Staffing & Scheduling Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Job description:

Where great planning helps great teachers do their best work.

Are you someone who loves solving the puzzle when there are a dozen moving pieces?

Do you naturally think ahead, spot potential problems before they become emergencies and stay calm when Plan A suddenly isn’t going to work?

First Roots – Wild Roots is seeking a thoughtful, resourceful and collaborative Staffing & Scheduling Manager to oversee staffing and scheduling across our three early childhood programs.

This is not your typical scheduling position.

It’s a unique early childhood leadership role that combines workforce planning, problem-solving, decision-making and time spent directly in our programs — all with one important goal:

Making sure our classrooms have the people and support they need to thrive.

At First Roots – Wild Roots, we know great programs depend on great educators — and great educators need thoughtful systems behind them.

As our Staffing & Scheduling Manager, you’ll look at the big picture across FRWR, anticipate staffing needs, balance competing priorities and develop solutions that work for the organization as a whole.

What You’ll Do:

• Own staffing and scheduling across FRWR.
• Develop and maintain staff schedules across our three programs.
• Evaluate staffing needs based on child attendance, employee availability, qualifications, ratios and program priorities.
• Respond to call-outs, early departures and changing needs by determining the best coverage solution.
• Decide when to use substitutes, flexible staff or move qualified employees between classrooms or programs.
• Create coverage plans for PTO, meetings, onboarding, coaching, professional development and planning time.
• Communicate schedules and changes clearly and consistently.

Think ahead and solve problems:

• Maintain a 2–4 week staffing outlook and anticipate potential coverage challenges.
• Identify staffing risks before they become emergencies and develop solutions.
• Balance competing needs and make routine staffing decisions independently.
• Analyze call-outs, substitute use and recurring staffing challenges to identify patterns.
• Recommend improvements to staffing practices, scheduling systems and workforce capacity.
• Partner with Program Directors and the Director of Operations & Administration on staffing needs and solutions.

Stay connected to our programs:

• This isn't a position where you'll spend every day behind a desk.
• You’ll also serve as a flexible organization-wide resource, providing direct classroom or program support as staffing needs require — currently estimated at approximately 15–20 hours per week.
• That might mean helping cover a classroom, stepping in during a meeting or break, supporting onboarding or simply going where your help is most needed that day.
• Your classroom support will vary from week to week because your primary responsibility is managing FRWR’s organization-wide staffing and scheduling function.

Who We’re Looking For:

We’re looking for someone who combines strong organizational skills with good judgment, flexibility and a people-centered approach.

Ideal candidates will have:

• Experience in staffing, scheduling, workforce planning, operations management, early childhood program administration or a related field.
• Experience in a licensed early childhood program preferred.
• Strong organizational, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Confidence making decisions when there are competing priorities and more than one possible solution.
• The ability to recognize patterns and turn them into practical solutions.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Comfort using scheduling systems, spreadsheets, databases and other administrative technology.
• The ability to maintain confidentiality.
• The ability to meet and maintain BFIS requirements to serve at minimum as a Substitute.
• The ability to travel between our Hinesburg and Essex Junction locations.

And just as important:

• You enjoy solving puzzles involving people, schedules and competing priorities.
• You can stay calm when the 6:15 a.m. text changes the plan you made yesterday.
• You’re comfortable making a decision when there isn't one obvious answer.
• You communicate clearly, kindly and confidently.

And when you see the same problem happening again and again, your instinct is to ask:

“How can we make this work better?”

About First Roots – Wild Roots:

Our Mission: We are a 5 STAR, nature focused early care and education program that views each child as an individual with a unique developmental profile. Through developmentally responsive outdoor programming, we serve children ages 6 weeks to 8 years. Our mission is to Achieve the highest level of professional development, Build a community where families feel connected and respected, and to cultivate sustainable environmental choices and business practices to support the health and well being of all who work and play here!

• Our Purpose: These are our fundamental reasons for doing what we do. If these resonate with you, we'd love to hear from you!
• Collaboration : We believe that our best work is done together with reflection and intention at the core.
• Empathy : We believe in putting people first. 
• Quality : We believe in setting the standard for excellence in early childhood education. 
• Positive Impact : We believe in building a better world through our work with children as competent meaning-makers with deep associations and experiences in nature.
• Sustainability : We believe in creating and developing practices that will sustain our planet, our local environment and our people.

Job Type: Full-time
Typical Schedule: Generally 6:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., with flexibility based on organizational and staffing needs
Work Week: 40 hours
Location: In person, supporting our three FRWR programs in Hinesburg and Essex Junction, Vermont
Pay: $45,120 – $52,400/year

Benefits:

• 120 hours of PTO per year, prorated from start date.
• Three additional paid closure weeks each year — February, July and December.
• Paid holidays (Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving & the day after).
• Employer-paid group health insurance.
• $1,200/year Employee Benefit Health Reimbursement Account.
• Dental and vision coverage available, including 50% employer contribution toward single dental coverage.
• Employer-paid short-term disability insurance.
• $25,000 employer-paid life insurance.
• Up to $500/year tuition reimbursement.
• Paid professional development.
• Childcare tuition benefits.
• Relocation assistance for eligible candidates, including up to $1,000 toward moving expenses and potentially up to 90 days of rent-free housing, based on availability.

Plus a few fun extras: monthly staff lunches and bagel days, coffee and snacks, branded L.L.Bean gear, pickleball, access to walking trails, our Zen room and our in-ground pool!

We believe that classrooms and workplaces thrive when all voices are welcomed and respected . We encourage applicants of all identities, backgrounds and experiences to apply.

If you love creating order from complexity, solving problems and helping great educators have what they need to do their best work, we’d love to hear from you.

Work Location: In person