School Development Director

Fixed Term (two years, with the option to extend)

Suitable for NQTs: No

Based: Kampala, Uganda, with regular travel to Kenya and other countries across the region

The company

Scholé - high quality, child centred schools for Africa

Scholé operates a group of affordable private schools across East Africa. We provide an international quality school experience within the local curriculum. We are expanding across East Africa

Our group currently consists of nine schools in Kenya and Uganda, educating around 4,000 pre-school, primary and secondary students. These are Kisubi High School in Uganda and Makini Schools in Kenya. We expect to grow to 30 schools across the region in the next five years through our model of acquiring and improving existing local schools. We have investment from ADvTECH (Africa’s largest education business) and Caerus Capital (an investment and advisory firm focused on education businesses in emerging markets) to enable us to do this.

Our goal is to impact education in the region by introducing the best international education practice – from classroom teaching, lesson preparation and professional development, to facilities design, back office systems and initial teacher training. You will be part of a high calibre and high-energy team committed to making a difference to the quality of education in Africa.

The Scholé promise to students is that, when they leave one of our schools, they will:

• Have made amazing academic progress
• Be ready for work
• Be confident

Scholé has been operating in the region for over five years, but it is still a young business and evolving its model. We expect you to be excited by that and to look forward to playing a role in shaping the company and the student experience with us. Please view our website for further information on our vision and the outstanding team we have in place to deliver it.

The role

You will have executive responsibility for educational outcomes at Kisubi High School and cross-organisational responsibility for ensuring all students make amazing academic progress.

You will be supported by two experienced educationalists, who visit at least termly and are available to provide remote support on an ongoing basis:

• Dame Susan Jowett, formerly CEO of George Spencer Academies Trust: Susan provides support and challenge to our School Development Directors. This is focused on the design and delivery of the School Development Plan.
• Jacquie Smith, formerly Director of Lampton Teaching School: Jacquie provides cross-organisational CPD for teachers and leaders, including Olevi’s Outstanding Teacher Programme.

Kisubi High School (Kisubi), Uganda

Kisubi is our flagship school in Uganda. We have operated Kisubi since 2015 and now have a strong local leadership team. Considerable progress has been made, systems and processes are in place, but these still need to be embedded.

We have already demonstrated that we can develop locally trained teachers to a UK “good” or “outstanding” standard (80% of Kisubi teachers are now good+) and our O’ level exam results in 2017 were the best since 2011, despite abolishing selective processes. We now need to improve results still further and develop an outstanding sixth form. The ideal candidate will be excited by this challenge.

Your role and responsibilities at Kisubi will include:

• Delivering year on year improvements to educational outcomes
• Ensuring that the Scholé promise is delivered for every student
• Developing an outstanding sixth form
• Year-on-year improvements to the quality of teaching and learning
• Line management of the Headteacher and with them: 
• Introducing and embedding strategies and processes to deliver the Scholé promise
• Developing the capacity of the senior team to lead continuous improvement

You will work alongside the Kisubi Operations Director (who has responsibility for all non-academic areas at the school) in a highly collaborative partnership.

Responsibilities you will share with the Operations Director include:

• Achieving the priorities above on time and within budget
• Reporting on a regular basis to Scholé directors on objectives and impact

Making amazing progress

You will also have a strategic organisational responsibility across all our schools for the Scholé promise that all students will “make amazing progress”, with key areas including:

• Assessing baselining processes and strategic responses
• Assessing data gathering and analysis
• Assessing the impact of strategies and interventions
• Creating a delivery plan, with staff in each school, and the rest of the Scholé team, which will raise current school practice to an international standard in all of these areas
• Working with Scholé team members and teams of school staff to deliver this plan
• Developing communities of learners across schools to lead continuous improvement and transfer of effective practice

As a member of the Scholé team, you will also play a role in evaluating schools that become available for acquisition. This involves a range of activities from “first impressions” visits to due diligence on educational systems and processes.

Job requirements

Experience

• Leading quality improvements in all aspects of teaching, learning and school leadership
• Delivering Continuous Professional Development, undertaking lesson observations and learning walks and training others to do these
• Holding others to account
• Developing others, through a coaching approach, to deliver high impact
• Creating or improving whole school processes to deliver amazing student progress
• Developing or improving an excellent sixth form
• Being effective in challenging contexts
• Working in Africa or other developing countries (preferred)

Skills and personal qualities

• Commitment to Scholé’s vision and approach
• Demonstrable ability to live Scholé’s behaviours of being optimistic, collaborative, brave, kind and unique
• Commitment to team and organisational success - comfortable working in a highly collaborative organisational structure
• Receptive to feedback and guidance from mentors and peers
• Detailed understanding of outstanding teaching, learning and leadership practices
• Commitment to developing a coaching culture
• Commitment to the belief that every child has the potential to be a high performer
• Entrepreneurial and flexible attitude
• Culturally sensitive approach

Package

• Salary circa $40,000 depending on skills and experience; this will enable you to have a very good standard of living in Uganda.
• One return flight home per year.
• If currently not based in the region, one flight at either end of your contract and two weeks hotel accommodation while “settling in”.

Application process

Please submit your CV plus a covering letter setting out why you would love to be part of our team and what makes you an exceptional candidate for this role. Please also confirm your availability on the interview date and your preference for a start date.

Reply to: Jenny Willmott, Chief Operating Officer at jenny@schole.org.uk

• Deadline for applications: 16 July

Scholé is committed to promoting equal opportunities through non-discriminatory procedures and practices. When recruiting, we do not discriminate against applicants on the basis of age, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or disability.