Head for the Primary Section of the International School of Tunis

The International School of Tunis is a Private Primary School, accredited by the Tunisian Ministry of Education, offering a British curriculum taught in English. ITS is located in Gammarth, an attractive suburb of Tunis.  The school will open its door to pupils in Nursery and Primary in September 2021.

This is a new school and benefits from major investment from a Educational Company which already runs a number of very successful schools - though they are all French-speaking.  The single site school with excellent facilities in one of the most desirable suburbs of Tunis will have a capacity of circa 500 pupils.

Web site : http://www.istunis.org

You may be interested by a video one of the other schools which the group already runs, showing the level of equipment and investment.

https://youtu.be/e5mYLPUwOvo - secondary school

and  by looking at the company website: https://gsrdtunis.net/

We seek an ambitious Head or Deputy to be our Founding Head.

You will be a dynamic, inspiring Head or perhaps an experienced and ambitious Deputy. Experience of working in an international setting outside the UK might be helpful but is not a requirement.  The languages of Tunisia are Arabic and French, and a reasonable level of spoken French would be helpful in day-to-day interactions with Tunisian parents whose spoken English will be of variable quality.

We plan to start in September with classes from Nursery age 3 up to Year 3.    Years 4 and 5 will be added in September 2022 and Year 6 in 2023 in time for the opening of the Secondary Section in September 2024. Full capacity will be three classes per year group.

Preparations are being made to be accredited as a Cambridge International School, which will provide the curriculum framework for teachers is underway.   Similarly, an application is being made for Provisional Membership of COBIS, and the production of required policies and other documentation is already underway.

We can offer:

A forward thinking, ambitious school environment.

Fantastic children who are hardworking and keen to learn.

Outstanding quality premises which will allow the Primary School to expand to three form entry, and the Secondary School is due to open in September 2024.

The technical stuff !

Your contract will be a CTE (Foreign Worker Contract) which is a legal requirement in Tunisia, and you will also receive a legally binding letter of appointment which sets out the rights and responsibilities of the job.

The terms of your contract will be in accordance with Tunisian employment law.  Your salary will be paid in Tunisian Dinar into a “convertible” account opened at a Tunisian bank of your own choosing as soon as you have obtained your residence permit.

To work in Tunisia, you must obtain a work visa within the first 3 months of your arrival, as well as a residence permit.  The IST will support you in your application and will cover all administrative costs.

Income Tax in Tunisia is deducted at source and payment of tax is made directly by the company’s finance department to the tax authorities.

In case of any changes in Tunisian employment law, the terms of the proposed contracts would be subject to amendments.

On arrival in Tunisia, GSRD will provide and pay for hotel accommodation for a week and support you in finding accommodation.

Teachers are entitled to school holidays as published by IST but are expected, in addition, to help with entrance tests.

Contact time will be 32 lessons per week for teachers.   Initially the Head will be expected to teach a half timetable of 16 lessons, but the post will become non-teaching relatively swiftly.

The treatment of absences and sick leave is dictated by Tunisian employment law.

Remuneration package –  the cost of living is 30% to 40% lower than that in France – the standard comparison as Tunisia has close links to France, and France is generally seen to have a slightly lower cost of living than the UK.  Rent for a one-bedroom flat is under £300 and for a two bedroom flat under £400.

- Generous net monthly salary after all deductions

- Social charges paid to Tunisian social security are covered by the IST

- A bonus of one month’s salary paid at the end of the third year of service at the same time as the final salary payment.

Please note that the payment of personal income taxes to the Tunisian tax administration is the responsibility of the company which undertakes to make the annual declarations of the Employee, to pay the tax due in his/her place and to supply him/her with the official certificate detailing tax deducted.

Recruitment is being handled initially in the UK by Paul Spencer Ellis,  an Educational Consultant.

Completed application forms (either the TES one OR the IST downloadable one ) should be returned to him at internationalrecruitment@istunis.org

Specific questions can also be sent to this email address and Paul would be happy to discuss the post with interested applicants.

No closing date – applications will be considered as soon as they are received.

Web site : http://www.istunis.org

E-mail: internationalrecruitment@istunis.org.