General Manager, Schools Program Management Verified listing

The GM Schools Programme Management Unit will be responsible for translating the organizational priorities into governed, measurable, and implementation-ready programmes across the school network. The role will ensure that programme design logic, operating models, school-facing policies and SOPs, annual planning and performance visibility, data quality governance, and improvement mechanisms are clearly defined and continuously strengthened. The GM will lead the Operational Design and Process Improvement and Planning, Performance and Data Governance workstreams, and will work in close alignment with the Project Executive on high-impact cross-functional initiatives. This role will work closely with the team within Schools Programme Management along with Operations, HR, Finance, Supply Chain, Tech and Transformation, and Research and Analytics to ensure that programmes are well governed and aligned with organizational priorities.

Programme Design, Operating Models, and Governance

• Lead the translation of Schools Programme Management priorities into coherent programme designs, operating models, governance arrangements, implementation sequencing, and readiness requirements.
• Ensure programme-accountability boundaries, decision rights, handoffs, service expectations, escalation routes, and review mechanisms are clearly defined.
•  Oversee the development and periodic review of school-facing policies, SOPs, process flows, and the School Manual.
• Ensure programme and operating-model designs integrate education-programme requirements, staff-development dependencies, technology needs, data requirements, and operational realities.

Annual Planning, Network Expansion, and Resource Coordination

• Lead integrated annual planning for new and existing schools, including planning calendars, assumptions, dependencies, timelines, and resource requirements.
• Oversee planning for network expansion and optimization, including capacity assumptions, school configuration, geographic prioritization, student-transition pathways, school-opening readiness, and operational feasibility.
• Coordinate budgeting inputs with Finance, Operations, and relevant functions while maintaining clear ownership of financial controls and formal report.
• Ensure major programme rollouts, school openings, transitions, and operating-model changes are supported by clear plans, decision logs, follow-through trackers, and readiness reviews.

Performance, Data Governance, and Improvement

• Establish target-setting, performance-review, risk-escalation, and corrective-action routines for school-facing priorities.
• Ensure critical data definitions, ownership, quality standards, validation rules, thresholds, dashboards requirements, and correction workflows are established and maintained.
• Use planning, performance, field feedback, and data-quality findings to drive improvements in programme design, policies, SOPs, and operating models.
• Coordinate deeper analysis and evaluation with Research and Analytics when required.

Portfolio and Project Oversight

• Set direction and governance for high-impact, complex initiatives led through the Project Executive.
• Approve project charters, outcomes, milestones, budgets, governance arrangements, risk responses, and escalation decisions within delegated authority.
• Resolve complex cross-functional issues that affect scope, timelines, budget, readiness, quality, or adoption.
• Ensure project learning is captured and incorporated into operating models, policies, processes, and future planning.

Team Leadership and Stakeholder Management

• Lead, coach, and develop the Heads of Operational Design and Process Improvement and Planning, Performance and Data Governance. Work in close alignment with the Project Executive on initiatives connected to the Unit’s mandate.
• Establish clear goals, performance expectations, review routines, succession plans, and capability-building priorities across the Unit.
• Coordinate with the six Schools Programme Management teams and cross-functional partners to ensure coherent design, planning, governance, and execution support.
• Represent the Unit in senior management forums and provide clear decision support, risk visibility, and progress reporting to the VP Outcomes.

Budget and Resource Management

•  Lead annual budgeting inputs and resource planning for the Unit.
• Monitor spending, resource utilization, and delivery against approved priorities and budget parameters.
• Identify opportunities to improve value for money, simplify processes, and strengthen scalability without compromising programme quality or controls.

Key Outcomes

• Establishing coherent programme and operating models that translate technical priorities into implementation-ready arrangements.
• Ensuring school-facing policies, SOPs, process flows, and governance routines are clear, current, practical, and consistently applied.
• Leading integrated annual planning for new and existing schools, including network expansion and optimization priorities.
• Strengthening performance visibility, review discipline, escalation, and corrective-action routines across school-facing priorities.
• Establishing reliable data standards, ownership, quality controls, and correction governance for core school, student, teacher, and principal datasets.
• Delivering high-impact, complex initiatives within agreed scope, timelines, budgets, quality standards, and business goals.
• Building strong functional leadership, cross-team coordination, and continuous-improvement capability across the Unit.

Required Skills

Education

Experience