Dean of Admissions & Marketing

Position Overview

The Dean of Admissions and Marketing plays a vital role on the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), responsible for managing the Academy’s complete admissions processes, enrollment management, and marketing strategies. This position entails leading strategic planning, implementing operational activities, and driving continuous enhancement in recruitment initiatives, market positioning, communication approaches, and applicant evaluations. Furthermore, the role includes overseeing the Talent Identification & Development (TID/ITID) and Rebalancing programs.

This role is crucial for boosting the Academy’s visibility, credibility, and outreach both domestically within India and internationally, ensuring that enrollment practices align with the institution’s mission and effectively represent the Academy’s educational offerings in line with the principles of the Aga Khan Academies and AKDN.

The Dean will report to the Head of Academy and work closely with various departments, including Network Communications, Financial Aid, Residential Life, Academic Leadership Teams, along with counterparts from AKS/AKES and external partners.

Core Responsibilities

1. Strategic Leadership in Admissions & Enrollment Management

• Lead the development, execution, and annual evaluation of a data-informed enrollment management strategy that covers recruitment, pipeline development, conversion, retention, and projected enrollment needs.
• Set medium- and long-term admissions objectives that align with the Academy’s strategic vision, values, financial framework, and diversity goals.
• Oversee the applicant assessment process, ensuring it maintains quality, integrity, fairness, and alignment with the Academy’s mission.
• Collaborate with the ITID manager to supervise and ensure the quality of TID/ITID programs, concentrating on the effective identification, assessment, and onboarding of high-potential students facing resource constraints.
• Ensure all policies and practices adhere to network-wide standards, national regulations, and AKDN guidelines.

2. Marketing, Communications & Brand Visibility

• Develop and execute a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy that elevates the Academy’s profile and visibility on regional, national, and global stages.
• Guide the Academy’s Communications Specialist in managing digital engagement, including website content, online campaigns, social media, email marketing, and digital storytelling in partnership with the Network Communications team.
• Ensure consistency and high quality in the Academy’s brand identity across all print, digital, and multimedia communications.
• Oversee the creation of brochures, prospectuses, videos, event materials, and promotional content that aligns with the Academy’s mission.
• Ensure that crisis communication protocols are current, regularly practiced, and integrated with network standards.

3. Recruitment, Outreach & Relationships

• Lead strategic outreach initiatives across India and neighboring countries, identifying new markets while strengthening existing ones.
• Build relationships with feeder schools, educational consultants, corporations, embassies, NGOs, and community organizations.
• Represent the Academy at educational fairs, corporate briefings, community events, and international school networks.
• Design and implement innovative engagement activities for prospective families, partners, and alumni.
• Oversee international outreach efforts related to diversity objectives and potential scholarship opportunities.

4. Admissions Operations & Applicant Journey

• Ensure exceptional customer service and responsiveness throughout the applicant lifecycle.
• Enhance parent-facing systems to ensure admission processes are transparent, timely, data-informed, and predictable.
• Collaborate with academic teams, residential life, college counseling, finance, and other departments to facilitate a smooth applicant evaluation and onboarding process.

Apply via the WhatSchool platform.