Community Engagement Manager

The Community Engagement Manager will:
Leadership:
- A palpable clarity of purpose that is shared, understood and lived: Communicate a clear vision for community engagement that aligns with the school's mission and values. Ensure that the customer service and liaison teams understand the goal of family retention and uphold the standards of Customer Focus Excellence. Lead by example and effectively monitor the impact to ensure this vision is shared, understood, and lived.
- A culture that has been intentionally created and managed through trust and empowerment:
+ Foster a culture of trust and empowerment within the community engagement team, encouraging innovation and collaboration.
+ Collaborate with other teams (Marketing, Communications, and Events) as well as internal stakeholders (Leadership, Faculty, Parents Teacher Organization) to establish standards and processes that drive family satisfaction, pride, retention, and advocacy.
- An inclusive community that actively promotes diversity:
+ Promote diversity and inclusion through community programs and initiatives that engage a wide range of stakeholders.
+ Address diverse needs, concerns, and complaints from parents promptly and effectively, ensuring that all perspectives are valued and cultural aspects are respected.
+ Foster an inclusive approach where every community member feels heard and respected.
- Leadership at all levels, utilising sound evidence to inform decision-making and innovation :
+ Actively engage in the Senior Strategic Leadership and Design Team (SSLDT)
+ Actively engage with the Primary and Secondary Leadership Team
+ Oversee and strengthen relationships with the Parents Teacher Organization (PTO) and alumni community.
+ Effectively manage the Customer Service Team, including customer service officers who handle inbound inquiries and the
+ Community Liaison Team (Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese) who support parent communities and faculty by facilitating communication, translation, cultural perspectives, and event coordination.
+ Utilize data and evidence-based practices to inform decision-making and drive improvements in community engagement.
+ Lead the PTO election and AGM processes
- Self-evaluation and use of feedback for individual, team and school improvement
+ Active engagement in the Let's Talk process individually and as line manager
+ Assist the Director of Marketing, Communications and Community Engagement with the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of performance improvement plans
- Continuous professional learning that leads to growth in expertise for individuals and teams
+ Collaborate in developing professional learning programmes
+ Lead professional learning opportunities for the Community Engagement Team on best practices of customer service and community engagement.
+ Offer opportunities to the PTO to engage in learning opportunities about community engagement, volunteering, safeguarding, first-aid trainings and other relevant subjects.
+ Stay updated on community engagement and customer service trends
+ Contribute to regular Reports as necessary and Divisional and School Wide School Communications
- A well-cared-for and inspirational environment that embeds safeguarding and safety in all aspects
+ Promote Safeguarding as the core of our school culture.
+ Promote Health and Safety as everyone 's responsibility
+ Communicate feedback and comments from the community regarding facilities, safety, and safeguarding to ensure that relevant departments and committees incorporate them into their improvement plans. Actively follow up and make sure the community is informed.
- Listening to and engaging with the wider community:
+ Communicate effectively with parents any subject related to school life
+ Organise in collaboration with the events manager and any appropriate stakeholders workshops, focus groups and community events focused on any topics that could drive community experience improvement.
+ Lead the administration and analysis of our two annual satisfaction surveys (CIS and Voice Of Parents). Track and analyze multi-channel community feedback and comments each term to nurture and activate our feedback/improvement loop.
+ Using AI as a toll lead the administration and analysis of regular community pulse surveys
+ Collaborate with the Events manager to create Alumni engagement opportunities, ensuring Alumni events & stories, are showcased by the Marketing and Communications team and making sure the Alumni network benefits to our Students Community.
+ Collaborate with the communications team to ensure transparency and effective communication with the Parents Community about feedback and improvements.Build meaningful opportunities for all stakeholders to have voice, choice and ownership of continuous improvement.
+ Collaborate with Primary and Secondary Principals as well as the Co-Curricular and the Student Support Services Teams to integrate the parent perspective into their initiatives
- Engaging reciprocally in the Cognita system and outward-looking partnerships: Effectively partner with Cognita schools to create opportunities to enhance the community experience and enhance community engagement practices.
+ Effectively partner with Cognita schools to create opportunities to enhance the community experience and enhance community engagement practices.
+ Share leading practice with Cognita schools
- Use of behaviour and language that develops an adaptive mindset for colleagues: Foster a collaborative and supportive professional culture among staff, encouraging open communication, empathy and and foster a growth and positive mindset.
Operational Excellence
- Create a working environment with clear accountabilities, responsibilities and lines of communication that include: Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and communication channels within the community engagement team.
- A mindset of continuous improvement, underpinned by learning and feedback: Coach and inspire the team to make sure they execute the vision and purpose of the Community Engagement team.
Promote a culture of continuous improvement, encouraging team members to seek feedback and learn from experiences.
- Optimal and efficient people structures that are fit for future purpose
- An understood framework of policies, processes and procedures that fit the context and local regulations: Develop and maintain policies, processes, and procedures related to all stages of our community's journey with the school: onboarding, life at school, offboarding, and as alumni.
Make sure these processes comply with local regulations and support effective operations in a Whole-School context.
- Using a range of data to set goals and measure impact: Use data analytics to set engagement goals, measure outcomes, and adjust strategies accordingly.
- Taking accountability for operating safely within agreed parameters: Ensure all community engagement activities are conducted safely and within agreed parameters.
- Delivering the agreed budget by being cost-conscious and efficient: Manage the community engagement budget effectively, prioritizing cost-efficiency and resource optimization.
- Utilising technology where it can support improved operational performance: Leverage technology to streamline operations and enhance community engagement efforts (customer service inbound call management, tracking of calls, chatbox, chatbot, CRM...)
Growth
- Exceptional holistic education that is translated and communicated through community experiences, building the school's reputation and delivering the promise to parents: Build strong relationships with faculty to support the communications and marketing teams in creating compelling content that promotes the holistic education experiences provided by the school. This content should build the school's reputation, generate interest among prospective families, and foster satisfaction and pride among enrolled families. The goal is to retain current families and encourage them to become ambassadors who refer new families to the school.
- High-quality experiences for all school stakeholders that build advocacy and loyalty:Cultivate strong partnerships with parents and caregivers to promote a shared responsibility for student well-being and success.
Collaborate with the Events Team and the Parents Teacher Organization to design and implement community-focused events and initiatives that foster a strong, connected community.
Work with the Events and Academic teams to establish parent education programs that enhance parents' understanding and involvement in their children's education
- Effective retention and enrolment policies, processes and systems: Lead family re-enrollment campaigns to ensure high retention rates.
Oversee the leaver process, ensuring that all involved stakeholders fulfill their roles, from leaver prevention to the final exit conversation. This includes the delivery of all necessary documents and facilitating emotional transition conversations to support departing families.
- A mindset of ambition that each school should be fully utilised: Cultivate an ambitious mindset within the team to maximize the outcome of the Community Engagement Team and reach the set KPI
- Being intentionally aware and adaptable to the changing operating environment : Stay informed and adaptable to changes within the community (profile, expectations), ensuring the school remains responsive to the evolving needs and dynamics of our families.
Characteristics and Capabilities:
Strong understanding of community engagement in an international and diverse context
Strong leadership, communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to build and maintain relationships with a diverse community
Excellent face-to-face and verbal communicator with the ability to engage others and to make own message understood by stakeholders
Excellent listening skills, able to understand the subtleties of communications, detect the underlying message and solve problems. Strong ability to address concerns and complaints professionally.
Empathetic with the school community, able to engage with the needs of parents to share communications and generate activities and events that are relevant and impactful to generate advocacy of the School
Ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, including students, parents, staff, and external agencies, academic staff and school leadership.
Commitment to fostering an inclusive and equitable school environment that celebrates diversity and promotes respect for all individuals.
Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in Communications, Business, Customer Experience, Hospitality, or Education (Master's Degree preferred)
Minimum of 3 years of experience in any role including community engagement and/or customer service
Experience in an educational setting is a plus.
Demonstrated managing experience any area
Multilingual skills are a plus