Group Director of Admissions
| Posting date: | 30 July 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £90,000 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 29 August 2025 |
| Location: | Manchester, Greater Manchester |
| Remote working: | On-site only |
| Company: | Acorn Care and Education |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 285362FAJ |
Summary
We are really proud to say that in 2024, Outcomes First Group were officially certified as a ‘Great Place to Work’ for the fifth year running.
*You’ll work 80% of your contractual hours for 100% of your pay, giving you more time to do the things that make you happy. 4DWW is subject to successful completion of probation and is not a contractual benefit*
Job Title: Group Director of Admissions
Salary: Up to £90,000 + bonus depending on experience
Location: Manchester Group Head Office – 1–2 days per week
Contract: Full time, Permanent
Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Mon-Fri 9-5
About the Role
This is a high-impact, strategic leadership role responsible for driving customer growth across all education services, including multi-territory markets. You will define and deliver a data-driven pupil growth strategy that aligns with the Group’s commercial and mission-led goals.
You will take strategic ownership of the entire admissions funnel: from brand awareness to enquiry and conversion, working closely with marketing, commercial, regional admissions teams, and service delivery teams to deliver consistent, scalable, and sustainable growth.
You will also play a critical role in shaping and supporting the development of clear, evidence-led propositions for each school or service. This will ensure every setting is positioned with a compelling and distinctive identity in its local market – a key driver of engagement and enrolment.
You will be responsible for setting strategy and direction, then mobilising internal teams and external partners to deliver results.
Key Responsibilities:
Define and lead the Group’s pupil growth strategy across digital and offline channels, aligned to commercial goals.
Develop and deploy multi-channel, multi-territory campaigns that generate qualified leads and drive customer acquisition.
Collaborate with Business Development, Admissions, and Operations teams to optimise funnel performance from initial enquiry to conversion.
Own and optimise digital user journeys, landing pages, and lead capture processes.
Build and embed a campaign planning and reporting cycle, underpinned by clear performance metrics (e.g. CAC, ROI, CPL, MQL to SQL conversion).
Ensure all creative and content outputs align with OFG’s brand values and service proposition.
Manage external agencies and partners to ensure cost-effective, high-performing delivery.
Leverage customer and market data to drive segmentation, targeting, and personalised engagement strategies.
Develop and oversee nurture flows including remarketing, email journeys and retargeting campaigns.
Build, lead and coach a high-performing in-house team and/or freelance/agency support.
Shape and refine school-level propositions to ensure each setting has a clear, compelling, and differentiated identity in its local market.
Work closely with marketing and regional teams to translate customer insights into evidence-led propositions that support growth and clarity.
Key measures of success:
A clear, measurable customer growth strategy in place and owned.
Performance KPIs actively monitored (e.g. ROI, CPL, funnel conversion, marketing-influenced revenue).
Regular reporting and data-led decision-making across teams.
48-hour lead handover SLAs met; commercial syncs embedded weekly.
Clear, distinctive school/service propositions in place and aligned to local market segments.
Strong cross-functional collaboration with Business Development, Marketing, and Regional teams.
Experience, skills and qualifications:
Significant experience in a senior B2C growth or performance marketing role, ideally within education, care, health, or services.
Proven track record of delivering lead generation and customer acquisition strategies across multiple markets or regions.
Deep understanding of digital performance metrics and conversion rate optimisation.
Experience managing cross-functional teams and external agency relationships.
Strong commercial acumen with a focus on outcomes and ROI.
Excellent project management, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
Emotionally intelligent, collaborative and aligned with OFG’s values and purpose.
A proactive self-starter who thrives in fast-paced, high-accountability environments.
Experience in proposition development and market segmentation highly desirable.
Why join Outcomes First Group?
About the Group
Outcomes First Group is the largest independent provider of high quality special needs education and care. We are a vital part of local communities in England, Scotland and Wales with a renowned reputation for quality and positive outcomes for the people we educate and care for.
We are really proud to say that in 2024, Outcomes First Group were officially certified as a ‘Great Place to Work’ for the fifth year running.
Our divisional brands include Acorn Education, Options Autism, Blenheim Schools and Momenta Connect
Benefits
Your health and wellbeing are important to us, so you’ll get an exceptional reward package including:
Life Assurance
Pension scheme with options to increase your contributions
“Your Wellbeing Matters” – access to a wide range of first-class mental health support services and physical health checks
Family Growth Support - inclusive benefits package covering enhanced maternity and paternity leave, along with paid fertility treatment support.
And a market-leading benefit offering through our Flexible Benefits Platform, Vista, enables you to choose the package that’s right for you, including:
A wide range of health, wellbeing, and insurance benefits
100’s of discount options valid in the UK and abroad
Cycle to Work Schemes
Electric Car Purchase Scheme
Critical illness cover
All applicants will be subject to social media checks and successful applicants to a fully enhanced DBS
We are an Equal Opportunities Employer.
*You’ll work 80% of your contractual hours for 100% of your pay, giving you more time to do the things that make you happy. 4DWW is subject to successful completion of probation and is not a contractual benefit*
Job Title: Group Director of Admissions
Salary: Up to £90,000 + bonus depending on experience
Location: Manchester Group Head Office – 1–2 days per week
Contract: Full time, Permanent
Hours: 37.5 hours per week, Mon-Fri 9-5
About the Role
This is a high-impact, strategic leadership role responsible for driving customer growth across all education services, including multi-territory markets. You will define and deliver a data-driven pupil growth strategy that aligns with the Group’s commercial and mission-led goals.
You will take strategic ownership of the entire admissions funnel: from brand awareness to enquiry and conversion, working closely with marketing, commercial, regional admissions teams, and service delivery teams to deliver consistent, scalable, and sustainable growth.
You will also play a critical role in shaping and supporting the development of clear, evidence-led propositions for each school or service. This will ensure every setting is positioned with a compelling and distinctive identity in its local market – a key driver of engagement and enrolment.
You will be responsible for setting strategy and direction, then mobilising internal teams and external partners to deliver results.
Key Responsibilities:
Define and lead the Group’s pupil growth strategy across digital and offline channels, aligned to commercial goals.
Develop and deploy multi-channel, multi-territory campaigns that generate qualified leads and drive customer acquisition.
Collaborate with Business Development, Admissions, and Operations teams to optimise funnel performance from initial enquiry to conversion.
Own and optimise digital user journeys, landing pages, and lead capture processes.
Build and embed a campaign planning and reporting cycle, underpinned by clear performance metrics (e.g. CAC, ROI, CPL, MQL to SQL conversion).
Ensure all creative and content outputs align with OFG’s brand values and service proposition.
Manage external agencies and partners to ensure cost-effective, high-performing delivery.
Leverage customer and market data to drive segmentation, targeting, and personalised engagement strategies.
Develop and oversee nurture flows including remarketing, email journeys and retargeting campaigns.
Build, lead and coach a high-performing in-house team and/or freelance/agency support.
Shape and refine school-level propositions to ensure each setting has a clear, compelling, and differentiated identity in its local market.
Work closely with marketing and regional teams to translate customer insights into evidence-led propositions that support growth and clarity.
Key measures of success:
A clear, measurable customer growth strategy in place and owned.
Performance KPIs actively monitored (e.g. ROI, CPL, funnel conversion, marketing-influenced revenue).
Regular reporting and data-led decision-making across teams.
48-hour lead handover SLAs met; commercial syncs embedded weekly.
Clear, distinctive school/service propositions in place and aligned to local market segments.
Strong cross-functional collaboration with Business Development, Marketing, and Regional teams.
Experience, skills and qualifications:
Significant experience in a senior B2C growth or performance marketing role, ideally within education, care, health, or services.
Proven track record of delivering lead generation and customer acquisition strategies across multiple markets or regions.
Deep understanding of digital performance metrics and conversion rate optimisation.
Experience managing cross-functional teams and external agency relationships.
Strong commercial acumen with a focus on outcomes and ROI.
Excellent project management, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills.
Emotionally intelligent, collaborative and aligned with OFG’s values and purpose.
A proactive self-starter who thrives in fast-paced, high-accountability environments.
Experience in proposition development and market segmentation highly desirable.
Why join Outcomes First Group?
About the Group
Outcomes First Group is the largest independent provider of high quality special needs education and care. We are a vital part of local communities in England, Scotland and Wales with a renowned reputation for quality and positive outcomes for the people we educate and care for.
We are really proud to say that in 2024, Outcomes First Group were officially certified as a ‘Great Place to Work’ for the fifth year running.
Our divisional brands include Acorn Education, Options Autism, Blenheim Schools and Momenta Connect
Benefits
Your health and wellbeing are important to us, so you’ll get an exceptional reward package including:
Life Assurance
Pension scheme with options to increase your contributions
“Your Wellbeing Matters” – access to a wide range of first-class mental health support services and physical health checks
Family Growth Support - inclusive benefits package covering enhanced maternity and paternity leave, along with paid fertility treatment support.
And a market-leading benefit offering through our Flexible Benefits Platform, Vista, enables you to choose the package that’s right for you, including:
A wide range of health, wellbeing, and insurance benefits
100’s of discount options valid in the UK and abroad
Cycle to Work Schemes
Electric Car Purchase Scheme
Critical illness cover
All applicants will be subject to social media checks and successful applicants to a fully enhanced DBS
We are an Equal Opportunities Employer.