Head of Parent Experience (UK)

Cognita Schools; Greater London; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Aviva Pension

25 Days Holiday Allowance + Bank Hols

School fee discount

Exclusive third-party discounts

Professional Development

Job summary

Cognita is seeking a Senior Manager, Parent Experience, UK, to drive exceptional hospitality across its UK school portfolio. The role involves regular travel across UK sites and reporting to the Head of Marketing, Sales & Experience, UK and Southern Europe.

You will implement a culture of Unreasonable Hospitality, own quality assurance, plan signature events, and leverage data to improve conversion, retention and loyalty. A hands-on coaching approach will uplift school teams.

Qualifications

• Experience leading customer, guest or parent experience across multi-site environments.
• Proven ability to own QA, audits or mystery shopping programmes.
• Experience designing signature events or flagship experiences for premium audiences.
• Experience owning onboarding, retention, feedback and service recovery.
• Data-driven with ability to diagnose conversion and retention issues.
• Hands-on coaching to raise capability across school teams.

Responsibilities

• Build a culture of Unreasonable Hospitality across UK schools and personalise every interaction.
• Shape a portfolio of flagship events and community occasions.
• Run the UK quality assurance programme with audits and mystery shopping.
• Embed standards from pre-arrival to 90 days post-join, with empathy and ownership when things go wrong.
• Map touchpoints from enquiry to re-enrolment and use data to drive improvements.
• Coach school leaders and Parent Experience teams to raise hospitality standards.

Skills

Customer experience leadership

Data analytics

Coaching

Multi-site experience

Hospitality mindset

Retention & loyalty

Education

Degree-level education

Tools

CRM systems

Data analytics tools

Job description

Senior Manager, Parent Experience, UK

UK-based, with regular travel across UK school sites | Marketing, Sales & Experience | Reports to the Head of Marketing, Sales & Parent Experience, UK and Southern Europe

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".

About the Role:

When a parent chooses a Cognita school, we want them to feel they made the right choice, from the first call to the first day and every ordinary day after that. As Senior Manager, Parent Experience, you’ll shape that feeling across our whole UK portfolio. You’ll be accountable for results that show it: stronger conversion, deeper loyalty and families who stay.

What you’ll be doing:

• Building a culture of Unreasonable Hospitality. You’ll help every school team anticipate what families need and personalise every interaction, from Front of House to academic and pastoral conversations. You’ll adapt our Group playbooks to each school’s community while keeping the standard premium everywhere.
• Making signature events unforgettable. You’ll shape a portfolio of flagship, transition and community occasions that feel distinctive and true to each school, and that families talk about for years to come.
• Holding the line on quality. You’ll run our UK quality assurance programme, using audits, mystery shopping and spot checks. You’ll calibrate standards so a family at one school gets the same exceptional experience as a family at any other, and you’ll close any gaps with clear action plans.
• Getting new families off to a great start. You’ll embed our standards across pre-arrival, the first day and the first 30, 60 and 90 days. When things go wrong, you’ll make sure they’re put right quickly, with empathy and ownership.
• Following the data. You’ll map every touchpoint from enquiry to re-enrolment and use CRM, experience and conversion data to see where families disengage and where they thrive. You’ll use that evidence to decide where to focus effort and investment.
• Keeping families with us. You’ll make retention a whole-school priority alongside Heads and SLTs. You’ll use our Voice of Parent framework, including NPS, surveys and withdrawal insight, to turn feedback into visible action. You’ll spot withdrawal risk early, and strengthen belonging and advocacy through parent ambassadors, referrals and community engagement.
• Building capability in school teams. You’ll coach school leaders and Parent Experience teams so exceptional hospitality is simply how we do things. You’ll run the UK performance rhythm, lead focused recovery plans in priority schools, and work with Marketing & Admissions so tours and open days support conversion. You’ll also give leadership a clear view of UK conversion, retention and family sentiment. You’ll line manage school-based Parent Experience Managers and Executives (dotted line).

Who we're looking for:

You know what great hospitality feels like, and you can show the numbers that prove it works. You’re a hands-on coach and a sharp analyst, you hold high standards with warmth, and you’re confident enough to raise the bar in schools you don’t run.

You’ll have:

• Proven experience leading customer, guest or parent experience within a multi-site education, hospitality or premium consumer environment, with a track record of raising service standards and measurably improving retention, loyalty or lifetime value
• Experience owning quality assurance, audit or mystery-shopping programmes that hold standards consistently across multiple sites
• Experience designing, curating or elevating signature events or flagship experiences for a premium audience
• Experience owning experience delivery, including onboarding, retention, feedback and service recovery
• Confidence using data and analytics to understand touchpoints, diagnose conversion and retention issues, target interventions and make a commercial, evidence-based case for change
• Practical, hands-on coaching ability, with a record of raising the capability and consistency of school-based teams
• Degree-level education or equivalent professional experience

For the role profile, please click here .

Benefits at Cognita:

• Competitive salary depending upon qualifications and experience
• Aviva Pension
• 25 Days Holiday Allowance + Bank Holidays
• School fee discount
• Exclusive third-party discounts
• Professional Development

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.