Director of Academic Study

Strategic Planning and Vision

The Director of Academic Study will take overall responsibility for:

• Leading academic strategy in conjunction with the National Principal and those staff responsible for quality assurance and assessment.
• To oversee academic monitoring and evaluation cycles, ensure the delivery of consistently high academic standard and promote a positive learning culture throughout the school.
• To monitor and evaluate academic standards in line with NAE bilingual schools and school procedures, including benchmarking against competitors.
• Evaluating school performance and identifying priorities for continuous improvement
• The attraction, professional development, retention and effective management of colleagues
• Promoting excellence, equality and high expectations for all members of the school community
• Working effectively with the school Senior Leadership Team and the Nord Anglia Education Team

Front of House: Admissions and Marketing

• To assist the National Principal and Head of Admission in whole school marketing initiatives and contribute to the continued growth of the school.
• Supporting school admissions through arranging necessary coverage from academic team to promote school to the perspective parents community.
• Supporting school marketing & admissions initiatives in the area of promoting Nord Anglia Difference, education strategy.
• Ensuring international colleagues fully understand the school’s and NAE’s vision, philosophy and mission in both educational and commercial respects
• Carrying out an ambassadorial role representing the school with key influencers and parents of potential students.
• Communicate regularly with parents to build parent advocacy for the school

Leadership in teaching and learning

• Create an environment within the school that puts achievement at the heart of all that the school does, in accordance with our Be Ambitious philosophy
• Make full use of our educational collaborations and programmes, and Nord Anglia Education’s Global Campus, to promote outstanding opportunity and success for students, personally, socially and academically
• Promote a culture of personal accountability and passion for education
• Review the curriculum regularly and ensuring that it is delivered effectively and continues to meet the needs of students
• Ensure that students’ personal and social development is effectively promoted, through the curriculum and other activities
• Promote excellence in teaching through the monitoring and improvement of teaching standards in school

Operational Expertise & Resource Management

• Ensure the efficient and effective use of teaching resources in the delivery of educational and operational excellence
• Produce, implement and review the school’s strategic development plans
• Supporting the National Principal to well manage the relevant school’s budget according to NAE policy and current context
• Contribute to the establishment of best practices that can be shared across NAE

Recruiting and Developing Talent

• Appoint teachers in line with the NAE Outstanding Teacher for Outstanding Schools principles and practices
• Promote and support the performance management and professional development of all teaching staff in accordance with the NAE Core 7 principles and the professional learning policy
• Promote the well-being of the staff in order to maximise their professional contribution and satisfaction
• Demonstrate commitment to the continuing professional development of all employees

Qualifications

• University educated with an Honours Degree
• Hold a recognised teaching qualification
• Evidence of ongoing professional development
• Further degree of educational or leadership qualification

In-depth knowledge and understanding of:

• Internationally recognised and accredited curriculum, especially at post-16 level
• School leadership, having responsibility for education, school operations and commercial (budget setting & control) aspects of the school
• Awareness of current educational issues and up to date curriculum developments, internationally
• Application of effective teaching and learning strategies that achieve high levels of teaching and pupil achievement
• Effective strategies for maximising student enrolment and achieving commercial success, including personal involvement in school promotion
• Awareness of how international schools vary from government maintained schools
• Developing and implementing a school quality improvement programme, including demonstration of raising students’ level of achievement; alongside School self-evaluation
• An understanding of how to set appropriate targets for school performance, and how to prepare, monitor and evaluate an action plan in relation to those targets
• Experience of premises development
• Proven experience of leading, taking part in and building/developing people and successful teams, and of managing change
• Ability to operate at both strategic and operational level
• Ability to operate as part of a wider group of schools and represent the vision of the overall group
• Ability to inspire and enthuse, and secure the loyalty and confidence of students, staff and parents
• Ability to effectively handle parental concerns, balancing the views of the customer with the educational and operational principles of the school
• Commitment to the whole life of the school, including events and after school activities
• Ability to communicate effectively to a wide range of different audiences