Child Care Teacher

Role : Child Care Teacher

HRforGrowth® is engaged as the talent acquisition partner to conduct this search on behalf of a client organization that is hiring for this role. HRforGrowth is not the employer for this position. HRforGrowth identifies, evaluates, and presents top-tier candidates through its global talent acquisition practice; all employment decisions — including final selection, offer terms, compensation, and conditions of employment — are made solely by the hiring organization.

Our client is seeking a dedicated and compassionate Child Care Teacher to join its childcare team in Richmond, VA. The Child Care Teacher will create a safe, engaging, nurturing, and developmentally supportive environment for children ranging from six weeks to six years of age. The ideal candidate will have at least two years of formal childcare experience, relevant early childhood education or equivalent qualifications, and a Child Development Associate (CDA) Certificate .

Utilizing the Reggio-inspired educational approach, the Child Care Teacher will collaborate with other teachers and staff to develop creative, age-appropriate lesson plans, support children's cognitive, social, emotional, language, and motor development, maintain a safe and clean classroom environment, and communicate effectively with families.

. Location : Richmond  VA
Job Type : Full-Time/Direct Hire
Compensation : $18 – $22 per hour
Schedule : Monday – Friday; 7.5-hour shift scheduled between 6:00 AM and 8:00 PM
Experience Required: Minimum of two years of formal childcare experience

Key Responsibilities

- Plan, develop, and implement creative, adaptive, and age-appropriate lesson plans for the assigned classroom.
- Create and maintain a safe, secure, engaging, and nurturing environment for children ages six weeks to six years.
- Support children's cognitive, social, emotional, language, gross motor, fine motor, and independence skills.
- Apply Reggio-inspired educational concepts in indoor and outdoor classroom environments.
- Encourage children's self-esteem, confidence, autonomy, creativity, and overall development through positive interactions.
- Document children's daily progress, activities, developmental observations, and milestones.
- Prepare, review, and maintain written reports and records for each assigned child.
- Communicate children's needs, progress, and observations effectively to parents and families.
- Encourage meaningful family involvement in children's learning and development.
- Supervise teacher aides and volunteers assigned to the classroom within the applicable scope of practice.
- Maintain collaborative working relationships with teachers, team leaders, site supervisors, directors, and other staff members.
- Participate in staff meetings, special sessions, continuing education, and mandatory training events.
- Review information and records provided for each child and support smooth transitions into and out of the classroom.
- Follow established policies, procedures, licensing requirements, accreditation standards, and applicable regulatory guidelines.
- Maintain classroom cleanliness and ensure the environment is free from health hazards and infection-control risks.
- Routinely clean classroom tables, chairs, cabinets, cubbies, cots, toys, bookshelves, and other surfaces.
- Sweep floors and remove materials that may create safety hazards, including food, water, and loose paper.
- Remove broken toys and report unsafe surfaces or other environmental hazards.
- Ensure appropriate staffing and supervision during playground activities to maintain children's safety and respond promptly to their needs.
- Ensure bleach and cleaning solutions are prepared, labeled, dated, and stored securely according to applicable requirements.
- Coordinate classroom environmental needs with the team to maintain a safe, clean, organized, and adequately stocked learning environment.
- Demonstrate awareness of infection-control procedures and environmental health and safety practices.
- Accept alternate assignments and participate in special projects or perform other duties as required to support the department's mission.

Required Qualifications
Previous experience working with children ages six weeks to six years, including paid or unpaid experience where applicable.

Child Development Associate (CDA) Certificate — specifically requested by the hiring manager.

A two-year degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Psychology, Psychology, or a closely related field; alternatively, an equivalent combination of education and experience.

High school diploma or equivalent.

- A minimum of 40 hours of coursework in Early Childhood Education or a related field, such as Child Psychology or Children's Literature, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Demonstrated ability to develop and implement age-appropriate lesson plans.
- Strong understanding of child development and developmentally appropriate learning activities.
- Effective reasoning, problem-solving, logical thinking, reading comprehension, and organizational skills.
- Ability to communicate clearly with children, parents, families, and team members, both verbally and in writing.
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, collaborative, and frequently changing environment.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and frequent, intensive interactions with children, families, and staff.
- Ability to work effectively in a noisy childcare environment.
- Ability to perform the physical activities associated with childcare, including frequent bending and climbing steps, ladders, or similar structures.
- Ability to maintain a safe, clean, organized, and developmentally appropriate classroom environment.

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience working specifically with infants and toddlers between six weeks and two years of age.
- Familiarity with the Reggio philosophical approach to early childhood education.
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Early Childhood Education or Elementary Education.

About HRforGrowth:
HRforGrowth is a full-service HR and talent partner built to support companies that are scaling, transforming, or navigating change. HRFG is globally recognized for delivering quality, speed, and cost-effective talent solutions across every level of the workforce. Through its global talent acquisition practice, HRforGrowth applies world class rigor and precision to identifying exceptional professional and executive talent on behalf of its clients — from temporary staffing to permanent hourly workers through to placing C-suite executives. HRforGrowth is presenting this opportunity in its capacity as the retained search partner and does not serve as the employer of record for this position.

Equal Employment Opportunity:
In its recruiting and search practices, HRforGrowth does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity, and welcomes applications from all qualified individuals. HRforGrowth evaluates and presents candidates to its clients without regard to any protected characteristic.

HRforGrowth endeavors to advise the hiring organization to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity laws — including those enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) — in its hiring decisions, terms of employment, and workplace practices .