MS&E Data and Projects Manager

Cognita Schools; United Arab Emirates; On-site; AED 350,000 - 650,000; Full time

Job summary

Cognita is looking for an MS&E Data and Projects Manager to turn information from across our clusters and schools into one trusted, decision-ready view of commercial performance. Sitting at the heart of our Marketing, Sales & Experience function, you'll lead cross-functional projects and own the dashboard and reporting platforms to deliver clear insights for senior leadership.

This high-visibility role requires turning multi-source data into commercial insight, owning dashboards in Power BI and

Qualifications

• Strong analytical skills with ability to translate data into actionable insights.
• Experience building, maintaining, or migrating dashboards across multiple systems.
• Experience in data/insight or commercial operations roles within multi-site organizations.
• Ability to coordinate cross-functional projects end-to-end.
• Excellent written and verbal communication for senior stakeholders.
• Degree-level education or equivalent professional experience.

Responsibilities

• Collate and reconcile data into a consolidated view of commercial performance for the CCO.
• Run and coordinate cross-functional projects across Marketing, Sales, CRM, Parent Experience and Finance.
• Own the Brand Health Score process end-to-end, outputs for CCO and MD review.
• Own the Group's market research and insight programme, including annual EY research and Annual Market Insights.
• Provide data insight on pupil, enrolment and joiner reporting to support decision-making and governance.
• Support Sales forecasting alignment with Finance.
• Own dashboards and reporting projects underpinning the MS&E transformation, defining requirements, testing and rollout.
• Own the rollover and maintenance of reporting across HubSpot, Power BI and manual trackers.
• Prepare decision-ready reporting and insight packs for CCO, CEO, CFO, cluster leaders and governance forums.

Skills

Analytical skills

Power BI

HubSpot / CRM knowledge

Project management

Data reconciliation

Communication

Multi-region coordination

Stakeholder engagement

Quality control

Attention to detail

Education

Degree-level education or equivalent professional experience

Tools

Power BI

HubSpot CRM

Job description

Working with us

Cognita is a global family of over 90 schools across 21 countries, with more than 100,000 students, 22,000 colleagues, 14 curricula and 9 languages of instruction. Our strength lies in our diversity. There is no single model of a Cognita school because education is inherently local. When families choose a school, they are making a deeply personal and community-based decision, and our schools reflect this.

Working with us

Cognita is a global family of over 90 schools across 21 countries, with more than 100,000 students, 22,000 colleagues, 14 curricula and 9 languages of instruction. Our strength lies in our diversity. There is no single model of a Cognita school because education is inherently local. When families choose a school, they are making a deeply personal and community-based decision, and our schools reflect this. What unites us is a shared ambition to deliver consistently high-quality education, alongside an exceptional experience for students and parents. We define this clearly through group-wide standards that articulate what “great” looks like, while allowing schools the freedom to express their local identity. We have recently launched a new vision and strategic plan. It is ambitious and sets a clear direction for the years ahead.

Job Overview

Cognita is looking for an MS&E Data and Projects Manager to turn information from across our clusters and schools into one trusted, decision-ready view of commercial performance. Sitting at the heart of our Marketing, Sales & Experience function, you'll be the person senior stakeholders rely on to tell them what's really happening across the business - and to run the projects that make reporting better, faster and more consistent. This is a high-visibility role with direct exposure to the CCO, CEO and CFO, and a great opportunity for someone who loves turning messy, multi-source data into clear commercial insight.

What You'll Do

• Collate and reconcile data from across teams and clusters into one consolidated, trusted view of commercial performance for the CCO
• Run and coordinate cross-functional projects spanning Marketing, Sales, CRM, Parent Experience and Finance
• Own the Brand Health Score process end-to-end, coordinating school-level assessments and preparing outputs for CCO and MD review
• Own the Group's market research and insight programme, including the annual EY research and Annual Market Insights
• Provide data insight on pupil, enrolment and joiner reporting to support commercial decision-making and governance
• Support Sales forecasting alignment with Finance
• Act as business owner for dashboard and process projects underpinning the MS&E transformation, defining requirements, testing and rollout
• Own the rollover and maintenance of reporting across HubSpot, Power BI and manual trackers
• Prepare decision-ready reporting and insight packs for CCO, CEO, CFO, cluster leaders and governance forums

What You'll Bring

Essential:

• Strong analytical skills; able to collate, interpret and quality-check data from multiple regions and functions into a single trusted view
• Working knowledge of Power BI and HubSpot (or equivalent CRM/BI platforms), including building, maintaining and migrating dashboards
• Strong project and business-ownership discipline, able to run cross-functional projects end-to-end
• Excellent attention to detail, particularly when consolidating manual, CRM and BI reporting into one consistent set of numbers
• Clear written and verbal communication, with the ability to turn data into insight for senior stakeholders
• Degree-level education or equivalent professional experience
• Experience in a data, insight, commercial operations or project management role within a multi-site or multi-region organisation
• Proven experience building, maintaining or migrating dashboards and reporting across multiple systems
• Experience reconciling data from regional or cluster teams into group-level reporting
• Experience acting as business owner for a data, process or dashboard project

Desirable:

• Experience with market research methodology and interpreting third-party research (e.g. L.E.K. or similar)
• Experience designing or scoring structured assessment frameworks (e.g. brand, quality or performance scorecards)
• Certification or training in data analytics, business intelligence or market research
• Experience in K-12, independent or international education, or another multi-site consumer/service organisation
• Experience supporting market research, brand assessment or pupil/enrolment reporting

Cognita is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and expects the same from its employees. All new staff will be subject to detailed and enhanced pre-employment clearance, including identity checks, criminal background checks for all countries lived in, qualification checks, employment checks to include an exploration of any gaps in employment, and satisfactory reference checks for all employment in the last 10 years.