Chief of Staff

About The Ivy

The Ivy is an elevated early education center that serves nursery, preschool, and after-school enrichment needs. Its approach is grounded in child development research and built to support confident, compassionate learners in thoughtfully designed spaces. The school uses a custom curriculum aligned with the Massachusetts Early Learning Standards and a Reggio-inspired environment, and its educators benefit from guidance by early childhood education experts from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Role Overview

The Ivy is gearing up to open its first campus in Business Bay, and this launch period is a defining moment for the business. As Chief of Staff, you will work directly with the Founder as a close operational partner across launch execution, administration, and family experience. The role is intended for someone with experience in early years or nursery settings who is ready to step into a broader, higher-impact position.

In this position, you may be preparing documents for a KHDA inspection one day, then coordinating furniture delivery, managing the admissions journey, hosting a family tour, or making sure the Founder's schedule and priorities run smoothly the next. You will be involved in nearly every part of the school’s setup and day-to-day functioning, with the opportunity to learn how a premium education business is built from the inside. This position starts immediately.

Operations and Launch Execution

• Contribute to the pre-opening plan by coordinating classroom setup, vendors, deliveries, installations, and procurement follow-through.
• Support licensing and compliance tasks by organizing documentation, preparing inspection files, and liaising with KHDA, Dubai Municipality, and other relevant authorities.
• Create and maintain the school’s administrative systems, including child records, attendance logs, registers, safeguarding documents, and internal tracking sheets.
• Coordinate practical arrangements for staff onboarding, training sessions, and launch-related events.

Founder Support

• Keep the Founder’s priorities organized, including meeting preparation and follow-up actions, so important tasks do not get missed.
• Draft, format, and proofread documents, communications, and reports to a high standard.
• Record meeting notes, capture decisions, and ensure action items are tracked through completion across all active workstreams.
• Manage sensitive matters such as contracts, hiring, and family-related issues with complete confidentiality.

Family and Community Experience

• Reply to enrollment inquiries quickly and warmly while managing the admissions pipeline in the CRM.
• Lead campus tours and present The Ivy to prospective families with strong early years understanding and polished communication.
• Assist with parent communication, events, and the thoughtful details that create a memorable family experience.

Who You Are

You are the trusted person everyone in your nursery quietly depends on. You look ahead, solve problems before they are raised, and deliver consistently. You combine warmth with children and parents with strong organization, steady judgment, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. You have already mastered your current role and are ready for a bigger challenge with more responsibility and visibility.

Qualifications and Background

The ideal candidate has 2 to 4 years of experience in an early years or nursery environment, whether as an educator, coordinator, administrator, or in a similar role. You should have practical exposure to nursery operations such as records management, registrations, parent communication, scheduling, or inspection preparation. Strong written and spoken English is essential, and Arabic or French would be an advantage. Comfort using Google Workspace, spreadsheets, and nursery management or CRM systems is also important.

You should bring excellent organization, dependable follow-through, careful attention to detail, discretion, and sound judgment when working with confidential information. A CACHE Level 3 qualification or higher is a strong plus, and a bachelor’s degree in Education, Child Development, Business, or a related field is preferred.

Candidates should ideally already hold a valid UAE visa or be eligible to work in the UAE. Visa sponsorship is available, but clearance is required. Background and reference checks will be carried out. The role requires an immediate start.

Why Join The Ivy

Unlike many early years roles, this one gives you exposure to every part of launching and running a premium education business. You will join at the ground floor of a school designed to set a new regional benchmark for early education, with mentorship from a Founder who has deep international experience in early childhood organizations. For the right person, this opportunity can meaningfully change the direction of a career.

Additional Information

No salary or stipend details were provided. The role is full-time and onsite in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. No vacancy count was specified. Visa sponsorship is available, subject to clearance, and background and reference checks will be initiated.