Executive Principal

This is a fascinating opportunity that brings together leadership of an international school in Malaysia, executive leadership of two national schools and a role within a growing Southeast Asian schools group.

The Executive Principal will be directly responsible for Sri KDU International School Kota Damansara and have line responsibility for the two English-medium national curriculum private schools on the same site – the Sekolah Sri KDU Primary and Secondary. Each school has a student population of about 900, and with a total campus population of approaching 3,000, there is great potential to explore ways in which the three schools can work more closely together, raise standards and ensure a spirit of international-mindedness across the whole campus. The schools are already strong but together they could become a major centre for educational excellence.

Sri KDU International School is a premium British curriculum school in the Kota Damansara suburb of Kuala Lumpur. About 70% of the students are Malaysian and many of the remainder are from elsewhere in East and Southeast Asia. It is an important school within the Sri KDU group and there is an opportunity to build it into a beacon school among Malaysian international schools. The national schools are also excellent, regularly featuring in top rankings in Malaysia and with the potential to build on their existing holistic and international approaches to become even more distinctive.

The Sri KDU Schools, the first of which opened in 2003, are now part of XCL Education, which has 18 schools in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. The group is guided by its clearly-articulated purpose and its five ‘Promises to Families’. XCL Malaysia is the biggest country operation and the group is looking to increase its presence further in the country, under the leadership of CEO Anthony Partington. This will therefore be an interesting and exciting time to join the group. As well as the on-campus leadership responsibilities, the Executive Principal will play an active role within the group, contributing to educational and strategic development and group-wide decision-making.

This role will suit candidates from a variety of backgrounds. Candidates may be looking to step up from a senior leadership position into executive leadership or they may already be in such a position and interested in the group dimension. XCL Malaysia is open-minded about the specific background of candidates, but the successful candidate will be a proven leader whose track record will give them the experience, skills and knowledge to lead the whole Kota Damansara campus and make the Executive Principal an influential leader within the group.

The position is available from August 2023, or sooner for any candidates who may be available.

For a preliminary, confidential conversation about the role with Jean Sullivan, Head of International Search or Keith Clark, Head of International Leadership Appointments, please contact jeansullivan@rsacademics.com.

For further information about the role and details about how to apply, please visit www.rsacademics.com  

Closing date: Monday 6 March 2023 at 10:00 (UK)/18:00 (Malaysia).

XCL Education, XCL Malaysia and Sri KDU Schools Kota Damansara are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. Safeguarding and child protection issues will be discussed throughout the appointment process and candidates must be willing to undergo child protection screening, including reference checks with previous employers and criminal records and social media checks.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020.

The safeguarding responsibilities of the role are indicated in the candidate information.

RSAcademics is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and to promoting diversity and inclusion in schools.