Summer School Operations Manager

**Summer School Operations Manager**
- Location: Málaga
- Reporting to: Director of Operations (based in Zurich)
- Start date: Immediate start
- Join us in Malaga where you'll be instrumental in ensuring seamless operations and an exceptional student experience. As the key driver of our summer program, you will manage operations, recruitment, and training, while maintaining high standards and student welfare.
- In this full-time position, you will spend the lead-up to summer planning the program, recruiting and onboarding a team of academics, activity leaders, residence staff, and student support personnel, all with the aim of creating a world-class experience for our international students.

**Responsibilities**

Plan & lead the overall management and daily operations of the summer school, ensuring smooth delivery of all academic, activity, and accommodation components in line with EF’s quality standards.

Oversee student welfare and safeguarding, ensuring a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment for all students through proactive supervision and adherence to EF’s policies and local regulations.

Recruit, train, and retain a high-performing seasonal team, ensuring staffing levels meet operational needs and that all staff receive effective onboarding, guidance, and ongoing support.

Design and implement effective timetables for lessons, activities, excursions, and staff shifts, optimising resources while maintaining a balanced, engaging, and student-focused programme.

Provide leadership and coaching to academic and non-academic teams, fostering collaboration between local and international staff to ensure consistent quality and communication across all departments.

Direct and support the summer leadership team (Centre Manager, Activities Manager, Academic Manager, Student Support Manager, and Residence Manager) to ensure smooth coordination of all centre operations.

Coordinate accommodation logistics for all student and group arrivals and departures, ensuring efficient rooming, accurate records, and strong relationships with host families and/or residence partners.

Ensure the delivery of a high-quality student experience throughout the season, monitoring feedback and taking swift action to resolve issues and uphold EFs global operational standards

Serve as the main point of contact for EF World-Wide Sales Offices, ensuring accurate and timely communication regarding arrivals, group needs, and programme updates.

Manage centre budgets and financial reporting, ensuring cost control, adherence to financial targets, and accurate reconciliation of expenses in collaboration with central Finance and Operations teams.

Participate in the summer on-call rota, providing 24/7 operational support as required to ensure the safety and smooth running of the school.

**Requirements**:
Proven leadership experience, ideally within education, hospitality, or youth travel.

Strong customer focus and commercial awareness, with a hands-on, solution-oriented mindset.

Experience working with young people and a genuine passion for their development and wellbeing.

Energetic, organised, and adaptable — a natural leader who thrives under pressure.

Confident in recruiting, training, and motivating seasonal teams.

Fluent in Spanish & English (spoken and written); additional languages a plus.

Eligible to live and work in the country of employment.

Committed to EF’s mission of safety, learning, and cultural exchange.
- About EF Education First_
- At EF we believe that the world is better when people try to understand one another. Since 1965, we have helped millions of people see new places, experience new cultures, and learn new things about the world and about themselves. Our culturally immersive education programs—focused on language, travel, cultural exchange, and academics—turn dreams into international opportunities._
- When you join EF, you join a multicultural and diverse community working across more than hundreds of schools and offices in 50 countries, all with one shared mission of opening the world through education. Whoever you are, whatever you are passionate about—we welcome you and want you to bring that to work every day. EF is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to inclusion and belonging across race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, caste, parental status, identity, experience and everything else that makes you unique._