Vice President of Center Operations - Fully Remote!

Futures start here. Where first steps, new friendships, and confident learners are born. At KinderCare Learning Companies, the first and only early childhood education provider recognized with theGallup Exceptional Workplace Award, we offer a variety of early education and child care options for families. Whether it's KinderCare Learning Centers, Champions, or Crème de la Crème, we build confidence for kids, families, and the future we share. And we want you to join us in shaping it—in neighborhoods, at work, and in schools nationwide.

At KinderCare Learning Companies, you'll use your skills and expertise to support the work (and fun) that happens in our sites and centers every day. From marketers and strategists to financial analysts and data engineers, and so much more, we're all passionate about crafting a world where children, families, and organizations can thrive.

As Vice President, Center Operations you'll lead the teams that are responsible for ensuring that KinderCare's centers operate with excellence every day. Driving operational excellence, labor optimization, and organizational readiness by leading three critical functions: Seasonality & Standards, Labor Operations, and Adoption. You'll build the shared-services infrastructure that allows the business to deliver against critical metrics and allows center teams to deliver consistently exceptional experiences for children, families, and staff for all of KinderCare's brands.

You'll be the central connector between corporate strategy and field execution, owning the governance, prioritization, and execution systems that drive growth and mitigate risk to ensure centers receive the right guidance, at the right time, in the right way. You will partner cross-functionally with high-performing teams in Brand Operations, HR, Finance, and Quality to make every initiative and standard clear, coordinated, and measurable.

The ideal candidate is a strategic operator with deep experience in multi-unit field organizations who excel in bringing order to complexity, making data-driven decisions, and helping large organizations adopt change successfully.

This role sits within the Center Operations function under the broader COO Organization—ideal for leaders who:

• Build strong relationships to influence successful outcomes
• Shape the future of a growing, mission focused organization
• Apply curiosity and systems thinking to improve how work gets done
• Collaborate across functions to elevate operations and child experience
• Provide strategic guidance to senior leaders
• Thrive in a fast-paced, high-impact, and collaborative environment

• Champion a metrics driven approach to operational excellence, connecting daily practices to enterprise goals in quality, growth, and profitability.
• Use data and insight to identify trends, make timely operational adjustments, and ensure results stay on track.
• Collaborate with Finance, Quality, and Brand Operations to measure and demonstrate the return on investment of strong operational rigor.
• Ensure every function within Center Operations can clearly show how its work contributes to KinderCare's mission and long-term success.

• Set the multi-year vision and roadmap for Center Operations, encompassing Seasonality & Standards, Labor Operations, and Adoption.
• Design and lead the field governance model—how work is proposed, approved, sequenced, and measured.
• Partner across corporate teams to translate enterprise priorities into actionable field plans.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on operational readiness, tradeoffs, and field capacity.
• Align specific operational standards to company objectives, reporting on where the organization is on/off track and creates measures to mitigate risk.

• Drive the development, maintenance, and adoption of operational standards and SOPs.
• Lead a cross-brand, year-round seasonal planning process—ensuring teams plan 6-12 months ahead for seasonal work.
• Maintain a standards library and performance measurement system, ensuring adherence and continuous improvement.

• Oversee KinderCare's labor strategy, staffing models, scheduling processes, and analytics.
• Build labor standards that optimize efficiency, quality, and compliance.
• Partner with Finance and Brand Operations to translate enrollment and growth goals into actionable labor plans.
• Deliver insights and tools to help field leaders manage productivity, overtime, and staffing effectively.

• Lead a center-wide adoption and change management capability that ensures new initiatives are implemented successfully.
• Develop KinderCare's standard change playbook including communications, training, and reinforcement strategies.
• Define adoption metrics and build dashboards that measure progress and sustainment.

• Oversee the intake and prioritization process for all corporate-to-field work.
• Manage a single, integrated field calendar that aligns initiatives, standards, and seasonal campaigns.
• Represent the voice of the field in enterprise planning to protect center focus and operational health.

• Build and lead a high-performing, results driven team across multiple functions.
• Create a collaborative, accountable culture grounded in KinderCare's values.
• Invest in leadership development, clear goals, and team connectivity.
• Influencing outcomes through exceptional relationship building and communication, both with corporate and field partners

• Define key performance indicators for Center Operations, such as standards adherence, adoption rates, and labor efficiency.
• Partner with Analytics/Finance teams to create dashboards and insights for executive and field audiences.
• Use data to drive decisions, identify opportunities, and continuously refine processes.

• Ensure that standards, SOPs, and processes meet all licensing, safety, and compliance requirements.
• Partner with Legal, HR, and Quality to manage operational risks and learn from field feedback.

• 15+ years of experience in multi-unit or field operations; 8+ years in senior leadership.
• Expertise in at least two of the following: labor operations, operational standards/SOPs, change management.
• Experience leading centralized/shared-services teams in complex, multi-brand environments.
• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Demonstrated strength in strategic planning, execution, and governance.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication; able to simplify complex ideas.
• Skilled at influencing across functions and levels using data and storytelling.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail; excels in ambiguity.
• Regular travel (approximately 20-30%) to centers, field offices, and corporate headquarters required
• We know that experience is gathered in many ways. These guidelines represent some, but not all, of the ways you might have acquired the skills required for this role. If you have demonstrated the ability to fulfill these duties—no matter your background—we encourage you to apply!