Director, Safety & Compliance

About Us

Busy Bees North America is a fast-growing early childhood education organization operating 270+ centers across the United States and Canada. Busy Bees aims to be the employer of choice in every market where we operate. We know that our people are critical in giving children their best start in life, delivering a rich learning experience in a safe environment.

We Thrive Together - At Busy Bees North America, we show up for each other. We are one team built on collaboration, trust, respect and support. Together we create a place where our team members feel valued and set up for success. We empower and support each other to do our best work. When our team thrives, our children and families thrive.

Job Summary

The Director of Safety, Compliance & Safeguarding (North America) provides strategic leadership for safeguarding, child protection, regulatory compliance, health and safety, and enterprise risk management across all operations in Canada and the United States.

Reporting to the VP of Safety & Compliance, this executive leadership role is responsible for developing and driving a consistent North American framework that ensures every school, centre, acquisition, and new development operates to the same high standards of safety, compliance, operational excellence, and child wellbeing. The Director leads the North American Safety Audit Team, consisting of nine direct reports, and is accountable for overseeing all safety audits, regulatory matters, and corrective action planning. The role partners closely with Operations, Human Resources, Legal, Licensing, Facilities, Development, and Executive Leadership to proactively identify and mitigate risk while fostering a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement

Key Responsibilities

Safeguarding & Child Protection

• Lead the organization's safeguarding framework across all North American operations.

• Develop and maintain safeguarding policies, standards, and procedures.

• Ensure consistent implementation of child protection practices, supervision standards, and mandatory reporting requirements across all jurisdictions.

• Monitor safeguarding trends and identify systemic risks requiring organizational action.

• Lead enterprise-wide corrective action planning following serious regulatory visits.

Compliance & Regulatory Oversight

• Provide oversight of compliance with all provincial, state, federal, licensing, accreditation, and organizational requirements.

• Develop enterprise-wide compliance monitoring systems and audit programs.

• Conduct operational compliance reviews and risk assessments across all locations.

• Support centres during licensing inspections, investigations, corrective actions, and regulatory reviews.

• Monitor legislative and regulatory changes and implement organizational responses.

Safety Audit Management

• Lead and oversee the management, training, calibration, and performance of a team of nine field-based Auditors responsible for conducting routine audits across assigned centres.

• Establish and maintain consistent audit standards, tools, protocols, scoring methodologies, and documentation practices to ensure reliable and objective assessment of safety, health, and compliance requirements across all centres.

• Develop and maintain a centralized system for audit documentation, findings, corrective action plans, supporting evidence, and historical records to ensure accessibility, data integrity, and appropriate record retention.

• Analyze audit results to identify recurring findings, emerging risks, regional and organizational trends, repeat deficiencies, and opportunities for systemic improvement.

• Establish processes for timely escalation of critical or high-risk findings and partner with Operations and other key stakeholders to ensure appropriate corrective actions are implemented, documented, and sustained.

• Develop and report key audit metrics and trends to leadership and cross-functional partners, including audit completion, risk levels, recurring findings, corrective action closure, and overall performance trends.

• Regularly evaluate and enhance the Safety Audits based on trends, regulatory changes, organizational growth, and lessons learned to ensure the program remains effective.

Health, Safety & Enterprise Risk

• Lead enterprise-wide health and safety initiatives across all schools, centres, offices, and support functions.

• Develop organizational emergency preparedness, crisis management, and business continuity strategies.

• Monitor incident trends and implement proactive risk reduction initiatives.

• Oversee safety programs related to supervision, transportation, visitor management, physical security, playground safety, and emergency response.

• Lead enterprise risk assessments and organizational mitigation strategies.

• Drive enterprise-wide consistency in safeguarding, compliance, documentation, and operational procedures.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education, Business, or a related field preferred.

• 5+ years of progressive experience in early childhood education, safety, compliance, quality assurance, operations, or a related field.

• Experience leading audit, compliance, safety, or risk-management programs across multiple locations.

• Strong knowledge of childcare licensing, health and safety requirements, incident management, and regulatory compliance.

• Experience leading and developing teams, managing competing priorities, and partnering effectively with operational leadership.

• Demonstrated ability to interpret regulations, identify risk, analyze trends, and develop corrective and preventative actions.

What Success Looks Like

• Unwavering commitment to child safety and safeguarding.

• Strategic thinker with the ability to balance operational realities and enterprise risk.

• High emotional intelligence and sound judgment.

• Exceptional integrity and ethical leadership.

• Calm and decisive during crises.

• Collaborative leader who builds strong cross-functional partnerships.

• Passion for continuous improvement, accountability, and operational excellence.

• Demonstrated ability to lead organizational change across complex, multi-jurisdictional environments.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

• Ability to travel frequently, including overnight travel.

• Ability to walk, stand, bend, stoop, and move in a variety of environments

• Ability to occasionally lift or carry materials or equipment weighing up to 25 pounds.

• Ability to work at a computer for extended periods of time.

• Must be able to meet applicable background screening.

Why Join BrightPath?

At BrightPath, you'll have the opportunity to make a meaningful impact while helping build the workforce that supports thousands of children and families every day.

We offer:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) with company match

• Paid time off and company holidays

• Professional development and leadership growth opportunities

• Collaborative, supportive leadership team

Busy Bees North America is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and business need.