Quality Assurance Manager

Quality Assurance Manager

Hybrid – Washington, DC Metro Region | Full-Time, Exempt

NAEYC is currently looking for a Quality Assurance (QA) Manager to oversee the day-to-day management and implementation of quality assurance processes within NAEYC’s Early Learning Program Accreditation system. This position manages quality assurance casework and related processes, including required item reports, complaints, critical incident reports, appeals, regulatory standing concerns, and other status-related matters. If you're the kind of person who color-codes a spreadsheet without being asked, catches the one inconsistent date buried in a 40-page report, and treats "close enough" as a red flag rather than an acceptable answer — we want to talk to you.

NAEYC advances high-quality early learning for children birth through age 8. As our Quality Assurance Manager, you'll own the day-to-day integrity of our Early Learning Program Accreditation system — managing the full lifecycle of sensitive casework and applying scope-and-severity frameworks with rigor. This is a process-management role, not a people-management one: you won't supervise staff, but you will hold the entire quality assurance operation to a standard of precision, reviewing complex matters independently and knowing exactly when something needs to be escalated.

What You'll Own

• Day-to-day management of the entire quality assurance case pipeline — required item reports, complaints, critical incidents, appeals, and regulatory standing concerns — with every case tracked meticulously from intake to close.
• Independent review and resolution of cases within established protocols and delegated authority — with the judgment to know precisely which matters get escalated, and why.
• Rigorous, consistent application of scope-and-severity frameworks to critical incidents, with defensible case analyses ready for committee or leadership review.
• Precise, professional correspondence — decision letters, technical guidance, and program communications, drafted, reviewed, and approved with zero room for ambiguity.
• Management of quality assurance committee meetings and formal appeals processes, including reviewer onboarding, training, and calibration to keep decisions consistent across every reviewer.
• Ownership of quality assurance tracking and reporting — turning case data and trends into sharper policies, tools, protocols, and training, and flagging systemic issues before they become patterns.

What You Bring

• A bachelor's degree in early childhood education, child development, public administration, quality assurance, compliance, or a related field (master's preferred).
• Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in accreditation, licensing, quality assurance, regulatory compliance, or program monitoring.
• Demonstrated experience owning a complex case-review or compliance function end to end — including protocol design, application, and refinement.
• An unwavering eye for detail and consistency — the ability to apply the same protocol the same way, every time, no matter the caseload or the pressure.
• Sound, defensible judgment — you know when a matter is yours to close and when it belongs in front of a committee.
• Strong data literacy — comfortable pulling trends out of case data and turning them into concrete process improvements.

Why NAEYC

Your attention to detail directly protects the safety and quality of early learning programs nationwide. This role puts you squarely in charge of the process, not a team — your focus stays exactly where it should: on the protocols, the data, and the quality of every decision. You'll work alongside a mission-driven team, with the flexibility of a hybrid schedule based in the DC Metro region.

NAEYC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.