Admissions Officer

About GESS

As one of the leading international schools in Singapore, GESS is home to students from over 70 nations worldwide. We are for many families the home away from home and we are very happy that they are part of our school community which is based on mutual support and solidarity. With our language programme, we support our students to nurture this part of their identity and want to preserve the opportunity that they can grow up with multiple languages to be best prepared for an international environment. With the German International Abitur or the IB Programme they are perfectly prepared for their career after school. Our students enjoy lifelong learning and we take pride in our GESS values of respect, openness and diversity which our students will nurture in their life after school.

We were awarded with the "Deutsche Schulpreis" (German school prize) 2022, which was given to us for our extraordinary concept according to their motto "Make teaching better". We stand out as the only German school abroad nominated for this award.

Job Purpose

Partnering with families is a guiding statement for GESS. Admissions Officers are parents' first point of contact with GESS and strongly influence parents' first impressions of GESS. This role ensures that new parents and students feel supported and welcomed into our community and that their needs, concerns and wishes are identified and addressed.

This role plays a key part in meeting in the Marketing and Admissions department's new student number targets. The Admissions Officer will need to proactively manage prospective families, ensuring a high conversion rate into enrolled new students and strong family satisfaction with the admissions process.

As the main point of contact for new families, he/she will be liaising with other school departments (for example: Learning support or School Bus) and Academic Heads. Maintaining good relations and ensuring information is provided promptly will be key a success factor for this role.

Key Accountabilities

Enrolment conversions (sales)

• • Answer parent questions and enquiries professionally and within agreed timeframes
• Proactively manage prospective families through to enrolment
• Consult with new families on educational pathways and options
• Problem-solving and liaising with families and internal school departments to ensure a high conversion rate of applications to enrolled students
• Conduct personal school tours when required
• Complete all admissions tasks following SOPs and defined timelines

Parent and student experience

• • Be the first point of contact for families and ensure that communication is in line with the school's values, brand and standards
• Ensure new families feel that the process is personalised to their child/ren and family's needs
• Prepare new families for the start of school including conducting orientation and checking that all required documents and information have been submitted
• Ensure a rapid response to communication, including answers from other school departments
• Help new families with other school services such as Bus, CCA, VIP, ENP and language programmes

Administration and other tasks

• • Answer the Admissions hotline in a professional manner
• Monitor and respond to emails received in the shared inbox
• Maintain highly accurate enquiry records and record all information in all school systems and databases
• Log all correspondence with the family (email, phone calls, notes and tasks)
• Send out letter of offers and student contracts
• Check new student records for data accuracy and follow up with the family for any missing information
• Check that all new students have a valid immigration pass
• Process Student's Pass applications
• Manage class lists and waiting lists and inform the Marketing and Admissions department of any grades that are full or almost full
• Supervise entry tests
• Review school fee payments, invoices and refund requests
• Provide cover for the Admissions Team and help prospective families with enquiries during peak period or annual leave cover

School Tours and Open Houses

• • Assist with Open Houses and outside school events (school fairs)
• School tours where required
• Conduct new student orientation tours and meetings

Withdrawing students

• • Monitor withdrawal / termination form submissions
• Update class lists and available spaces for the grade
• Input leaving information into the database
• Send out withdrawal letter to the family
• Scan and archive the student's paper file

KPIs

• • Average application processing time (complete application to approval decision) – target 80% of applications are approved with 7 days per calendar year
• New student enrolment targets as set by Director of Marketing and Admissions
• Zero data entry errors or missing information / documents for new students by first day of school

Knowledge and Experience

• • Previous sales experience essential
• Customer focused attitude and experience of face-to-face and email/phone customer service
• Previous experience of working within the education sector preferred
• Sales or education consulting experience
• Degree in any subject

Technical and Soft Skills

• • Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage tasks independently
• Excellent communication and inter-personal skills; projecting a professional and courteous manner when representing the school
• Cultural understanding and previous experience of working at an international organisation with stakeholders of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds
• Proficient in spoken and written English
• Working proficiency in an additional language would be a distinct advantage (German, Korean or Mandarin)
• Excellent computer skills (MS Word, Excel, Outlook, Database/CRM systems)
• Able to work during school holidays

Problem Solving / Decision Making Level and Freedom

• • Problem solve to ensure applications are on track to be approved within the KPI deadline
• Refund of enrolment fees

Fair Recruitment and Safeguarding: We are committed to fair recruitment practices and safeguarding the welfare of all students. We ensure that our hiring processes are free from discrimination and bias on the basis of age, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy status, caregiving responsibilities, race, religion, language or disability. As part of our commitment to safeguarding, we conduct thorough background checks on all candidates which include criminal background checks in all countries lived and worked in for the last ten years, as well as reference checks. Any offer is subject to the satisfactory completion of such checks. Our school prioritises the safety and well-being of our students, and we expect all staff members to uphold these values.