Director of Admissions and Marketing

Director of Admissions and Marketing
Nord Anglia International School Shanghai, Pudong

We are in search of an accomplished leader in marketing and sales to manage the Marketing, Admissions, and Communications department at Nord Anglia International School Shanghai, Pudong (NAIS Pudong).

In this position, you will work closely with the School Principal, Senior Leadership Team (SLT), Regional MAC Team, and School MAC team to design an outstanding experience for parents and students throughout every stage of the Parent Experience Journey (PEJ), ranging from Awareness and Consideration to Purchase and Advocacy. Your responsibilities will include establishing and maintaining all related policies, procedures, quality standards, and customer service benchmarks to ensure they are met for all prospective families and influencers. As an inspiring leader, you will develop your team while engaging effectively with the broader school community. You will also represent the school externally and be a respected member of the School Senior Leadership Team.

As the Director of Admissions and Marketing (DAM), you will be responsible for achieving ambitious performance targets and must have a strong history of delivering results. Your background should encompass strategic marketing and recruitment experience along with proficiency in customer relationship management. Essential qualities for success in this role include proactivity, enthusiasm, efficiency, emotional intelligence, and the ability to inspire confidence and respect. Extensive leadership experience in a complex environment and the ability to build lasting relationships with stakeholders, students, and partners are also crucial.

Candidates should possess a relevant qualification and demonstrate the necessary management skills and experience to lead and enhance the department, as well as a clear understanding of the school’s character and mission.

The ideal candidate will have:

- A degree
- 7-10 years of experience in a Sales/Marketing role with a proven history of driving sales growth in a competitive setting
- Experience in the service delivery sector; experience in the education sector is a plus
- Proven networking skills to create innovative and mutually beneficial relationships that support strategic and tactical business growth
- An understanding of how to foster strong customer advocacy, loyalty, and retention
- Strong analytical skills with a successful record of using data and research to support initiatives
- The ability to build, manage, and motivate high-performing cross-functional teams
- Familiarity with CRM systems and their integration into the sales process
- Knowledge of monitoring competitor market activities
- Experience in leveraging digital and social media trends and tools to influence the sales process

Key Responsibilities:

Adapt and implement the Parent Experience Journey for the school.

- Lead the design and execution of all essential touchpoints for parents and children throughout the PEJ, ensuring families engage with the school’s narrative and commitments firsthand.
- Drive the development and implementation of best practices across the entire PEJ, utilizing the global toolkit and communication frameworks while striving for excellence.
- Oversee the implementation of our Nord Anglia Admissions Signatures by leveraging the global toolkit and showcasing best practices from the group.

Lead, coach, and support the Admissions team to meet annual enrollment goals.

- Develop, implement, and continuously assess marketing, retention, and admissions strategies.
- Initiate projects to generate inquiries through both online and offline marketing efforts.
- Set up key processes and guide the team in assisting parents and students through the admissions journey, ensuring the experience is positive, seamless, and engaging.
- Manage all parent communications to ensure responsiveness (within 24 hours during the workweek), quality (with attention to detail in both written and verbal communication), and a warm, enthusiastic team attitude.

Guide the team to maintain accurate data management in school systems, aiding responsive decision-making throughout the enrollment process and ensuring precise forecasting during annual planning.

- Supervise data capture and lead management through Salesforce to ensure compliance with NAE business rules related to data management.
- Analyze enrollment data to identify opportunities and risks, developing strategies to capitalize on and mitigate them.

Direct the Marketing & Communications team to understand the needs of internal and external stakeholders, crafting marketing and communication strategies that effectively convey key school messages in a timely and engaging manner.

- Collaborate with the Marketing Manager and Regional Director of Admissions & Marketing to enhance the school’s brand equity and unique selling proposition within the local market, aligning with the Nord Anglia brand and school messaging.
- Ensure consistent application of the school brand style guide across all materials, including core Nord Anglia branding and marketing campaigns such as Juilliard, MIT, UNICEF, and Global Campus.

Provide essential leadership, coaching, and sharing of best practices with the MAC team, Principal, SLT, academic faculty, and regional/global MAC teams.

- Mentor and develop members of the Marketing, Admissions, and Communications team to meet performance targets.
- Support the Principal in cultivating a collaborative culture, ensuring that admissions is viewed as a shared responsibility across the school.

EMPLOYMENT START DATE: Negotiable, as soon as possible

What we offer:

Joining the Nord Anglia Education family means being part of a networked admissions and marketing team where collaboration, idea sharing, and best practices are encouraged. This dynamic environment promotes cross-border exchange and collaboration at all levels, making it an exciting place to be. The role offers a challenging and diverse full-time opportunity within a vibrant and growing school, allowing you to help share the stories of our students and support our community in creating a welcoming atmosphere for all families.