Student Data and Operations Officer

GEMS International School, Al Khail,

Job Purpose

Key Accountabilities

• Maintain accurate, complete and up-to-date student records within the school MIS and related operational systems.
• Oversee the daily administrative operation of attendance, punctuality, absence follow-up, register checks and attendance coding.
• Ensure unexplained absence is followed up promptly and escalated where safeguarding, welfare or persistent absence concerns arise.
• Produce regular attendance reports, dashboards and analysis for leaders, pastoral teams and operational meetings.
• Support consistent parent communication through timely, accurate and appropriately worded attendance information.
• Maintain clear records of attendance actions, contact attempts, parent responses, reasons for absence, escalation points and agreed next steps.
• Support inspection, accreditation, audit and regulatory readiness through accurate data, evidence files and attendance documentation.

Student Data Management and MIS Accuracy

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date student records on the school MIS, including enrolment status, student details,class allocation, year group, contact information, emergency contacts, language information, nationality,demographic data and relevant operational fields.
• Coordinate regular checks of student information to ensure that key data fields are complete, accurate and consistent across MIS, attendance, safeguarding, communications and operational systems.
• Ensure that student data is maintained to support KHDA, GEMS, internal, inspection, accreditation and leadership reporting requirements.
• Produce reports relating to student numbers, attendance, punctuality, absence categories, cohorts, phase trends,demographics and operational data as required.
• Support data audits, documentation checks and records maintenance in accordance with school policy, data protection expectations and confidentiality requirements.
• Assist with class lists, student movement updates, withdrawals, new starters, timetable-related student information and other operational data processes.
• Maintain clear electronic filing systems for key student documentation, attendance evidence and operational records.Daily Attendance Administration and Register Oversight
• Coordinate the daily attendance administration process across the school, ensuring that registers are completed accurately and within agreed timeframes.
• Check morning and afternoon/session registers for missing marks, incomplete entries, late submissions, unexplained absences and inconsistent coding.
• Follow up promptly with teachers, tutors, phase teams or administrative colleagues where registers have not been completed or where data requires correction.
• Monitor late arrivals and early departures, ensuring that these are recorded accurately and supported by appropriate parent communication or approval where required.
• Ensure attendance codes are entered consistently, accurately and in line with school policy, regulatory expectations and agreed internal procedures.
• Maintain a daily register completion log, highlighting staff follow-up, repeated omissions, coding issues and any operational concerns for line manager review.
• Support lesson-by-lesson or period attendance monitoring where required, particularly in secondary, to identify students who are on site but not attending timetabled lessons.

First-Day Absence Follow-Up and Parent Contact

• Operate the first-day absence process for unexplained absence, contacting parents or guardians promptly where no reason has been provided.
• Record all contact attempts, parent responses, reasons for absence, expected return dates and any concerns arising from the communication.
• Ensure that continuing unexplained absence is followed up through agreed escalation steps, including additional contact attempts and referral to pastoral or safeguarding colleagues where required.
• Maintain more than one emergency contact where reasonably possible and flag missing, outdated or ineffective contact details for correction.
• Ensure absence reasons are updated as soon as confirmed and that unresolved absence entries are reviewed and corrected within the school’s agreed timeframe.
• Use a firm, factual, respectful and supportive tone in attendance communications with parents, balancing high expectations with sensitivity to individual family circumstances.
• Ensure that communication is individualised wherever possible, using the student’s name, accurate attendance information and clear next steps rather than generic messages.
• Punctuality, Leave of Absence and Movement Monitoring
• Monitor punctuality patterns and generate regular information on late arrivals by student, class, year group, phase,day and time.
• Maintain administrative records for approved early departures, authorised appointments, school trips, educational activities, off-site learning, examinations, medical evidence and other permitted absence categories.
• Support the administration of leave of absence requests, ensuring that applications are logged, supporting documentation is retained and leadership decisions are recorded clearly.
• Flag repeated late arrival, early departure or patterns of absence to the relevant pastoral or phase leader for followup.
• Ensure reception and front-of-house processes for late arrival and early departure align with attendance recording, safeguarding and student movement expectations.

Attendance Reporting, Analysis and Early Identification

• Generate daily, weekly, half-termly, termly and ad hoc attendance reports for leaders, pastoral teams, tutors,safeguarding colleagues and operational meetings.
• Analyse attendance patterns beyond headline percentages, including sessions missed, days missed, repeated lateness, day-of-week patterns, lesson attendance, phase trends, class trends, subject patterns where relevant, and cohort-level concerns.
• Identify students at risk of declining attendance before concerns become entrenched, including students approaching persistent absence thresholds or showing emerging disengagement.
• Maintain attendance watchlists and trackers for students requiring closer oversight, ensuring updates are accurate and shared with relevant colleagues.
• Prepare attendance information for vulnerable student meetings, safeguarding discussions, pastoral reviews, parent meetings, reintegration planning and leadership briefings.
• Monitor the impact of attendance interventions by maintaining before-and-after data, action logs and review dates.
• Support leaders with benchmarking, trend analysis and attendance improvement priorities where relevant and possible.

Escalation, Safeguarding and Vulnerable Student Oversight

• Escalate unexplained absence, repeated absence, severe absence, concerning patterns or unsuccessful contact attempts in line with the school’s safeguarding and attendance procedures.
• Work closely with the Designated Safeguarding Lead, pastoral leaders, inclusion colleagues and phase teams where absence may indicate welfare, mental health, SEND, family, medical or safeguarding concerns.
• Maintain accurate administrative records of attendance-related safeguarding referrals, escalation points and outcomes, ensuring confidentiality at all times.
• Ensure that students with known vulnerabilities, medical needs, SEND, social care involvement or other contextual factors are flagged appropriately in attendance monitoring systems, where permitted and relevant.
• Provide administrative support for reintegration planning following extended absence, including attendance data,communication records, meeting notes and review schedules.
• Ensure that attendance administration does not operate in isolation, but supports wider work on welfare, behaviour,inclusion, safeguarding and student support.

Parent Communication and Attendance Culture

• Coordinate regular parent communication about attendance and punctuality levels, ensuring information is accurate, understandable and aligned with school expectations.
• Frame attendance information in clear terms, including sessions, days or learning time missed where appropriate,rather than relying solely on percentages.
• Support the preparation of attendance letters, emails, reminders and meeting invitations at agreed trigger points.
• Ensure communications include clear contact routes for parents who need support with barriers to attendance.
• Maintain templates and records of attendance communications, ensuring consistency across phases and alignment with the school attendance policy.
• Support leaders in promoting a whole-school culture of strong attendance through accurate data, regular messaging and operational consistency.

Skills, Knowledge and Competencies

• Excellent organisational and administrative skills, with the ability to manage high-volume daily processes accurately.
• Strong attention to detail and a high level of accuracy in data entry, record keeping and reporting.
• Confident use of MIS platforms, Microsoft Excel, reporting tools, email systems and school communication platforms.
• Ability to analyse attendance patterns and translate data into clear summaries for leaders and pastoral teams.
• Professional written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate firmly and sensitively with parents.
• Sound understanding of confidentiality, safeguarding awareness and appropriate escalation of welfare concerns.
• Ability to work calmly under pressure, prioritise competing deadlines and maintain consistent routines in a busy school environment.
• Proactive, solution-focused and able to identify process gaps and recommend practical improvements.
• Collaborative approach, with the ability to work across administration, operations, pastoral, safeguarding, inclusion and leadership teams.

Experience And Qualifications

• Experience in a school administrative, attendance, data, operations or student services role is desirable.
• Experience using a school MIS, attendance system or student database is desirable.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, is essential.
• Understanding of school attendance, safeguarding, data protection and inspection-readiness processes is desirable.
• High standard of written English and professional communication is essential.
• Commitment to the values, ethos and expectations of GEMS International School.
• GEMS Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all of its students and staff.
• A UK-enhanced DBS or equivalent police check is a pre-requisite for all appointments.