Job Description

SingaporeNon-Academic - Operations /Full Time /On-siteCurrently, more than 1800 students are learning at GESS supported by more than 400 full time and part time academic and administrative staff members. In August 2018 GESS moved to Dairy Farm Road to a modern new school campus located at the edge of Singapore\'s largest nature reserve.Job PurposeThe School Services Manager holds a key position with direct responsibility for ensuring that GESS develops and maintains a strong reputation for delivering a best-in-class family experience. This entails establishing and nurturing relationships with GESS families. The role serves as the main point of contact for GESS families regarding non-classroom matters. The candidate is required to have a friendly and customer-oriented personality, as the main focus of the job will largely comprise a mixture of email, telephone, and face-to-face communication with GESS families. Increasing parent satisfaction and driving advocacy are key objectives, with these shared metrics serving as measures of the family experience at GESS. The School Services Manager also assists the Head of School Services and Director of Customer Experience in evaluating and researching to develop standard operating procedures and processes, while providing constructive feedback to other operational and family-facing departments. The role manages the current enrolled family lifecycle for non-classroom matters in close cooperation with academic and other operations teams. Additionally, the School Services Manager oversees and manages administrative support for the School Services department, including but not limited to school routines and providing support for current families, including parents, teachers, and students.Key Accountabilities:Family Management:\xc2\xb7 Act as the main point of contact for parents and students.\xc2\xb7 Develop positive and caring relationships with families.\xc2\xb7 Provide first-level support for all non-classroom matters, including billing, CCA/LEP, after-school programs, canteen, student/parent ID cards, IT systems, school portals, and financial support/extension requests.\xc2\xb7 Professionally manage complaints, ensuring they are handled following SOPs and agreed timelines.\xc2\xb7 Manage student attendance data and absence requests.\xc2\xb7 Educate and assist parents in understanding school procedures and where to find relevant information.Family Experience and Satisfaction:\xc2\xb7 Define and implement standards/procedures leading to a best-in-class experience.\xc2\xb7 Document all processes and procedures.\xc2\xb7 Conduct surveys to gather information and feedback on procedures and services, identifying opportunities for continuous improvement.\xc2\xb7 Develop and maintain high customer satisfaction with operations and services.\xc2\xb7 Provide effective feedback on areas for improvement to SMT/SLT.Parent Communications:\xc2\xb7 Manage school-to-home (non-classroom) communication.\xc2\xb7 Apply communication and channel guidelines.\xc2\xb7 Manage and produce internal and external communications as required.\xc2\xb7 Ensure families are well-informed, and school communication is effective.Additional Responsibilities and Reports:\xc2\xb7 Handle re-enrolment and student contracts for current families.\xc2\xb7 Manage section transfers and withdrawing families, including extensions and student exit processes.\xc2\xb7 Prepare CPE and government reports as required.\xc2\xb7 Generate ad hoc internal and data integrity reports as needed.Employee Management:\xc2\xb7 Line manage, train, and develop assigned staff.\xc2\xb7 Manage task delegation and ad hoc projects.\xc2\xb7 Handle attendance and leave requests.Relationships:\xc2\xb7 Nurture and maintain excellent internal relationships with key departments.\xc2\xb7 Ensure academic directors are kept informed of any issues or feedback.\xc2\xb7 Collaborate with parent representatives and committees.Data & Systems Management:\xc2\xb7 Manage and maintain relevant student data in the student database, including immigration, passport, custody, and guardianship.\xc2\xb7 Assist in checking for data integrity of student data.\xc2\xb7 Familiarity with school systems and databases.Academic Support, Administration, and Student Support Services:\xc2\xb7 Provide administrative support to Academic Leaders regarding programs and curriculum.\xc2\xb7 Oversee daily operations of the School Services Team.\xc2\xb7 Provide any other support as requested by Academic Leaders.Knowledge and Experience:\xc2\xb7 Diploma/Bachelor\'s Degree in Business Administration or a minimum of 2 years of experience in managing a customer-focused team.\xc2\xb7 At least 5 years of experience in front-line customer relations.\xc2\xb7 Familiar and comfortable with using reporting tools and databases.\xc2\xb7 Knowledge of the German education system.\xc2\xb7 Experience working in a school environment is an advantage.Technical and Soft Skills:\xc2\xb7 Excellent communication, interpersonal, and relationship-building skills.\xc2\xb7 Friendly and customer-service-oriented personality required for this role.\xc2\xb7 Detail-oriented and customer-focused.\xc2\xb7 Organizational, project-management, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.\xc2\xb7 Customer complaint handling and resolution skills.\xc2\xb7 Confident Microsoft Office and CRM database system skills.\xc2\xb7 Willingness to work beyond stipulated hours if required.\xc2\xb7 Professional in written and spoken German and English, as you will be engaging with students, parents and colleagues who speak these languages.Keen to collaborate and share your specialist expertise, you will be a fitting ambassador for the school. You will communicate with confidence across diverse audiences and situations, using your expertise to build strong relationships across the GESS community.Our SchoolThe German European School Singapore (GESS) is a multi-lingual, not-for-profit, German international school in Singapore with a distinct European flavour. As an accredited \'Excellent German School Abroad\', the German Section of GESS offers all major German school leaving certificates.Our European Section offers tuition in English for students from grade 1 - 12 across all three IB programmes (the PYP, the MYP and the IB Diploma Programme) as an authorised IB World School.Children aged 2 years onwards can enroll in our Preschool where children are following the PYP programme in German-speaking, English-speaking or bilingual groups. In addition to an outstanding academic education, GESS strives to teach students community values such as respect, openness and diversity.To ApplyWe offer an exciting working environment in an international and cooperative team. Your application should include a letter of application and your complete resume. Please indicate your reasons for applying for the position.Our Selection ProcessAt GESS we adhere to fair employment practices that consist of hiring practices that are fair, merit-based and non-discriminatory.We are committed to providing a world class, safe, happy environment in which children and young people are able to thrive and learn. We are committed to safeguarding and child protection as we promote the welfare of all our pupils irrespective of race, ability, religion, gender or culture.All post holders are subject to appropriate vetting procedures including satisfactory reference and background checks and the offer of employment will be subject to the completion of these. In addition, the visa entry requirements for Singapore are subject to certain requirements being met. This includes but is not limited to, mandatory diphtheria and measles vaccination requirements for children attending school in Singapore will need to be in place prior to arriving in Singapore in order for the criteria for a child Dependent Pass to be met and the visa granted. Further information on this will be shared at interview stage if applicable.Please note, that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.Safeguarding CommitmentGESS is committed to our responsibilities for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of all children and young people. We actively recruit candidates who share our commitment to safeguarding and, therefore, apply robust and comprehensive recruitment and selection procedures. We expect all appointed staff to adhere to and ensure compliance with the relevant GESS Safeguarding Policy and Procedures. If the job holder identifies any instance that a child may be harmed or are at risk of harm (physically or emotionally) in any environment, they must report any concerns to the School\'s Designated Safeguarding Lead or a member of the Safeguarding Team.CPE registration number: S72SS0010G Registration period: 22 June, 2023 - 21 June, 2029

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