The Summer Program Manager contributes to planning and carrying out summer strategies across all of our brands, including KinderCare Learning Centers, Champions Before- and After-School Programs, Crème Schools, Skyrise Schools, and KinderCare Education at Work. This role is critical to delivering high-quality, scalable summer experiences by driving operational excellence, ensuring strong cross-functional alignment, and supporting both enrollment and program performance goals. As an enterprise leader, the Summer Program Manager partners closely with cross-functional teams, field leadership, and center directors to translate strategy into clear, actionable execution. The ideal candidate is a flexible operator capable of influencing and guiding all levels of the organization. Serving as the connection between strategy and implementation, this person turns plans into action in centers daily. They create dynamic, high-achieving environments that provide outstanding summer experiences and achieve financial goals.

Responsibilities

Operational Excellence & Program Delivery Lead and support implementation of new operational strategies end-to-end across multiple brands, ensuring consistency, quality, and adherence to organizational standards. Find opportunities to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and enhance program outcomes. Organize and direct the deployment of new summer pilots, including planning, coordination, implementation, and post-program evaluation. Work alongside cross-functional teams to ensure pilots are delivered effectively and insights are collected for future scaling. Manage and maintain detailed project plans including documentation, change management, critical issues, meeting facilitation, and status reporting to ensure key achievements are reached. Develop center-level execution plans with clear benchmarks, tools, training materials, and accountability structures that drive consistent program delivery. Portfolio-Wide Summer Strategy & Culture Champion a strong, unified “summer outlook” across the organization by aligning teams around goals, timelines, and standard processes. Encourage involvement, passion, and responsibility to provide outstanding summer experiences at every site. Stay informed on competitor offerings and market trends to ensure our summer programs align with the evolving needs and preferences of families. Enrollment & Program Performance Tracking Maintain accurate tracking and reporting of enrollment trends, pilot performance, and key operational metrics. Analyze data to identify risks, gaps, and opportunities, providing actionable insights to support data-driven decision-making. Monitor metrics impacting financial performance, including program adoption, enrollment conversion, staff utilization, and operational efficiency. Cross-Functional Collaboration Partner with operations, marketing, education, finance, and field leadership to ensure alignment on program execution, enrollment goals, and communication strategies. Be highly resourceful and provide solutions in aligning internal partner requirements for program launches and operational needs. Communicate effectively with all levels of leadership internally by sharing operational insights and recommendations. Continuous Improvement Gather feedback, analyze results, and recommend improvements to enhance future summer programming. Support the development of scalable tools, resources, and processes. Track and analyze operational performance metrics to drive improvements in program execution and revenue outcomes.

Qualifications

Minimum 3-5 years’ experience as a successful program manager, operations manager, or multi-unit operations leadership role. Skilled in translating strategy into execution and driving operational results at scale. Strong project management skills with demonstrated ability to manage sophisticated, cross-functional initiatives with multiple partners. Familiarity with center P&L management and operational metrics that drive financial performance. Experience driving revenue accountability and financial performance at the operational level. Experience building operational infrastructure for new programs. Success in building scalable operational frameworks, tools, and training programs. Experience in childcare, education, or similar service-based industries with distributed operations.