Head of Senior School

This new post in our 4-18 school will bring together our KS4 and Sixth Form provision under one Head and is ideal for someone hoping to progress to an International Principalship in the future.

Arab Unity School is one of the longest-established UK Curriculum schools in Dubai and has a proud record of serving the mainly Pakistani and Indian communities in this vibrant and ambitious city. Set in attractive grounds, the various buildings house over 3,500 young people aged from 4 to 18 and academic results at the end of Key Stage 2, IGSCE and A Level are strong and improving. Value Added/Progress indicators are equally strong but there is always an ambition to improve further.

The school is now in the process of refreshing its management structure, with succession planning very much in mind at all levels. The current Principal has been in post for 15 months and is in the midst of a three-year programme aimed at the creation of structures and practices to help the school make significant further progress, through greater academic profiling of students and a deepening of teacher competencies.

In this context, we now seek to appoint a Head of Senior School, to join in January 2019 or soon thereafter.

At present, Years 7-13 are organized under the supervision of a Head of Boys (600 students aged 11-16), Head of Girls (600 students aged 11-16) and a Head of Sixth Form (190 students aged 17-18).  We are now seeking to appoint an experienced Secondary leader to oversee these three Sections and bring a strategic and practical unity to these three provisions.  You will require a good grasp of the UK curriculum and its assessment through from Year 7 to A Level; we follow the Cambridge IGSCE and A Level programmes but are also accredited to offer Edexel courses as appropriate. You will also be resilient, creative, hard-working and ambitious to see our children thrive.

We have introduced academic setting in English and mathematics from Year 7 upwards, and in Sciences from Year 10.  Elsewhere, our curriculum and Options operate through mixed-ability classes.  We are one of the only schools in the world offering Sixth Form students the opportunity to take two A Levels in one year, and results in that Option are outstanding. As part of the UAE Teacher Licensing Programme, we are upskilling many Secondary staff to broaden their teaching expertise across both KS3 and KS4, and your experience in leading Teaching and Learning will be as important as your general leadership abilities.

As a school, we value the character development of our young people as much as their academic improvement, and we are seeking a leader who can inspire respect as much as demand it. We look to develop and demonstrate responsibility amongst our boys and girls and, on the whole, they are highly motivated, and keen to respond. Your pastoral skills will therefore need to be equally strong in terms of demonstrable care as well as strict authority.

Reporting directly to the Principal, you will have significant delegated responsibility to develop the Senior School and we hope you will swiftly acquire and demonstrate the skills required to take you to your own Principalship of a 4-18 school, like ours, within the next 2-3 years, if you so wish.

If you are interested in putting yourself forward for this post, please email an up-to-date CV and covering message as soon as possible to auschool@eim.ae, outlining your reasons for considering the position. Whilst experience of working abroad and/or with EAL students in the UK is much preferred, all applications will be considered carefully as soon as they are received and in the light of your potential to fit into our school at this time. 

Interviews will be arranged to suit all parties in Dubai and/or applicants’ home countries and the remuneration package will be outlined to candidates who reach the interview stage. As there is no application deadline, please note that an appointment may be made at any time but all applicants will be kept fully informed as to how their application is progressing.

Director: Ms Arwa Taher
Principal: Mr Nigel McQuoid