Head of School Solutions

Duncombe School; Dubai; Hybrid; AED 350,000 - 550,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognita, a global network of independent schools, is seeking a Head of School Solutions to join our Enterprise Technology team in Dubai. You will own the centrally supported school-application portfolio, set the roadmap, lead delivery, and manage vendors to ensure systems improve life in our schools.

You'll lead a distributed team across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, drive standardisation while protecting local needs, and partner with education leaders to deliver scalable, high-quality MIS

Qualifications

• Minimum experience in the education sector.
• Strong stakeholder management with senior leaders.
• Technology leadership and product ownership in school systems.
• Proven track record of leading multi-site rollouts.
• Experience with ITIL/Agile is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the School Solutions roadmap across regions.
• Standardise and improve school systems landscape.
• Lead rollouts, upgrades, and continuous improvement.
• Manage vendor performance and licensing.
• Develop a distributed team of specialists.

Skills

Education sector experience

Stakeholder management

Technology leadership

Product ownership

Leadership of distributed teams

Tools

School MIS platforms

Job description

About Cognita

Cognita is a global leader in independent education. Founded in 2004, we are a growing community of 90 schools in 20 countries - in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East - serving more than 100,000 students. Each of our schools are proudly unique, however our collective purpose is to create an environment where everyone can, "Thrive in a rapidly evolving world".

At Cognita, we’re a global community of schools committed to making a lasting difference in education. We’re looking for a Head of School Solutions to join our Enterprise Technology team in Dubai and shape the technology that teachers, school leaders and families use every day.

About the Role

You’ll own our centrally supported school-application portfolio, including MIS, parent communication, timetabling, ECA management, parent-teacher conferencing, safeguarding tools and LMS standardisation. You’ll set the roadmap, lead delivery, manage vendors and make sure these systems genuinely improve life in our schools.

What you'll be doing

• Owning the School Solutions roadmap, working closely with Education teams, school leaders and clusters.
• Simplifying and standardising our school systems landscape while protecting local needs and educational outcomes.
• Leading rollouts, upgrades and continuous improvement across multiple schools and regions.
• Driving service quality, SLAs and incident management, with clear ownership and communication.
• Managing vendor performance, licensing and renewals.
• Leading and developing a distributed team of specialists across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Who we are looking for

• Experience in the education sector. This is essential.
• Excellent stakeholder management. You can hold confident, credible conversations with headteachers and senior education leaders, listen to what they need and manage expectations with honesty and care.
• Technology leadership and product ownership in school MIS or education application environments.
• A track record of leading teams and delivering complex rollouts across multiple sites.
• Strong vendor, service-management and change/adoption skills.
• A schools-first mindset.
• Nice to have: Experience with iSAMS, SchoolBox or similar platforms, time spent in a global or multi-country schools group, and ITIL or Agile/project-management certification.

How we work

This role is based in our Dubai office around four days a week, with flexibility across time zones and some domestic and international travel to our schools and offices.

Cognita Schools is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All appointments are subject to safer recruitment checks, including an enhanced DBS check. Our Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy is available on the school website. Details on Recruitment of Ex-Offenders is included within the Application Guidance.

We are an equal opportunities employer committed to diversity and treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of background.

Early applications are encouraged, we reserve the right to interview and appoint prior to closing date for the right applicant. Screening will be on-going through the application process.