Head Pre-Operations - School Development

Head Pre-Operations – School Development

Aldar Education is currently seeking an outstanding Head Pre-Operations – School Development. 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 28 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.

The Head – Pre-Operations is responsible for leading the operational, technical, and readiness integration of all new and existing school development projects across the Group’s portfolio. Acting as the client-side technical and operational integrator, the role ensures that design, construction, fit-out, technology, and regulatory requirements are aligned with premium-plus educational delivery, operational efficiency, and statutory compliance—resulting in schools that are fully operational, licensed, and ready to educate from Day One.

The role covers greenfield developments and brownfield refurbishments, including live-campus works.

• Lead operational and technical oversight across all school development projects.
• Ensure alignment of design, construction, fit-out, and technology with educational and operational requirements.
• Act as the operator’s representative throughout project life cycles.
• Lead operational readiness and school opening processes.
• Ensure compliance with UAE regulations, ADEK/MOE requirements, and statutory approvals.
• Support senior leadership with project reporting and risk management.
• Drive value engineering initiatives while maintaining brand and quality standards.
• Ensure all schools open fully compliant, operational, and education-ready.

• Site Feasibility & Land Due Diligence
  • Support Investment land decisions through early, operator-led site feasibility and buildability checks (capacity, access/traffic, circulation & drop-off, play/specialist space needs).
  • Validate plot readiness and constraints with Development / Authorities (planning parameters, access/servitudes, utilities, enabling works, SPA/title dependencies), and translate them into clear timeline, risk, and cost implications.
  • Produce a concise “Go / No-Go / Conditions to Proceed” note per site, summarising assumptions, key constraints, critical path, and decision risks, leveraging prior due diligence and authority-approvals experience from similar acquisitions/new builds.
• Design Brief Development & Design Coordination
  • Lead the development of the comprehensive project design brief, including the Schedule of Accommodation (SoA), translating educational, operational, and business requirements into clear spatial and functional design criteria, and ensuring all academic and non-academic space requirements are captured, validated, and approved.
  • Ensure SoA/BUA aligns to business plan and financial model assumptions, with academic sign-off.
  • Provide operational and technical oversight across all design stages (Concept to IFC).
  • Review and validate architectural, structural, and MEP designs to ensure alignment with:
    • Educational delivery models
    • Operational workflows
    • Health, safety, and safeguarding standards
  • Lead development, validation, and control of the Schedule of Accommodation (SoA) across academic and non-academic spaces.
  • Ensure space planning, circulation, zoning, adjacencies, and functional layouts comply with:
    • ADEK / MOE requirements
    • International best-practice…