Manager – Communications (Temporary)

Aldar Education is currently seeking an outstanding Manager – Communications (Temporary position) to join our team immediately.

Aldar Education is currently seeking an outstanding Associate Director People Services within the People & Culture department of Aldar Education.

As the leading education group in Abu Dhabi, we provide inclusive and innovative learning that inspires and empowers communities. We offer a range of brands for all learners in our community, from nursery through to adult education.  We offer the broadest choice of curricula. In the largest number of locations in Abu Dhabi.

Starting with one school and 250 students in 2007, Aldar Education has grown into a highly sought after education provider, now supporting over 38,000 students in 31 schools and a growing network of almost 5000 educators, with over 100 nationalities, offering a wide range of curricula and ancillary services such as a Teacher Training Academy.

Working collaboratively, our education network’s purpose is to empower the next generation to shape our future, directly supporting the educational goals of Abu Dhabi’s government. Today, Aldar Education’s efforts are guided by the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 plan, which aims to build a sustainable knowledge-based economy through premium education.

he Manager – Communications will be responsible for managing the public relations aspect of the organisation and delivering the yearly communications strategy and its implementation. He/she will build and sustain the company’s reputation for quality, reliability, and customer satisfaction. The Communications manager will be in charge of developing all internal and external communications activities for the company by ensuring consistency of messages and contributing to brand recognition.

Main Duties

• Develop the communications strategy and the development of consistent messages and effective communication with all relevant stakeholders and internal/ external audiences through multiple channels.
• Develop and implement strategic communications campaigns that will help further organizational goals and monitor their success.
• Acts as corporate spokesperson and responds to members of the media in a timely manner; composes and distributes press releases as needed.
• Develop relationships across all relevant working groups and with the Executive Leadership Team to raise their profile and to support the sharing of relevant information to our internal and external audiences both as leaders and as experts in their chosen field (thought leadership).

Specific Duties

• Collaborates with executive leadership and board of directors to develop the corporate mission statement.
• Oversees the development and maintenance of the corporate website including methods to deliver message, ease of navigation, and clarity of information; ensures that all content is current and relevant.
• Manage the PR agency to ensure delivery in communications goals
• Provides consistent and timely information to employees through various communications programs.
• Develops and maintains positive professional relationships with various members of the media.
• Assists executive leadership in developing presentations, speeches, and other important corporate messages.
• Develop communications plan and collaterals for the different schools part of the portfolio.
• Provides suggestions concerning graphics, clarity, distribution, and press releases to Finance and Accounting departments for preparation of the annual report.
• Develops, implements, and adheres to communications budget.
• Support other department with their communications needs (press release review, drafting internal communications…)
• Develops, composes, distributes, and implements polices to enhance the efficiency of the department and to further develop the building and maintaining of a positive corporate brand.
• Drive company-wide campaigns share insights and other material through relevant internal channels to support our enrolments teams in achieving success.
• Create internal communications protocols and initiatives that will foster employee moral
• Oversee the creation of marketing and communications collateral to ensure that it is consistent with the organization’s brand, including white papers, website copy, and more
• Write and deliver internal newsletter on a monthly basis
• Represent the organization at events and press conferences
• Reach out to influencers, media and beyond in order to arrange story placement on a national and global level
• Develops content and directs creative execution to provide a consistent, targeted, and impactful message.
• Builds and maintains solid partnerships with all stakeholders to better develop, coordinate, direct, and facilitate strategic communications designed to meet business goals.
• Work closely with the relevant teams to develop engaging and creative communication activities to achieve the desired results
• Promote and reinforce an inclusive culture by recognizing the unique nature of our business
• Utilize multiple channels relevant to audience and message for maximize reach.
• Attend and be a proactive member of the relevant leadership meetings
• Manage the communication of new programme in country and in new market (new acquisition…)
• Work closely with Aldar Properties Communications team to leverage on synergies and opportunities.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, public relations or relevant field.

Minimum Experience

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in a similar role in the region
• Communications experience is required
• Experience in the Education sector is preferred
• Proven experience creating targeted content is advantageous.
• Strong knowledge of communication practices and techniques

Job Specific Knowledge & Skills

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills in both English and Arabic.
• Must be able to multitask and work well under pressure.
• Excellent organizational and leadership abilities.
• Proven success designing and executing communications strategies and campaigns
• Up to date on industry trends and able to stay ahead of the curve
• Excellent organizational and project management skills and ability to meet deadlines
• Must be able to think analytically and strategically
• Capable of working well as part of a team as well as independently
• Great multitasker and capable of simultaneously managing multiple projects with different deadlines