Head
Peponi House
Nairobi, Kenya
- Expired
- Salary:
- Excellent, with comprehensive benefits
- Job type:
- Full Time, Permanent
- Start date:
- September 2020
- Apply by:
- 21 October 2019
Job overview
New buildings, new opportunities, and an exciting future vision
This is an exceptional opportunity to take over the headship of one of the leading prep schools in Kenya. Located in a leafy suburb of Nairobi, Peponi House is highly regarded and educates almost 400 children aged 6 to 13, from a cosmopolitan mix of local and expatriate families. Noted both for the quality and breadth of its education and for its lively and cheerful atmosphere, Peponi prepares the children for entry to its sister senior school some 30km outside Nairobi, as well as to leading boarding schools, primarily in the UK. The school’s motto “A school of many nations, a family of one” sums it up perfectly.
The current Head, Robert Blake, is retiring after 14 years and his successor will take over a thriving school which is in the process of being almost completely rebuilt. The new buildings represent a very significant capital investment by any standards and underline the school’s vision of being “the best prep school in sub-Saharan Africa”. This is an adventurous goal and the new Head will be someone who is excited by the professional, academic and pastoral scope it offers. In parallel, the Kenyan education system is evolving and now seeks to produce self-sufficient children with highly developed “soft skills”, rather than detailed knowledge of obscure facts and figures. Peponi’s inspiring and innovative education exactly meets this national aspiration.
The successful candidate will be a current Head, Deputy or similar, with high quality educational and leadership experience as well as passion, commitment and a degree of resilience. Kenya has its frustrations as well as its joys, so you will need patience as well as energy and drive. Above all, you must really understand prep education and how young children learn and grow.
In return we are offering the chance to enjoy great job satisfaction and achieve a better quality of life in a wonderful location. Nairobi is a bustling city but the school is in a quiet and green suburb and you’ll have easy access to countryside. The Kenyan coast and mountains are world-class destinations. There will be an excellent reward and relocation package.
A briefing document and an application form can be downloaded from this page. After you have read the briefing, our advising consultant, Simon Shneerson, will be happy to discuss the school and the role in the strictest of confidence. He can be contacted on +44 (0) 7986 100237, seven days a week between 8 am and 9pm UK time, or his e-mail address is info@simonshneerson.com
Closing date for applications: 10 am on Tuesday, 22nd October
First interviews in London: Monday 4th and Tuesday 5th November (choice of dates)
Shortlist visits to Nairobi: fly out Saturday 23rd November, return overnight on Tuesday 26th.
Peponi House is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants will be subject to child protection screening, including checks with past employers, the UK Disclosure and Barring Service and/or authorities in other countries.
Attached documents
About Peponi House
Peponi House is the prep school in a family of three schools, nurturing excellence and focussing on the whole child. We strive for well-rounded and intellectual global citizens of the future, unlocking their ultimate potential through an exciting, high quality, British international education, enhanced by an African setting.
The school is recognised as one of the leading prep schools not just in Kenya but in East Africa as a whole. It is highly regarded within the country and by leading senior schools in the UK and elsewhere, and it was rated “Outstanding” in its most recent UK-style inspection.
There are currently 470 children from Years 1 to 8 (age 6 to 13), representing a rich diversity of 48 nationalities and coming from Kenyan and expatriate families. The family ethos runs through everything we do and the atmosphere is cheerful and friendly, with a real sense of community and excellent relationships with happy and supportive parents.
The school is located in Lower Kabete, a leafy suburb of Nairobi, on a spacious campus that has just been completely rebuilt. The “new” school has bright, well equipped classrooms and some world-class specialist facilities, all supported by advanced IT. This huge investment in premises and resources is just one part of an overall strategy to make the school “the best in sub-Saharan Africa”, an ambitious goal that has also seen much work on re-designing and enhancing the curriculum, teaching and learning, extra-curricular activities, and other aspects of school life.
Peponi House is strongly child-focussed and everything the school does is aimed at caring for the children and giving them the best possible education and care. Academic teaching, skills development and individual encouragement are taken extremely seriously, but having fun is also critically important and the atmosphere is happy to the point of being visibly bubbly. As a result, the children have a real love of learning and are excited about exploring new things and new ideas.
It's a great place to work too. Nairobi is a cosmopolitan city with all that entails, and the climate is pleasantly warm but not too hot. The school is within easy reach of countryside, and nature and wildlife are always nearby. The reward package for staff is excellent and there are many opportunities for personal and professional development. Add that to the satisfaction people gain from seeing the happy children achieving so much, and it's no surprise that many of the staff are long-serving.
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