Job Description

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Aldar Education are currently seeking an Officer - Licensing for our HQ Office in Abu Dhabi.
Aldar Education is the leading education group in Abu Dhabi. We provide inclusive and innovative learning that inspires and empowers communities. Aldar Education aims to be your employer of choice. We educate over 34,000 students across our group of owned and managed schools in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, and as we grow, so does our need for highly skilled, inspirational, and dedicated school leaders and employees across the group.
Working collaboratively, our 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.
We are a "Great Place To Work" and currently employ over 1,400 teachers to deliver the English National Curriculum, the highly regarded American Massachusetts State Curriculum, and the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, all with an international dimension.
Responsible for coordinating and liaising between the company and Government organisations / authorities and provide a key inter-face between the two.
The Licensing Officer will be responsible for ensuring all regulatory and statutory requirements related to school operations, and corporate entities are fully met in alignment with the Ministry of Education, Department of Education & Knowledge (ADEK), and other relevant government authorities. The role acts as a key liaison between the HQ office, schools, and external regulators, ensuring licenses are obtained, renewed, and maintained in a timely and compliant manner.
This is an exciting opportunity to join the highly successful Aldar family of schools and to help shape the future of Abu Dhabi's leading school group.
Responsibilities:
Main Duties:

• Monitor operational license validity and proactively ensure renewals are initiated well in advance of expiry dates.
• Manage the end-to-end process of obtaining and renewing school, corporate, as required by the Ministry of Education, ADEK, KHDA, or other governing authorities.
• Support the team in applying for new and renewal of Civil Defense, Clinic, ADMCC, and Pool licenses, while managing related dependencies and coordinating inspection appointments.
• For new projects, take full responsibility for obtaining all necessary licenses and approvals from relevant authorities, ensuring end-to-end coordination until the final NOC is issued.
• Coordinates and obtain the approvals for new schools from all the governmental bodies such trade license, lease contract, ADEK set-up, ADEK etc.
• Processes and renews permits and licenses including ADEK license, trade license, chamber of commerce, certificates of registration for the company.
• Maintain accurate and secure records of all licenses, approvals, and permits for HQ and schools.
• Obtains ADDC requirements to register new accounts in direct debit arrangement to pay the schools' bills.
• Coordinate with the Procurement team and suppliers to manage schoolbook clearances, including obtaining shipment details, securing approvals from Customs and relevant ministries, and arranging final delivery
• Always ensures the highest levels of integrity and confidentiality.
• Participates in training and other learning activities and performance development as required.
• Performs any other reasonable duties as required.
• Act as the primary point of contact with government entities (ADEK, KHDA etc.) on licensing matters.

Specific Duties:

• Build strong relationships with regulators to ensure smooth processing of applications and compliance monitoring.
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of licensing regulations, requirements, and changes in government policies impacting the education sector.
• Coordinate with internal departments to gather required documentation for licensing applications and renewals.
• Maintain accurate, secure, and up-to-date records of all school and corporate licenses, approvals, and renewals across the organization on the license tracker.
• Prepare and submit regular compliance reports to management and external auditors, ensuring transparency and readiness for inspections.
• Provide periodic training and awareness sessions to HQ and school staff on licensing requirements
• Ensure all HQ and school-level operations remain fully compliant with regulatory standards and 100% compliance with licensing timelines (no expired licenses).
• Coordinates with Municipality regarding rental/lease payment on quarterly basis and coordinate with Finance to arrange the payment.
• Coordinates with regulatory bodies to obtain the Tawtheeq contract for all schools.
• Visit schools to deliver and collect the documents pertaining to any of the school licenses (application, renewal) requirements.
• Prepare and submit required reports and compliance documentation to regulatory bodies.
• Obtains ADDC requirements to register new accounts in direct debit arrangement to pay the schools' bills and request the ADDC bill for the payment to be submitted to Finance to pay the outstanding bill.
• Coordinates with AP and building management to obtain the building Tawtheeq.
• Coordinate with schools and relevant authorities to ensure compliance with TAMM regulations, and confirm that all required activities, approvals, and permits (e.g., Tadweer) are issued on schedule

Qualifications:
Main Qualifications:

• Bachelors (BSc) in business related subject; or
• Related industry qualification or certificate, for the assigned functional area(s).

Minimum Experience:

• At least 3-5 years' experience in a licensing, compliance, or regulatory role within the education sector or a government-facing industry within the UAE.
• Proven experience in dealing with UAE education regulators (ADEK, KHDA, MOE) is highly desirable
• Experience within a school group or large educational organization is an advantage

Job Specific Knowledge & Skills:

• Fluent Arabic communication skills, written and oral
• A good understanding of English language, written and oral
• Multitasking
• Strong knowledge of UAE education regulatory frameworks and requirements.
• Hands-on experience with MS Office and MS Excel
• Proficient typing and editing skills.
• Data organization skills
• Great attention to detail
• Organizational ability, of self and others.
• Good interpersonal skills to liaise effectively with regulators and internal stakeholders.
• Sense of urgency/confidentiality and customer centric communication

WHAT WE OFFER:
Aldar Education is a family of world-class, child-centered, and innovative schools based in the UAE. We educate over 34,000 students across our group of owned and managed schools, and as we grow, so does our need for highly skilled, inspirational, and dedicated school leaders. We offer an attractive remuneration package including medical cover, flights, housing, and free child school places. Our future-focused learning model includes both students and staff, so we place a special emphasis on professional development, coaching and training.
Successful candidates will have access to a wide network of professionals and opportunities to both lead and contribute to training others as well as developing themselves.
Aldar Education is keen to hear from like-minded, forward thinking school leaders who would welcome the challenges and opportunities that we have to offer.
This job description is not all inclusive. Aldar Education reserves the right to amend this job description at any time. We are an equal opportunity employer, committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment. We are also mindful of our national development strategy and encourage UAE Nationals in their application at our company.
Aldar Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. Offers of appointment are subject to satisfactory references and police clearance.

Skills Required