Head of English

South Island School seeks to appoint an outstanding Head of English. As Head of Faculty, your role will be to lead the team within the English department, in collaboration with the two Leading Teachers of English, who are delegated specific responsibilities within the department. As a Head of Faculty, you will be a member of the Academic Standards Team (AST), a role which will include specific leadership of a negotiated area of whole school life, as well as ensuring that the English Faculty is represented appropriately in collaborative academic decisions. You will report directly to a member of the South Island School Leadership Team.

The successful applicant will be a highly skilled teacher, with the ability to motivate, inspire and engage with students in creative and innovate ways, both within and outside the classroom. You will be a skilled manager and leader, as you work with the faculty team towards our overall goal of ensuring excellent educational outcomes for all of our students. Like all staff, you will also be a tutor within our Pastoral Learning Curriculum (PLC), and will be expected to contribute effectively to our Values in Action and Making a Difference extra-curricular programmes.

Previous experience of IBMYP, (I)GCSE and IBDP/IBCP would be a definite advantage. The position will be a full-time renewable contract for an initial two year period from August 2020. The role carries an additional TLR 1 allowance, as per the ESF Terms and Conditions. 

The Role

The Head of English at SIS is expected to be committed and flexible. Regular duties include:

• Leading the English faculty strategically, to develop and sustain high standards and a culture of collaboration and learning;

• Line-managing the Leading Teacher of English, as well as other colleagues within the faculty, to facilitate high achievement and efficiency across all facets of the department;

• Ensuring close liaison takes place with the Head of English as an Additional Language (EAL), as well as with any Educational Assistants (EAs) who may be assigned to support specific English classes or students;

• Representing the English faculty as a whole within the Academic Standards Team (AST), attending meetings and leading whole school initiatives as required – and ensuring an appropriate cascade of information to the faculty as a whole during weekly planning and meeting time;

• Overseeing the Leading Teachers of English in their leadership of specific delegated areas, including the planning, development and evaluation of schemes of learning for all courses to maximise positive outcomes;

• Maintaining a learning climate that is inclusive and safe, yet challenging and innovative, ensuring appropriate differentiation to meet the needs of students with all learning profiles;

• Leading and managing the development of learning and teaching strategies within the English faculty, ensuring department staff develop innovative and effective pedagogical expertise, facilitating appropriate development opportunities for all faculty colleagues as necessary;

• Ensuring that resources are managed effectively within the faculty, in compliance with school-wide and foundation-wide requirements relating to budgets, procurement processes and facilities management;

• Ensuring appropriate assessment practices across the English faculty, to support student progress and attainment;

• Ensuring regular celebration of achievements within the English faculty, in liaison with the communications team;

• Working as a tutor for a group of students, within the Pastoral Learning Curriculum;

• Engaging actively with the Values in Action and Making a Difference extra-curricular programmes, ensuring that English-related activities are represented appropriately within these curricula.

Requirements

• A relevant degree and postgraduate qualification, including internationally recognised teaching qualifications;

• A strong commitment to taking an inclusive approach to meet the needs of all students;

• The ability to lead and inspire others and to manage a team effectively, showing excellent leadership, management and administrative skills;

• The ability to communicate effectively and sensitively with teachers and other relevant professionals, parents and students;

• An understanding of current developments in teaching;

• Experience of a range of assessment strategies for identifying students’ needs and supporting learning;

• A commitment to pastoral care within the school;

• A commitment to developing students’ skills through extra-curricular opportunities.

Teaching in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a premier destination for expatriate and local teachers! ESF Teachers enjoy an extremely lucrative salary package and a very high standard of living overall, in an exciting and vibrant world city. The teaching profession is highly respected, student motivation and outcomes are excellent, and all teachers receive considerable support from ESF and SIS with settling into Hong Kong, as well as with their professional development. Please feel free to contact us in advance about life in Hong Kong if you feel a conversation on this topic would be helpful.

To Apply

The role of Teacher of English is also currently advertised at SIS. Therefore, applicants are invited to confirm whether they wish also to be considered for a Teacher of English role, in the event that their application for Head of Faculty is unsuccessful.

Further Information

Further information can be found in the following locations:

• South Island School website: www.sis.edu.hk

• English Schools Foundation website: www.esf.edu.hk

Thank you again for your interest in this role.

Closing Date: By 8am Hong Kong Time on Monday 14th October 2019

For enquiries, please contact Cecilia Lo at celo@sis.edu.hk.

Applications must be submitted online through https://recruit.esf.edu.hk

Step 1: Go to the Registration tab and register. You will then receive an email with an activation link.

Step 2: When your account has been activated, login to the system and click "Job Listing"

Step 3: Check the box next to the job(s) that you wish to apply for and click "Apply & Continue".

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