Head of School Solutions

Cognita Schools; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 350,000 - 550,000; Full time

Job summary

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

You will lead a distributed team across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, with the aim of simplifying our landscape while preserving local needs and educational outcomes. The role is based in Dubai with travel as needed.

Qualifications

• Experience in the education sector is essential.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication with school leaders.
• Technology leadership and product ownership in school MIS or education apps.
• Track record leading teams and delivering complex rollouts across multiple sites.
• Strong vendor, service-management and change/adoption skills.
• Schools-first mindset and ability to engage diverse stakeholders.
• Nice to have: experience with iSAMS, SchoolBox or similar platforms; global/multi-country exposure.
• ITIL or Agile/project-management certifications are a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the School Solutions roadmap with Education teams and leaders.
• Standardise and simplify the school's systems landscape while protecting local needs.
• Lead rollouts, upgrades and continuous improvement across multiple schools and regions.
• Drive service quality, SLAs and incident management with clear ownership.
• Manage vendor performance, licensing and renewals.
• Lead and develop a distributed team across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Skills

Education sector experience

Stakeholder management

Technology leadership

Product ownership

Vendor management

Change/adoption

Distributed team leadership

Education

ITIL certification

Agile / project-management certification

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. You understand how schools work, from academic calendars and daily operations to the data that flows through them.
• 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.