Head - Talent (School Recruitment)

We are seeking to appoint a Head Talent (School Recruitment) to lead and develop a newly centralised recruitment function for our network of all Operated Schools and to support the successful launch of new school openings. The role will lead, embed, and optimise the transition to a centralised Talent Acquisition model, delivering high-quality recruitment, workforce planning, and talent pipeline development in alignment with Aldar Education s strategic growth and localisation agenda.

This is a critical change management role, requiring leadership, stakeholder engagement, and operational excellence to bring school-based HR teams into a group-wide model of best practice.

Reporting into the Associate Director Talent, the successful candidate will drive excellence across end-to-end recruitment, manage and develop a distributed team, and embed a consistent, data-led, and candidate-focused experience with quality at its heart. A key part of the role is to partner closely with stakeholders across the People & Culture function to realise organisational ambitions, support future growth, and position Aldar Education as an employer of choice in the region

Responsibilities

Main Duties:

• Lead the development and execution of a centralised School Talent Acquisition strategy aligned with Aldar Education s business-as-usual recruitment, growth plans, and Emiratisation agenda.
• Design and deliver proactive workforce planning solutions for academic and non-academic talent ensuring Aldar Education has sustainable pipelines to meet future needs Establish annual sourcing plan with suggested inhouse or external careers fairs, recruitment trips, job board usage etc.
• Oversee end-to-end recruitment for schools, ensuring consistency, speed, and quality of hire.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with Principals, senior stakeholders, support functions, and external partners.
• Partner with P&C Managers and the wider People & Culture function to ensure talent activities align with organisational strategy, policies, and values.
• Drive employer branding initiatives to position Aldar Education as an employer of choice in the UAE education sector.
• Act as a change leader, embedding a centralised structure and operating model across 13 operated schools and new school openings.
• Embed Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) principles by ensuring diverse talent pipelines, using objective and bias-free selection methods, and supporting Aldar Education s Emiratisation and representation goals.
• Ensure positive candidate experience and timely communication throughout the recruitment process.

Specific Duties:

• Manage, coach, and develop the newly formed central team of Talent Officers (School Recruitment).
• Drive and embed best practice in Talent Acquisition, ensuring all recruitment processes are standardised, transparent, and aligned with Aldar Education s strategic priorities.
• Use data, analytics, and reporting to track recruitment performance and provide regular insights to senior leadership for decision-making.
• Set KPIs for recruitment team and track recruitment metrics (time-to-fill, source effectiveness, pipeline health) and provide monthly reports.
• Ensure schools are fully prepared ahead of each academic year, with clear workforce plans, hiring timelines, and pipelines of talent in place.
• Ensure diversity targets per school are set togther with Director Educations and Head P&C, communicated to the Principals and recruited towards.
• Provide training, guidance, and support to transitioning HR teams during the move to a centralised TA model, ensuring adoption of consistent tools, frameworks, and systems.
• Introduce and maintain recruitment technology, systems, and frameworks (e.g., ATS, psychometric assessment, structured interview guides) to improve efficiency and candidate experience.
• Establish annual recruitment source report to analyse cost per hire and efficiency of contrcated platforms, agencies etc.
• Ensure compliance with safeguarding standards, UAE labour regulations, and ADEK/MOHRE requirements in all recruitment activities.
• Partner with P&C Managers and Principals to forecast talent needs, build diverse and sustainable talent pipelines, and contribute to long-term workforce planning.
• Contribute to continuous improvement by adopting innovative sourcing strategies, market insights, and digital tools to optimise cost per hire.