General Description
This is an ideal career for intuitive thinkers. A child care coordinator (Centre Manager in some states) is responsible for managing the direction and activities of child care centres and services.
Career Advice - Childcare Coordinator Career
You are in charge of hiring, training and supervising child care staff; planning and implementing programs for children; organising equipment for activities; maintaining a safe and healthy child care environment; keeping client records and financial accounts; ensuring the centre or service abides by government procedures and policies; ensuring compliance with all other regulatory bodies and communicating with staff, children and parents.
As it is your job to direct all of the functions of a child care environment, you will need to have sound finance and administrative skills, and the ability to be organised, compassionate, and communicate well with staff, children and families.
What you do every day
You may perform a number of tasks during a standard working day. While developing learning programs for children, you ensure the activities follow the appropriate government policies and procedures and also benefit the children’s physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development. You will be required to supervise your child care workers, making sure that they are respectful and compassionate towards all children and parents and maintain a safe clean centre.
You spend time updating confidential and accurate client files and inform all staff members of any matters related to a child’s medical condition or family circumstances. You monitor the number of children involved in your program to help you determine costs of supplies and other expenses, while carrying out your financial accounts.
Communication with the children is your biggest responsibility after managing the centre. You need to dedicate time to interact with children and parents, familiarising yourself with them and ensuring they are happy and satisfied with the program offered by your centre.
Personality that best fits this occupation
Child care coordinators really need to have an interest in child care, with a sound knowledge of child development theories and practices, and relevant child care legislation, policies and procedures. You should have good supervision, decision making, and problem solving skills. You will need good business and management sense, and the ability to undertake your own administrative and accounting duties.
Solid communication skills are vital to the role of a child care coordinator. You will not only be interacting with staff and parents, but young children. You will need endless patience, be able to listen effectively, with compassion and understanding. In terms of discipline, you must maintain consistency and fairness with all children.
It is also important in your position to have cultural awareness and sensitivity. You will need to be respectful to all children, irrespective of ethnic, economic or social background. You are a naturally intuitive person.
Best thing about this career
A career in child care is highly rewarding. You can develop from the position of a child care worker into a managerial position of child care co-ordinator. For the right person working with young children, teaching and caring for them is exceptionally rewarding. The responsibility of directing the programs and managing an entire child care centre is an added bonus knowing you are responsible for the quality of the service provision This career is not just about work, but about the families and children you befriend and the way you affect and shape their lives.
Worst thing about this career
The demands and pressure of working with children can take their toll. Not only will you deal with tasks such as hiring, training and supervising staff; developing programs; managing client information and accounts; and health and safety procedures, but each day you will deal with a range of children, with differing needs, and their parents who may also have differing expectations.
It is easy for the job to be overwhelming at times. Be prepared to be challenged each day with new issues, problems to solve and unexpected things to deal with daily. The position of a child care coordinator is not for the faint hearted.
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