Senior Admissions Manager, SEA

The Senior Admissions Manager is a strategic, data-driven leader responsible for championing an exceptional customer experience journeyacross all schools in the Group's SEA and UAE portfolios, in strengthening admissions capabilities, improving conversion performance, and optimising end-to-end processes - all while leading and mentoring a team of school Admissions Managers to ensure consistent, high-quality execution.

As a senior leader, this role carries dual accountability - setting regional enrolment strategy driving operational excellence at the school level in delivering exceptional customer experience. It is especially impactful in competitive and developing markets, where targeted interventions, capability building and rigorous follow-through are critical to success.

The Senior Admissions Manager works hand-in-hand with each school's Admissions team to elevate quality, embed best-in-class practices and deliver a seamless, family-centric admissions journey. By setting clear examples of what excellent customer experience looks like, this role ensures that every interaction reflects the Group's commitment to service excellence - building trust, enhancing brand reputation, and accelerating enrolment growth across the region.

The Role

Strategic Enrolment & Market Leadership:

• Develop and execute the regional enrolment strategy to meet and exceed student recruitment targets across all schools and grade levels
• Conduct in-depth market analysis to monitor competitor activity, identify demographic trends, and anticipate economic factors influencing international school choices
• Proactively build and manage a strategic network of regional partners to establish sustainable enrolment pipelines

DataAnalysis, Reporting & Forecasting:

• Implement a rigorous data-driven approach to enrollment management. Oversee regular, comprehensive reports on all key admissions metrics (e.g., inquiry-to-application conversion, yield rates, attrition)
• Develop accurate, data-informed enrolment projections and forecasts to guide strategic planning, budget allocation, and school capacity management. Working with IT to automate where possible
• Translate complex data sets into clear, actionable insights and present findings and recommendations to the senior leadership team to support informed decision-making

Team Leadership & Development:

• Build, align and support School Admissions Managers on strategy development and operational best practice, fostering a culture of high performance, collaboration, and data literacy
• Support school Directors to conduct regular performance reviews based on KPIs and create personalized professional development plans for their admissions teams
• Facilitate regional training and communities of practice to share best practices and ensure consistency in data entry, analysis, and customer service standards

Process Optimization & Technology:

• Standardize and optimize the end-to-end admissions and enrollment process across all schools, ensuring a seamless and efficient experience for families
• Oversee the admissions CRM and related technologies, leveraging their full potential for pipeline management, automated communications, and advanced data analytics
• Continuously review and improve processes to reduce friction, shorten the inquiry-to-enrolment cycle, and improve conversion rates

Customer Experience & Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Champion an exceptional customer experience for all prospective families, from first inquiry through to enrollment
• Work closely with the Regional Marketing team to align admissions data with marketing strategies, developing targeted campaigns based on market insights
• Partner with the Academic and Leadership teams to ensure alignment on school capacity, class placements, and entry requirements
• Collaborate with the Finance Department on fee structures, scholarships, and payment plans

The Person

Essential:

• Bachelor's degree in business, Marketing, Communications, or a related field
• Minimum of 10-15 years of progressive experience in admissions, sales and marketing, ideally within the education sector
• Admissions experiences in Southeast Asia, Middle East etc is essential, with extensive experience with Admissions CRMs (e.g., OpenApply, Finalsite, Salesforce) and data analysis
• Proven track record of developing and implementing successful enrollment strategies that meet ambitious targets
• Demonstrated experience in managing budgets, forecasting, and reporting on key metrics
• Strong leadership skills with a proven ability to manage, motivate, and develop high-performing teams
• Working English mandatory, Mandarin a benefit

Desirable:

• Master's degree in a relevant field.
• Experience in international education and an understanding of the unique needs of expatriate and local communities
• Experience in a fast-paced, target-driven commercial environment

Person Specifications & Competencies:

• Strategic & Commercial Acumen: Ability to think strategically, analyze data, and make decisions that drive growth and operational efficiency.
• Exceptional Communicator: Influential and articulate communicator, adept at engaging with diverse stakeholders including prospective parents, school leaders, and corporate executives. Able to work in a matrix organization
• High Empathy & Intercultural Sensitivity: Naturally understands the anxieties and needs of families relocating internationally. Builds rapport easily with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
• Results-Oriented: Driven to achieve and exceed targets, with a persistent and proactive approach.
• Collaborative Influencer: Builds strong, trusting relationships across departments (Marketing, Finance, Academics) to drive a unified enrollment strategy.
• Process-Optimizer: A keen eye for detail and a passion for creating streamlined, user-friendly processes.
• Resilient & Adaptable: Thrives in a dynamic environment and remains calm and solution-focused under pressure.
• Reduced school-level performance variance (raising the floor of underperforming markets)
• Improved lead-to-application and offer-to-acceptance conversion rates
• Reduction in enquiry response time and follow-up delays
• Increased parent satisfaction scores for admissions interactions
• Improved quality and consistency of CRM data
• Strong feedback from school admissions teams on support effectiveness
• On-time delivery of audits, reviews, and training programmes