Head of School

Job Description

Position:

Head of School (Gaungzhou, China)

Position Overview:

The Head of School is responsible for leadership and management within the school and for promoting the achievement of excellence in international education. The Head of School will demonstrate the ability to work with the members of school to develop a shared statement of philosophy which inspires and motivates students, staff, and all other members of the school community. This includes core international educational values, moral purpose, and respect of the community’s cultures, values, and beliefs. The Head of School will lead the development of the school to this aim.

Requirements:

Qualifications

·       Master’s degree from a reputable university

·       PhD or an EdD would be a distinct advantage

Experience

·       Work experience with other cultures and nationalities within an international education environment and experience with the implications of leading a school with diverse nationalities

·       Significant leadership role in an international school of at least 500 students and 50 employees is essential

·       Experience in both primary and secondary divisions

·       Experience with/in International Baccalaureate programmes

·       Experience of driving student achievement through the use data and benchmarks

·       Proven ability to bring about change

·       Successful management of substantial budgets showing cost control and financial planning

·       Experience in the use of performance management in schools to motivate faculty and staff and improve learning

·       Proven forward thinking on use of technology to enhance learning and school efficiencies

·       Proven experience in the use of technology to enhance teaching and learning and effective use of education resources

Responsibilities:

Strategic direction and development of the school

To work with the SCHOOL governing body and school community, to develop a strategic view for the school in its community and analyse and plan for the future needs and development of the school within the group, local, national, and international context:

·       To translate the vision into agreed objectives, formulate overall aims and objectives for the school and policies for their implementation

·       To create an ethos and provide educational vision and direction which secures effective teaching, successful learning and achievement by students and sustained improvement in their moral, cultural, mental, and physical development and prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of adult life

·       To secure the commitment of parents and the wider community to the vision and direction of the school

·       To develop and implement the school strategic development plan, underpinned by sound financial planning, which identifies priorities and targets for ensuring that pupils achieve high standards and make progress

·       To ensure that all those involved in the school are committed to its aims, motivated to achieve them and are involved in meeting short-, medium-, and long-term objectives and targets which secure the success of the school

·       To ensure that the management, finance, organisation, and administration of the school support its vision and aims

·       To ensure that policies and practices take account of international, national, local, and school data and inspection research findings

·       To monitor, evaluate and review the effects of policies, priorities, and targets of the school in practice and take action if necessary

Teaching and Learning

To secure and sustain effective teaching and learning throughout the school and to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching and standards of students’ achievement, using benchmarks and setting targets for improvement:

·       To ensure that all students receive a high-quality education in a safe and healthy school environment

·       To ensure a consistent and continuous school-wide focus on students’ achievement, using data and benchmarks to monitor progress in every child’s learning

·       To ensure that learning is at the centre of strategic planning and resource management

·       To establish creative, responsive, and effective approaches to learning and teaching

·       To ensure a culture and ethos of challenge and support where all students’ can achieve success and become engaged in their own learning

·       To be able to demonstrate and articulate high expectations and set stretching targets for the whole community

·       To be able to implement strategies which secure high standards of behaviour and attendance

·       To be able to determine, organise and implement a diverse, flexible curriculum and implement an effective assessment framework

·       To be able to take a strategic role in the development of the new and emerging technologies to enhance and extend the learning experience of students

·       To monitor evaluate and review classroom practice and promote improvement strategies to ensure that underperformance is challenged at all levels and ensure effective corrective action and follow up is undertaken

Leading and managing staff

To lead, motivate, support, challenge and develop staff to secure improvement and further student agency:

·       To maximise the contribution of staff to improve the quality of education provided and standards achieved and ensure that constructive working relationships are formed between staff and students

·       To plan, allocate, support, and evaluate work undertaken by groups, teams, and individuals, ensuring clear delegation of tasks and devolution of responsibilities in a manner consistent with their conditions of service, ensuring a reasonable balance for teachers and other staff, in work carried out in school and elsewhere

·       To implement and sustain effective systems for the management of staff performance, incorporating appraisal and targets for teachers, including targets relating to students’ achievement

·       To ensure that all staff in the school have access to advice and training appropriate to their needs

·       To participate in personal annual performance reviews aimed at continuous improvement in the role

Efficient and effective deployment of staff and resources

To deploy people and resources efficiently and effectively to meet specific objectives in line with school strategic plan and financial context:

·       To work with senior colleagues to recruit staff of the highest quality available

·       To work with senior colleagues to deploy and develop all staff effectively to improve the quality of education provided

·       To advise the governing body and implement decisions in relation to staffing

·       To advise the governing body on appropriate priorities for expenditures, allocation of funds, and to ensure effective administration and controls

·       To manage and organise academic and non-academic space efficiently and effectively, to ensure that it meets the needs of the curriculum and health and safety regulations

·       To ensure the security and effective supervision and maintenance of the school buildings, contents, and grounds

·       To undertake responsibilities as defined in the Health and Safety Handbook

·       To ensure that appropriate risk assessments are undertaken before sanctioning and participation in any potentially hazardous activity

·       To manage, monitor and review the range, quality, quantity, and use of all available resources in order to improve the quality of education, improve students’ achievements, ensure efficiency, and secure value for money

·       To ensure that staff are encouraged to attend relevant professional development

Accountability

To be accountable for the efficiency and effectiveness of the school to the governing body and wider community, and in particular, ensuring that students enjoy and benefit from a school that promotes high standards for scholarship, responsibility, and citizenship in a supportive learning community:

·       To provide information, objective advice, and support to the governing body to enable it to meet its responsibilities for securing effective teaching and learning and improved standards of achievement and for achieving efficiency and value for money

·       To create and develop an organisation in which all recognise that they are accountable for the success of the school

·       To present a coherent and accurate account of the school’s performance in a form appropriate to a range of audiences, including parents, governors, the local community, and other professional bodies, to enable them to play their part effectively

·       To ensure that parents and students are well-informed about the curriculum, attainment, and progress and about the contribution that they can make to achieving the school’s targets for improvement

·       To provide information about the work and performance of staff where it is relevant to their future employment

Strengthening Community

To ensure that safe-guarding and the well-being for students is promoted through the realisation that school improvement and community development are interdependent:

·       To be able to build a school culture and curriculum which takes account of the richness and diversity of the school’s communities

·       To ensure learning experiences for students are linked into and integrated with the wider community

·       To ensure a range of community-based learning experiences

·       To work in partnership with other agencies in providing for academic, moral, social, emotional, and cultural well-being of students and their families

·       To seek opportunities to invite parents and caregivers, community figures, businesses, or other organisations into the school to enhance and enrich the school and its value to the wider community

·       To contribute to the development of the education system by, for example, sharing effective practice, working in partnership with other schools, and promoting innovative initiatives

·       To ensure that the school promotes effective links with the local community and continues the development of close liaison with other local, independent, and international schools

·       To cooperate and work with relevant agencies to protect children