VP Student Retention

Role title 
VP – Student Retention 
Sector 
K-12 school network — Transfer Certificate control & student retention 
Network scale 
16 schools, 20,000+ students, 1,000+ educators, across 7 cities 
Reporting line 
CEO / Leadership Team 
Location 
Hyderabad, with travel across the school network

Strategic Mandate 
 Own the organisation-wide Transfer Certificate control and student retention strategy, anchored in data insights and 
predictive analytics. 
 Design the governance framework, SOPs and training module for student retention and TC control across the 
network, securing CEO approval before rollout to school teams. 
 Ensure Class Teachers, Coordinators, Vice Principals and Principals across every school follow the SOPs and formats 
shared by HQ for identifying and managing at-risk students. 
 Maintain centralised MIS and dashboards, reviewing school-team submissions every week to flag at-risk students — 
including new admissions — early. 
 Design and drive nurturing, targeted retention strategies for identified at-risk students, with a strong focus on new 
admission retention. 
 Institutionalise governance, reporting cadence and performance reviews that embed retention ownership at every 
school.

Key Accountabilities 
1. TC Trend Analysis & Early-Warning Systems 
 Drive TC trend analysis leveraging previous years' data to identify attrition patterns and high-risk segments — 
including among new admissions — and translate insights into targeted interventions. 
 Establish and maintain a centralised MIS and dashboard system, with early-warning indicators, to proactively flag 
students at risk of exit. 
 Check and review school-team MIS submissions every week, ensuring accuracy and timely escalation of at-risk cases. 
 Continuously evolve retention strategies based on data, feedback and changing parent and student circumstances. 
2. SOP Governance & School Team Accountability 
 Design the governance framework, SOPs and training module for student retention and TC control, in consultation 
with school and academic leadership, and submit for CEO review and approval before rollout. 
 Cascade CEO-approved SOPs and formats to school teams — Class Teacher, Coordinator, Vice Principal and Principal 
— ensuring these are understood and consistently followed. 
 Ensure Class Teachers, Coordinators, Vice Principals and Principals at every school follow the SOPs and checks 
required before a Transfer Certificate is processed, so no student exit happens without a structured retention 
attempt. 
 Conduct periodic audits of SOP adoption and TC issuance across schools, verifying adherence and closing gaps. 
 Partner with school leadership to embed retention ownership at the homeroom and coordinator level through 
structured tracking against HQ SOPs. 
3. Student Identification & Retention Strategy 
 Identify students showing early signs of disengagement or intent to exit, using data insights combined with on
ground signals from school teams. 
 Design and drive personalised, targeted retention interventions — academic, emotional, or logistical — to nurture 
and retain identified at-risk students, with particular focus on new admissions in their critical early months. 
 Lead the design and governance of the “Zero-TC Recognition Program”, ensuring it drives positive behaviour, 
motivation and consistency across schools. 
 Collaborate with academic leadership to balance retention goals with educational integrity and outcomes. 
4. Governance, MIS & Reporting 
 Act as a key integrator across Principals, Vice Principals, Coordinators, Class Teachers and Academics, ensuring 
alignment of SOP and retention priorities and seamless execution. 
 Maintain and continuously update the MIS and dashboards used to track SOP adoption, TC trends and retention 
outcomes across the network. 
 Establish strong governance frameworks, reporting cadence and performance reviews to track TC and retention 
progress and outcomes. 
 Institutionalise review mechanisms that connect retention outcomes with school-team performance, development 
and recognition.  

Performance Scorecard 
Final targets and weightings should be agreed with the CEO / leadership team. The measures below define the expected 
level of accountability for this role. 
KPI area 
Illustrative measures 
TC reduction 
Sustained year-on-year reduction in Transfer Certificate (TC) volumes across 
the network. 
Retention & stability 
Increase in retention rates and stability across key grades and sections. 
New admission retention 
Retention rate of new admissions within their first year; early attrition rate 
among new joiners. 
SOP adoption 
100 % of school teams (Class Teacher, Coordinator, VP, Principal) adhering to 
HQ SOPs and formats; audit compliance scores across campuses. 
Early identification 
Coverage and accuracy of the early-warning system in flagging at-risk students; 
70 % of flagged students successfully retained. 
Zero-TC Recognition impact 
Participation and impact of the Zero-TC Recognition Program across schools.

Experience 
 Master's degree (MBA/PGDM or equivalent) preferred. 
 10+ years of overall experience, with significant leadership exposure in education management, student retention, 
school operations, or customer/parent experience roles. 
 Proven track record of driving organisation-wide initiatives in retention, attrition control, or stakeholder engagement. 
 Strong expertise in data analytics and MIS-driven decision-making, with the ability to translate insights into targeted, 
ground-level action. 
 Demonstrated experience driving SOP adoption, compliance and MIS-based governance across large, distributed, 
school-based teams. 
 Exceptional communication, negotiation and relationship management skills, with high emotional intelligence. 
 Prior experience in school networks, education groups, or service-oriented organisations will be a strong advantage. 

Leadership Capabilities 
 Ground-level orientation: comfortable working directly with school teams and reviewing MIS data closely, not just 
setting strategy from a distance. 
 Data-to-action mindset: converts trend analysis and early-warning signals into concrete, targeted interventions. 
 Governance discipline: drives consistent SOP adoption across a large, distributed network through structured 
tracking rather than one-off intervention. 
 Executive influence: aligns Principals, Vice Principals, Coordinators, Class Teachers and cross-functional leaders 
around a shared retention culture. 
 Values and judgment: balances retention goals with educational integrity, empathy and respect for students and 
families.