring alignment between approved enrollments, provider billing, reconciliation processes, and financial tracking systems.
● In partnership with other programs and leadership, maintain relationships with application platform and payment vendors, ensuring strong performance standards, system reliability, data integrity, cybersecurity safeguards, and timely issue resolution.
● Establish and maintain clear internal controls, documentation procedures, and audit-ready records to support transparency and public accountability.
● In partnership with CPO and other leadership, develop and refine policies and procedures to ensure consistency, fairness, and operational efficiency.
● Identify system improvements that reduce administrative burden for families and providers while protecting fiscal integrity.
● Anticipate and address operational risks associated with scaling subsidy administration under public funding oversight.
● Work alongside the CIO and communications team to design and implement extensive outreach to families and providers on the tuition subsidy, ensuring widespread awareness and adoption.
Family Application & Access Support
● Supervise staff who provide direct support to families navigating tuition subsidy and preschool enrollment processes.
● Ensure application assistance is culturally responsive, accessible, and family-centered. ● Develop systems to streamline application workflows and reduce barriers to participation.
● Monitor service quality, response times, and family satisfaction.
● Ensure timely, accurate, and consistent communication with families regarding
eligibility, documentation, and next steps.
Provider Engagement & Participation
● Build and maintain strong relationships with participating child care providers.
● Support providers in understanding subsidy policies, payment processes, and compliance requirements.
● With the support of the Communication Manager, develop clear communication materials and training opportunities for providers.
● Address operational issues related to provider participation and payment processing.
● Partner with the CPO, CSO, and other leaders to ensure subsidy systems support provider sustainability and workforce stability.
Universal Preschool Leadership
● Oversee Universal Preschool programming, including direct supervision of the Universal Preschool Manager.
● Ensure alignment between local universal preschool implementation and state requirements.
● Coordinate enrollment systems, provider participation, and family outreach related to preschool access.
● Monitor program performance and compliance requirements.
● Identify opportunities to strengthen integration between universal preschool and local subsidy systems.
Continuous Improvement
● Support the development and refinement of operational systems that support growing scale and complexity of funding administration.
● Ensure strong documentation, data tracking, and audit readiness in partnership with finance and impact teams.
● Collaborate with the Chief Impact Officer and evaluation team to align performance metrics and reporting.
● Identify emerging trends in enrollment, provider capacity, and family access needs to inform strategic adjustments.
● Support pilot initiatives or policy refinements that improve access and efficiency.
Staff Leadership & Team Development
● Supervise and support application support staff and the Universal Preschool Manager.
● Establish clear performance expectations, accountability structures, and professional development opportunities.
● Foster a collaborative, mission-driven team culture aligned with organizational values.
● Ensure effective cross-team coordination with finance, program,
communications, workforce, and impact teams.
WHAT DOES SUCCESS LOOK LIKE IN THIS ROLE?
Northern Colorado Kids Thrive is committed to delivering high-quality, responsive work so that all young children can thrive from day one. Success in this role means consistently embodying our five core values in daily leadership and decision-making.
● Collaboration: Builds strong, respectful partnerships across teams and with diverse community stakeholders. Actively seeks input and works across differences to advance shared goals.
● Recognition: Values the contributions of others, seeks feedback, and fosters a culture of appreciation and continuous growth. Strengthens the organization’s reputation as a trusted community partner.
● Accountability: Takes ownership of outcomes, follows through on commitments, and connects daily work to the organization’s mission, vision, and public responsibilities. Demonstrates a commitment to ongoing learning, including growth in diversity, equity, and inclusion.
● Excellence: Leads with integrity, embraces learning, and strives for high-quality results. Balances ambition with sustainability and models healthy boundaries and professional standards.
● Joy: Finds purpose in the work and creates space for celebration, connection, and meaning within the team and the broader community.
EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE QUALIFICATIONS
Required:
● Bachelor’s Degree in education, public administration, social services, nonprofit management, or related field.
● Minimum of 7–10 years of progressive leadership experience in early childhood programs, public benefit administration, or subsidy management.
● Experience overseeing multi-million-dollar funding streams or publicly funded programs.
● Experience supervising staff and managing operational systems.
● Strong understanding of eligibility systems, enrollment processes, and compliance requirements.
● Exceptional organizational and communication skills.
● Ability to manage complex workflows with strong attention to detail.
Desired:
● Experience with preschool subsidy systems, tuition assistance programs, or public early childhood funding initiatives (e.g., Denver Preschool Program or similar).
● Experience working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
● Experience in universal preschool implementation.
● Familiarity with data systems and program performance metrics.
Note: Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals may self-select out of
opportunities if they don't meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage anyone who believes they have the skills and the drive necessary to succeed here to apply for this role.
JOB BENEFITS
NoCo Kids Thrive offers a comprehensive benefits package, including PTO, paid holidays, health, vision and dental, and retirement benefits. For more information on our benefits package, click here.
APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED TO CAREERS@NOCOKIDSTHRIVE.ORG AND NOT SUBMITTED THROUGH INDEED. POSITION CLOSES 3/24/2026 AT 5PM.
NoCo Kids Thrive enhances diversity through inclusion of individuals reflective of characteristics including, and not limited to, race, ethnicity, age, culture, different ideas and perspectives, disability, first generation status, familial status, gender identity and expression, geographic background, marital status, national origin, religious and spiritual beliefs, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and veteran status. Discrimination based on physical traits that are associated with a person's race or ethnicity, including hair texture, type, style and headwear is prohibited in the State of Colorado by the Crown Act of 2020.