Jobs in Cluj nurseries and kindergartens: how hiring works

In the state system, kindergarten teacher and nursery educator posts are filled through the national contest coordinated by the Cluj County School Inspectorate (ISJ Cluj): a special classroom inspection (or a practical test) plus a written exam. Carer, cleaner, cook and secretary posts are filled through a contest run by each institution under Government Decision no. 1,336/2022. Private institutions hire directly.

This guide is written for people looking for work in early-years education in Cluj — not for parents. It sets out what the law requires for each role, how each hiring route actually works, and where vacancies are genuinely published.

What jobs exist in a nursery or kindergarten?

Since Law no. 198/2023 on pre-university education came into force, a nursery (creșă) is no longer a social service but an ante-preschool education unit. In Cluj-Napoca the municipal nurseries operate as Creșa pentru Educație Timpurie Cluj-Napoca, described on its own site as “an education unit subordinated to the Local Council”. That rewrote the hiring rules compared to just a few years ago.

Under art. 165(1)(a) of Law no. 198/2023, the teaching posts in early education are educator/educatoare and profesor pentru educație timpurie (early-education teacher), with one post allocated per group. In extended-programme units, teaching staff are allocated per shift — which is why extended-programme kindergartens carry more posts for the same group.

What qualification does the law require for each role?

Kindergarten teacher and early-education teacher

Art. 176(1) of Law no. 198/2023 sets the minimum study conditions: for the educator/educatoare function — graduating a pedagogical high school with a baccalaureate diploma in the “Educație timpurie” specialisation; for the early-education teacher function — a bachelor’s degree in “Educație timpurie”.

In parallel, art. 249 keeps transitional routes open for graduates of the older programmes:

• people who complete, by 2028, a pedagogical high school in educator-puericultor or învățător-educator are considered to meet the study condition for the educator/educatoare function (art. 249(7));
• people who complete, by 2027, a bachelor’s degree in pedagogia învățământului primar și preșcolar (PIPP) or a master’s in educație timpurie are considered to meet the condition for the early-education teacher function (art. 249(8)).

What actually decides your eligibility at registration is the Centralizator, approved by ministerial order every year — for 2026, OMEC no. 3,168/2026. It lists, post by post, the accepted specialisations. For the preschool post (“Educatoare/Institutor pentru învățământul preșcolar/Profesor pentru educație timpurie”) the Centralizator accepts, among others, pedagogical high-school graduates in Educatoare, Educatoare-Învățător and Învățător-Educatoare, as well as bachelor’s or professional-conversion graduates in Pedagogia învățământului primar și preșcolar — the latter being placed, from 1 September 2024, in the “Profesor pentru educație timpurie” function.

Psycho-pedagogical training is the second condition. For graduates of a pedagogical high school in educator-puericultor, educatoare or învățător, of a university college for institutori, and of the PIPP bachelor’s, the level-I condition counts as met automatically (art. 3(3) of the mobility framework methodology). Other higher-education graduates need at least 60 credits from the level I and II psycho-pedagogical modules, or a teaching master’s.

If you want to obtain the qualification in Cluj, Babeș-Bolyai University’s Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences runs the “Pedagogia învățământului primar și preșcolar / Educație timpurie” bachelor’s in Romanian, Hungarian and German.

Nursery educator (the former educator-puericultor)

The “educator-puericultor” function was renamed: people employed in that function in nurseries now hold the teaching function of educator (art. 249(16) of Law no. 198/2023). In the 2026 Centralizator, the ante-preschool post is listed as “Educator/Profesor pentru educație timpurie”.

The accepted routes to it are:

1. pedagogical high school, “Educator-puericultor” — graduates are placed, from 1 September 2024, in the “Educator” function;
2. pedagogical high school, “Educatoare” or “Învățător”, completed with an early-education course run within projects the Ministry of Education carries out with third parties — also the “Educator” function;
3. a PIPP bachelor’s (or professional conversion), completed with the same early-education course — the “Profesor pentru educație timpurie” function.

Mind the deadline: the exceptions in art. 249(5) and (6) apply to those who completed, or will complete, the early-education course by 1 September 2028.

The written exam for the nursery post has its own syllabus — Limba și literatura română, Introducere în pedagogie – educație timpurie și curriculumul pentru educația timpurie a copiilor sub 3 ani, Metodica desfășurării activităților instructiv-educative în creșă (syllabus approved by OME no. 6,664/2023). It differs from the kindergarten syllabus, which is Limba și literatura română, pedagogia preșcolară și metodica desfășurării activităților instructiv-educative în grădinița de copii (OMEC no. 5,975/2020).

Nursery carers (infirmieră and îngrijitoare)

Law no. 198/2023 explicitly places them among auxiliary teaching staff: art. 192(1)(p) lists “infirmiere în educația timpurie, îngrijitoare în educație timpurie”. Their study conditions are not fixed in the law itself but “by the legislation governing their activity” (art. 193(2)).

In practice, the Cluj-Napoca requirements look like this (per the announcements published by Creșa pentru Educație Timpurie Cluj-Napoca): completed secondary studies, with or without a baccalaureate diploma, no seniority requirement, plus a certificate of completion of an early-years childcare training programme approved by the ministry — or proof of enrolment in such a course. It is the only nursery post you can apply for while the course is still in progress, which makes it the most accessible way into the system.

The rest of the team

A nursery runs on a far more varied staff than most candidates imagine. Creșa pentru Educație Timpurie Cluj-Napoca describes its team as “coordonator personal de specialitate, educator-puericultor, îngrijitor de copii, asistent medical, psiholog/psihopedagog, medic pediatru, dietetician”. On top of that come the administrative posts advertised periodically: building cleaner (general studies, no seniority), cook (general studies, a trade certificate and work seniority) and secretary (high school with baccalaureate, per art. 193(1)(j) of the law).

How is a state teaching post filled?

Every teaching post in the state system — nursery and kindergarten included — is filled through the mobility of teaching staff, regulated each year by a framework methodology. For the 2026-2027 school year it is the framework methodology approved by OME no. 6,695/2025, published in Official Gazette no. 1089 bis of 26 November 2025, together with the mobility calendar.

The order of stages matters enormously, because the good posts are consumed from the top down. The methodology (art. 4) lists them in the order in which they run: first the teaching loads are constituted and the situation of tenured staff is settled (completing and topping up teaching norms, transfers for activity reduction, retention in service, retirements), then the list of vacant posts is published, followed by pre-transfers between units and contract extensions — and only after that comes the allocation of candidates from the national contest. Left for the end are secondments, hourly-paid teaching, the contest organised at county level, and posts that fall vacant during the school year.

The national contest itself (art. 64) has two components:

• a special classroom inspection in the profile of the post (one lesson, marked from 10 to 1, audio-recorded) or a practical test, weighing 25% in the allocation average;
• a written exam based on the specific syllabus, weighing 75%.

The allocation average is calculated as (written mark × 3 + inspection/practical mark) / 4.

A few details that matter in Cluj:

• Hungarian-language groups. For posts at Hungarian-language kindergartens, candidates sit the written exam on a distinct syllabus (Hungarian language and literature as mother tongue, Romanian and universal literature for children, preschool pedagogy and the methodology of teaching in both languages). Candidates who take that syllabus do not additionally sit the oral language-competence test.
• Educational alternatives. For posts in alternative education, the methodology requires an endorsement (aviz) issued by the federation, association or centre that organises the alternative — Waldorf, Step by Step, Montessori, Freinet, Jena Plan, curative pedagogy. If you are aiming at a Montessori, Waldorf or Step by Step kindergarten, the endorsement goes into the application file, not into the paperwork after you are hired.
• The standard application forms for every mobility stage are in annex 14 of the methodology, and the submission windows are in the calendar. Registration for the national contest can be entirely online, with the data validated afterwards at the inspectorate.

What if you don’t make tenure?

A mark of 7 is not the only way to a post. The methodology provides, in order, several fixed-term hiring stages:

1. substitute teaching based on the national-contest average — at least 5 in both components, in descending order of averages;
2. substitute teaching based on earlier contest sessions (an average of at least 7 from recent years, or at least 5 from the most recent sessions);
3. hourly-paid teaching (plata cu ora) for qualified teaching staff;
4. a contest or test organised at county level for posts that remain unfilled;
5. filling posts that fall vacant during the school year — this is where most “mid-year” hires come from, when a colleague goes on parental leave.

Stages 4 and 5 are the ones candidates most often miss, because they have no fixed national calendar: they appear as one-off announcements on the inspectorate’s and the institutions’ websites.

How do private nurseries and kindergartens hire?

Private institutions fall outside GD no. 1,336/2022, which applies to contractual staff paid from public funds. Hiring happens under Law no. 53/2003 — the Labour Code — through each institution’s own recruitment process.

For teaching posts in accredited or authorised private units, however, there are rules. The mobility methodology (art. 2(3)) provides that tenured teacher status in a private unit is evidenced by a placement decision issued by the unit’s management, endorsed by the general school inspector or communicated to the inspectorate, together with an open-ended employment contract — where the post was filled through a contest organised at the level of the unit, based on its own regulations and the Methodological norms on organising contests for vacant teaching posts in private pre-university education units, approved by OME no. 7,874/2024. Private units may run their contest in the same window as the national contest (art. 64(11)).

In practice this means the unit’s status matters for your own career: at an accredited or authorised unit, seniority and tenure are recognised within the system. The difference between the two statuses is explained in our guide to accredited vs. authorised kindergartens.

For non-teaching posts at private institutions (carers, cooks, nurses) there is no regulated contest — ordinary recruitment rules apply and the employer sets the requirements. Contact details and websites for each institution in the city are on the listing pages in our directory of kindergartens and nurseries.

Where are Cluj vacancies actually published?

There is no single place. Here are the official channels, in order of usefulness:

• ISJ Cluj — Human resources / Staff mobility — the methodology, the calendar and the results of each stage.
• ISJ Cluj — National contest — candidate instructions, exam centres, inspection schedules, results.
• isjcluj.ro — the inspectorate’s HR portal, where the list of vacant and reserved posts is published (the “Informații cu caracter public” section). The methodology (art. 66) requires the inspectorate to publish the updated list at least 30 days before the written exam and to refresh it after every stage.
• ISJ Cluj — Contests organised by education units — the individual announcements from kindergartens and nurseries across the county, including contests for nursery educators, secretaries and facilities managers.
• creseclujnapoca.ro/anunturi — contests run by Creșa pentru Educație Timpurie Cluj-Napoca (nursery carer, building cleaner, cook, secretary).
• posturi.gov.ro — the national register of vacant contractual posts in public institutions, maintained under GD no. 1,336/2022, filterable by county.
• ISJ Cluj — Vacant posts — the archive of previous years’ announcements, useful for spotting which requirements keep recurring.

ISJ Cluj’s human resources department is at Strada Argeș no. 24 in Cluj-Napoca and can be reached at resurseumane@isjcj.ro.

What goes into the application file for a non-teaching post?

For posts advertised under GD no. 1,336/2022, art. 35 sets out the list of documents and art. 15 the general conditions. The file contains: the registration form, a copy of your ID, a copy of the marriage certificate (where applicable), copies of your study documents and of anything proving the post-specific conditions, a copy of your work record book or a seniority certificate, a criminal record certificate, a medical certificate from occupational health, a behavioural integrity certificate (required by Law no. 118/2019 for posts involving direct contact with children) and a CV in the European format.

The contest follows a fixed structure: publication of the announcement → submission of files → file screening (with an appeal deadline) → written test (with an appeal deadline) → interview and, for some posts, a practical test → publication of final results. Every announcement also carries the bibliography and topics for the post — for a nursery carer, for example, it includes Law no. 198/2023, the framework regulation on the organisation and functioning of education units (OME no. 5,726/2024), GD no. 566/2022 on the organisation of nurseries, the National Curriculum for Early Education and the hygiene norms approved by Health Ministry Order no. 1,456/2020.

Frequently asked questions

Can I work in a nursery if I went to a pedagogical high school but not in the educator-puericultor specialisation? Yes, but with one condition. The Centralizator accepts pedagogical high-school graduates in “Educatoare” or “Învățător” for the ante-preschool educator function only if they have completed an early-education course run within projects the Ministry of Education carries out with third parties. Art. 249(5) of Law no. 198/2023 also sets the deadline for completing that course: 1 September 2028.

What is the difference between “educatoare” and “profesor pentru educație timpurie”? It is a difference in level of studies, not in the age of the children. “Educator/educatoare” corresponds to graduating a pedagogical high school; “profesor pentru educație timpurie” corresponds to a bachelor’s degree. Both functions can be allocated to a kindergarten group or a nursery group, and the function determines your grading and pay scale.

What mark do I need to get tenure? At least 7 in the written exam and at least 7 in the special classroom inspection or practical test, under art. 64(8) of the 2026-2027 framework methodology. With at least 5 in both you can be allocated a fixed-term post (substitute teaching). Below 5 in the inspection you cannot sit the written exam at all.

Can I sit the written exam in Hungarian? Yes, for posts at Hungarian-language groups. There is a distinct contest syllabus combining Hungarian language and literature as mother tongue with Romanian literature for children, preschool pedagogy and the methodology of teaching in both languages. Candidates who take that syllabus do not additionally sit the oral language-competence test.

I only have secondary studies. What post can I hold in a nursery? The carer post (infirmieră/îngrijitoare în educație timpurie), which in the Cluj announcements asks for completed secondary studies with or without a baccalaureate, requires no seniority, and accepts proof of enrolment in the early-years childcare training programme. There are also building-cleaner posts (general studies) and cook posts (a trade certificate plus seniority).

Is there an alternative to being employed by an institution? Yes — working as a nanny (bonă) is regulated separately and can be done legally, with a certificate and a contract. We set out the conditions in our guide to becoming a legal nanny: certificate, contract and obligations.

Sources

• Law no. 198/2023 on pre-university education — art. 165 (teaching functions), art. 176 (study conditions), art. 192-193 (auxiliary teaching staff), art. 249 (transitional provisions)
• Framework methodology on the mobility of teaching staff for 2026-2027, approved by OME no. 6,695/2025 — Official Gazette no. 1089 bis of 26 November 2025, together with the mobility calendar
• The 2026 Centralizator, approved by OMEC no. 3,168/2026 — the specialisations accepted for each post
• ISJ Cluj — Human resources and teaching-staff mobility and the isjcluj.ro vacancy portal
• ISJ Cluj — Contests organised by education units
• Creșa pentru Educație Timpurie Cluj-Napoca — contest announcements and institution profile
• posturi.gov.ro — the national register of vacant contractual posts (GD no. 1,336/2022)
• Babeș-Bolyai University — Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, bachelor’s programmes
• How we verify our data — our methodology
• Our data sources — the full list

Conclusion

The three hiring routes are structurally different and do not mix: state teaching means a national contest through ISJ Cluj with clear mark thresholds; state non-teaching means a contest at the level of the institution under GD no. 1,336/2022, with a written test and an interview; private means direct recruitment on the institution’s own terms. Calendars, exam syllabuses and vacancy lists change every year by ministerial order — always check the version in force on ISJ Cluj before you submit your file.

If you want to see where you could be working, the piticluj.ro interactive map shows every nursery and kindergarten in Cluj-Napoca and the county, with address, programme and contact details on each institution page. Our verification methodology is described under data sources.