Downe House Riyadh is looking to appoint an exceptional Admissions and Parent Experience Manager to join our vibrant and growing community. This is a pivotal role for a dynamic, service-oriented professional who is passionate about delivering an outstanding experience to prospective and current families.
As the first point of contact for many parents, you will embody the school's values through every interactionensuring a warm welcome, clear communication, and a seamless admissions journey.
You will play a central role in building relationships, driving parent engagement, and strengthening the school's reputation for excellence.
This role requires a fluent Arabic speaker who brings confidence, empathy, professionalism, and a strong commitment to outstanding service.
About Cognita:
Cognita is a global leader in independent education. Founded in 2004, we are a growing community of 100+ schools in 16 countries - in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East - serving more than 85,000 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 know every student is unique. We nurture their distinct personalities and strengths. We support them academically, socially, and emotionally, wherever they are in the world, wherever they're starting from. We protect what's special about them, while offering them rich knowledge, opportunities, and best practices. And they get to be part of something bigger; ensuring they get an education that's, quite literally, world class.
About Downe House Riyadh:
Opened in September 2022, Downe House Riyadh delivers a world-class British curriculum in partnership with one of the UK's most celebrated girls-only private schools. With over a century of excellence, Downe House UK consistently ranks among the country's top five all-girls schools.
Located in the prestigious Aqeeq neighbourhood in northern Riyadh, the school offers a British curriculum enriched with Downe House UK's tradition and expertise. The programme is carefully adapted for Saudi Arabia, ensuring girls achieve excellence in Arabic and Islamic Studies alongside core subjects.
The close partnership between the Riyadh and UK schools is evident in both philosophy and practice. At the heart of the Downe House ethos is the individual: every girl's strength, challenges, and interests are recognised, with bespoke pathways that foster confidence and success.
Downe House Riyadh offers:
- A first-class British education leading to IGCSEs and A Levels
- Academic excellence in girls education
- Exceptional pastoral care and opportunities for personal growth
- A wide range of co-curricular activities
The school nurtures intellectual curiosity, creativity, and respect for others through strong pastoral systems, personalised tutoring, and a spotlight on every student.
School Structure:
- Pre-Prep: Nursery to Year 2 (ages 27)
- Prep: Year 3 to Year 8 (ages 713)
- Senior: Year 9 to Year 13 (ages 1318)
Boys and girls are admitted from Pre-School to Year 4.
The state-of-the-art campus features dedicated libraries, central atriums, science and design labs, art studios, a 450-seat theatre, music, dance, and drama facilities, IT labs, and both senior and learner swimming pools.
Job Purpose:
The Admissions and Parent Experience Manager leads the full parent journeyfrom first enquiry to enrolment and beyond. The post holder ensures a smooth admissions process, delivers exceptional customer service, and supports a strong, engaged, and connected parent community.
You will play a key role in shaping family experiences, supporting retention, and contributing to the school's continued growth.
Key Responsibilities
Customer Service Excellence
- Lead initiatives to enhance parent satisfaction and strengthen the school's reputation for exceptional service.
- Promote a customer-first culture across all parent touchpoints.
- Manage and support the front-of-house reception team, ensuring high standards and continuous improvement.
- Facilitate parent-facing events that build community and deepen family engagement.
Admissions Process Management
- Deliver a seamless and efficient admissions journey, maintaining strong conversion rates.
- Support the implementation of processes such as onboarding, withdrawal, and communication calendars.
- Oversee the withdrawal process with sensitivity, completing exit interviews to gather feedback.
Organic Growth & Retention
- Support analysis of admissions and retention KPIs; contribute to strategies that exceed growth targets.
- Implement and refine retention initiatives using feedback and performance data.
- Build strong relationships with families and act as a brand ambassadoronline and offline.
- Coordinate with finance, operations, academic teams and Heads of Section to elevate the family experience.
- Manage re-enrolment processes and transition events.
In-School Touchpoints
- Serve as the primary contact for visiting parentsensuring a warm, professional welcome.
- Manage visitor logistics in line with safeguarding protocols.
- Address parent queries promptly and empathetically.
Event Management
- Lead planning and delivery of parent-facing events (e.g., Open Days, onboarding sessions, community events).
- Ensure strong coordination with admissions, academic staff and operations.
- Track engagement and feedback following events.
School Tours
- Design and maintain an engaging campus tour route showcasing school strengths.
- Conduct tours for prospective families with confidence and extensive knowledge.
- Train and support staff involved in tour delivery.
Content Capture
- Coordinate photos, videos and quotes from events and school life for communications.
- Ensure all consent and safeguarding protocols are followed.
Assessments & Interviews
- Coordinate logistics for student assessments and interviews.
- Communicate clearly with families throughout the process.
- Support academic teams to ensure smooth delivery.
Parent Surveys
- Distribute surveys according to the school's parent engagement calendar.
- Support follow-ups and contribute to initial analysis.
Daily Parent Experience
- Maintain excellence in day-to-day parent interactions at reception and across campus.
- Support parents informally during drop-offs, pick-ups and events.
- Foster a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Parent Community Building
- Support Parent Associations or Ambassador groups.
- Assist in organising informal parent gatherings and interest-based groups.
- Promote inclusivity and cultural sensitivity.
Communications
- Regular Communication
- Support newsletters, updates and weekly bulletins in alignment with school tone and branding.
- Reactive Communication
- Respond promptly and professionally to parent queries.
- Escalate concerns appropriately, ensuring transparency and care.
- Track FAQs to support proactive messaging.
Safeguarding and Ethical Practice
- Uphold the highest standards of child safeguarding in all parent-facing interactions.
- Follow campus access protocols and collaborate with the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL).
- Report concerns as per school procedures.
- Participate in safeguarding training and promote a respectful, inclusive environment.
Person Specification
- Bachelor's degree in Communications, Education, Hospitality, Business Administration or a related field.
- Willingness to complete required safeguarding training.
- Minimum 3 years in customer service, school administration, event management or parent engagement.
- Experience within a school or family-oriented organisation is an advantage.
- Proven ability to manage high-touch communication with diverse communities.
- Fluent Arabic and English (written and spoken).
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Strong organisational and multitasking abilities.
- High attention to detail and strong follow-through.
- Competence in IT systems (email platforms, CRM, admissions tools, survey tools).
- Highly empathetic, approachable and service-oriented.
- Culturally sensitive and respectful.
- Calm and professional under pressure.
- Collaborative team player.
- Discreet and trustworthy with sensitive information.
Why Join Downe House Riyadh
- Be part of a prestigious, globally connected school with a reputation for excellence.
- Work within a supportive and professional team that values collaboration and innovation.
- Gain experience in a dynamic international school setting while contributing to a meaningful short-term project.
Our Offer:
The successful candidate will benefit from an attractive tax-free salary. In addition, there will be a significant commitment to supporting the development and career goals of the successful candidates.
Interviews will take place online/ in person.
Complete this application before the closing date. The Closing Date for Application is
15th January 2026. Please include your current, up-to-date CV.
We are an equal opportunities employer committed to diversity and treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of background.
The school reserves the right to interview and appoint strong candidates before the official closing date, and therefore we would encourage candidates to apply early in the process.
Thank you for your interest in Downe House Riyadh. Due to the large number of applications expected, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
Downe House Riyadh School and Cognita are 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.
