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Employment

Chief Operating Officer for Ma’arif

Posted on Monday March 9, 2009

Position Specification:

POSITION: Chief Operating Officer
COMPANY: Ma’arif for Education & Training
LOCATION: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
REPORTING RELATIONSHIP: The CEO, Chairman and Board of Directors

COMPANY BACKGROUND/CULTURE
Ma’arif for Education & Training (“Ma’arif”) is the largest owner and operator of private schools in Saudi Arabia. Established in the 1970s, Ma’arif owns 9 private schools across the country, providing kindergarten, elementary, intermediate and secondary (“K-12”) education to both boys and girls, following international and
Saudi curricula. Close to 16,000 students are currently enrolled across its campuses, compared to the company’s second largest competitor with 5,000 students. Ma’arif benefits from an excellent reputation in the sector, supported by its experienced team of academic professionals and two important brand schools, Manarat and Faisaliah.

POSITION OVERVIEW
The primary focus of this role will be to bring commercial focus to a successful private schools company, the largest private education company in K.S.A, which has a thriving academic reputation. The principle objective of which will be to position the company for an I.P.O in the coming years.

Commercially operationalize the Ma’arif vision and mission agreed with the Chairman and the Board of Directors whilst directing the Executive Committee in formulating and implementing long, medium and short term business plans to accomplish the company’s vision.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Growth
Develop strategies and programmes to pursue the growth, organic and via acquisitions of Ma’arif schools in K.S.A and then potentially regionally in line with the vision.

External Relationships
Develop and establish high level relationships with the Government, International Education bodies, Consultants, Banks, Auditors and financial lending institutions to ensure that the business interests of the company are protected and enhanced.

Investors
Meet and negotiate with high profile investors in order to close deals that are outside the ambit of the Directors that are normally charged with closing such deals.

Human Resources Development
Ensure right calibre of staffing and appropriate training to meet all job requirements. Provide leadership so that staff are well motivated and engaged in order to create a sustainable organisation for the future. Ensure that all employees have absolute clarity on their roles through well described role descriptions to enable them to function effectively and that those in positions of responsibility perform in accord with well defined performance criteria to accomplish the company’s goals.

Risk Management
Ensure that all projects approved for execution meet the criteria set for internal risk and protect the long term continuity of business through risk mitigation strategies.

Leadership
Provide leadership to the Ma’arif schools in order to direct the formulation and implementation of business plans which will realize the vision and plans of the company.

Investments
Ensure that all investment projects undertaken meet the ROI benchmarks and are viable and sustainable within the overall vision and mission.

Policies, Processes and Controls
Ensure that the appropriate functional policies, processes, standards and internal
controls are developed and implemented after approval so that the various units
function efficiently in line with the growth strategies and plans of the company.

Organisation Structure and Culture
Create and develop the organisation structure that will deliver the long, medium and short plans for attaining the vision of the company. Create and foster an organisation culture that encourages innovation and rewards performance.

Working Environment
The job holder is tasked with accomplishing the vision and mission of Ma’arif in relation to ambitious growth targets set for the next decade by organic means and acquisition. The job holder therefore has to be proactive and results driven in order to accomplish the growth in order to reinforce its position as the largest education services provider in K.S.A. This requires prudent management of
regulated company resources in the face of multiple constraints of conflicting environmental factors that could impede the company’s progress towards organisational goals.

Contacts
• Chairman, Board Directors, Chief Executive Officer, the Executive Committee members and all other Directors of Ma’arif in order to develop and implement integrated business strategies and plans.
• School Principals and heads of departments in order to seek strategic inputs and ensure implementation of business plans.
• Top Government officials, International Education bodies, Consultants, Banks and financial lending institutions, high profile investors.

Decision Making
• Directs the members of the Executive Committee in making strategic and operational decisions for Ma’arif.
• Develops and implements business plans in line with the vision and mission.
• Plays a vital role in the development of the Annual Group budget and ensures implementation

CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
• General Management Skills, Operational expertise, excellent motivator and delegation skills, a good people manager, sharp analytical skills especially in reading financial reports.
• A proactive, inspirational and results driven leader capable of effectively managing the largest private schools company in K.S.A. Ideally, this person will have M&A experience but must have a successful record of building businesses organically in preparation for an I.P.O.
• A strategic thinker.
• An effective communicator, culturally sensitive and capable of forging strong working relationships and infusing team working within the Group. Arabic speaking capability will be an essential requirement to achieve this, in addition to fluency in English.
• A seasoned professional, who commands the respect of the team.
• 15 to 20 years of management experience in a group of significant size, with at least 5 years in a top management role, preferably in the services sector, education (K-12 or higher education) or related sectors such as healthcare (hospitals).
• Fluency in written and spoken Arabic is required.

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Business Administration or equivalent. An MBA or other advanced
degree is highly desirable.

KORN/FERRY CONTACT
Inga Walter
Korn/ Ferry Middle East & North Africa
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Direct Line: +971 (0)4 204 5781
Mobile Number: +971 (0)50 457 2854
Email: Inga.Walter@kornferry.com