Johannesburg Metropolitan Area
General Manager | Education Operations
Location: Johannesburg
A leading private education group is seeking an experienced General Manager to provide strategic and operational leadership across a portfolio of schools.
This is not a campus management role.
This is an opportunity for a commercially minded leader to oversee multiple schools, work closely with school principals, and drive sustainable growth, operational excellence, leadership capability and exceptional educational outcomes across a diverse portfolio.
You will be accountable for the overall performance of approximately eight schools, ensuring alignment between strategy, financial performance, customer experience, academic standards and long-term sustainability.
Why should you apply for this role:
Working alongside senior executives and specialist support functions, you will lead through others, enabling school leadership teams to perform at their highest level while ensuring each school maintains its unique identity and market position.
Success in this role requires a balance of commercial discipline, strategic thinking and people leadership.
You will be expected to:
• Drive enrolment growth, profitability and operational performance across multiple campuses
• Support and develop Principals to achieve outstanding educational and business outcomes
• Identify opportunities for growth, market expansion and customer experience enhancement
• Lead a culture of accountability, performance and continuous improvement
• Ensure effective governance, compliance and risk management
• Oversee financial performance, budgeting, forecasting and resource allocation
• Build leadership capability and succession pipelines across the school network
• Strengthen relationships with parents, communities and key stakeholders
• Partner with specialist teams across finance, people, technology, compliance, facilities and academics to deliver strategic objectives
What we are looking for:
You are an accomplished leader who understands how to drive results through capable leadership teams. You are commercially astute, operationally disciplined and comfortable managing complex, multi-site environments.
You have a proven track record of:
• Leading multiple business units, branches, campuses or operational sites
• Delivering sustainable revenue growth and profitability
• Managing budgets, forecasts and performance metrics
• Developing high-performing leadership teams
• Driving operational excellence and customer experience
• Balancing strategic priorities with day-to-day execution
Experience within education, training, franchising, healthcare, hospitality, retail, professional services or other multi-site service environments will be advantageous.
Why is this an exciting opportunity for the right candidate:
This position offers the opportunity to influence the future of a growing education group while making a meaningful impact on learners, families and communities. You will join an organisation committed to excellence, innovation and long-term growth, where strong leadership genuinely matters.
If you are an accomplished leader who can combine commercial performance with people leadership and operational excellence, we would like to hear from you.
Ideal qualifications:
A relevant postgraduate qualification in one or more of the following fields: Business Administration, Management, Finance, Commerce, or a related discipline.