Head of Primary

Greenfield Community School (GCS), founded in 2007, is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World Continuum school. It is one of only a handful of schools in the world authorised to offer all four IB programmes: The Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP), Diploma Programme (DP), and as one of the first schools in the United Arab Emirates, the IB’s Career-related Programme (IBCP). With more than 80 nationalities in the student body, it is a diverse and truly international school. Our commitment to setting high standards for all students is reinforced by placing the IB mission statement at the centre of our school.

At GCS we are recognised for rigour and excellent quality of teaching and learning. We embrace our international and cultural diversity and strong sense of community.

Our facilities include: an auditorium, six lane, shaded competitive Swimming Pool, shaded Learning Pool, two large Sports Fields, fully equipped Gymnasium, Tennis Courts, two Libraries, Art Studios, Food Technology Laboratory, Music Rooms, shaded KG Play Areas, Science Laboratories, Design and Technology Workshops, ICT Laboratories, Dance and Drama Studio, two Cafeterias, spacious and modern Classrooms, indoor and outdoor Play Areas.

Experience and Qualifications

• At least three years in a senior leadership role, with whole school responsibilities.
• A Master’s Degree or higher in Educational Leadership or professional qualification, such as NPQH
• Experience of working with DSIB, OFSTED or similar school inspection authority
• Knowledge and understanding of the IB curriculum (experience in an IB school is desirable but not essential)
• Experience of working in an international school setting
• Fully qualified to teach in the UAE

Key Professional Skills

1. Ability to foster an aspirational school culture and get the best out of teachers and leaders through coaching, delegation, holding them to account and inspiring them to act. To ensure that genuine distributed leadership leads to collective responsibility and accountability.
2. Ability to make informed decisions and devise school improvement plans, that are values driven and based on evidence from effective self-evaluation. Is able to recognise opportunities and threats and manage the complexity of leading in a large international school, in order to successfully lead staff through institutional developments.
3. Ability to communicate, build relationships and inspire confidence in all stakeholders, especially young children, from a variety of backgrounds.
4. Ability to recruit and retain staff that epitomise the ethos and approaches of the school and the IB. To lead professional development in Teaching and Leadership across the school, in order to build the capacity for further institutional development.
5. Ability to promote the school through public speaking, social media and through building relationships with external organisations.
6. Ability to effectively deploy resources, both human and financial, and to manage the day to day running of the Primary school.
7. Ability to drive the school to ever improving outcomes for all students, by all measures, including those set out by the UAE National Agenda.
8. Ability to contribute effectively to the Greenfield Whole School Leadership Team and to play a wider role in developing leadership across Taaleem.
9. Ability to lead the safeguarding and pastoral care of students, ensuring that barriers to learning are removed and students are given ample opportunity to discover their passions.
10. Ability to monitor the effectiveness of the curriculum and to make improvements as necessary.

Key Personal Skills

• Write clearly and accurately in the language of instruction (English)
• Organised and works to deadlines
• Use spreadsheets for simple calculations and data analysis
• Perform basic mathematical skills such as finding percentages and averages

Key Personal Attributes

1. Knowledgeable, Reflective, Inquirer, Thinker

• Empathises with values of the school
• Student of learning and leading
• Solutions focused
• Believes in the potential of all students
• Committed to personal development

2. Caring and Open minded

• Sees leadership as a service to others
• Internationally minded and inter-culturally sensitive
• Sense of humour and humility
• Tough but kind

3. Conscientious

• Motivated by challenge
• Resourceful
• Does what it takes to get things done

4. Communicator and Risk Taker

• Communicates effectively to large and small audiences
• Statesman like on public occasions
• Happy to be the centre of attention to support the school

5. Principled and Balanced

• Composed under pressure
• Retains responsibility under pressure
• Resilient when faced with set backs
• Flexible when conditions change
• Always prioritises the needs of the school

If you are interested in applying for this positon please send a copy of your CV to careers@taaleem.ae