Upper PYP Teacher

The World Academy of Tirana (WAT), an Orbital Education school, is seeking an exceptional Upper PYP Teacher to join our growing IB World School.

At WAT, we believe education must speak to the whole child. We are looking for teachers who understands that learning is at its best when students feel safe, challenged, known, and inspired to think deeply for themselves. In the upper years of the PYP, this means creating a classroom culture built on inquiry, agency, reflection, and increasing independence.

Our Primary Years Programme is rooted in the belief that students learn most powerfully when they are active participants in their own learning. We are therefore seeking a teacher who can bring the values of the IB to life through concept-driven teaching, purposeful transdisciplinary learning, and rich classroom experiences that help students make sense of themselves and the world around them.

This role will suit an educator who sees teaching as more than content delivery. We are looking for someone who can nurture intellectual curiosity, personal growth, collaboration, and confidence, while maintaining high expectations for learning. The strongest candidates will understand how to create engaging, well-structured learning experiences that deepen understanding, strengthen core skills, and prepare students for the increasing challenge and independence of the next stage of their education.

In the upper end of the PYP, students are ready to wrestle with more complexity, take greater ownership of their learning, and make stronger connections across disciplines. We are therefore looking for a teacher who can balance warmth with rigour, and who knows how to challenge students while keeping learning purposeful, engaging, and developmentally right.

Experience in, or a strong inclination towards, inclusive practice and SEN support will be a significant advantage.

We are also looking for teachers who value community. At WAT, strong teaching is not only about what happens in the classroom, but about working collaboratively with colleagues, building trust with families, and contributing to a school culture in which children and adults flourish together. Warmth, professionalism, and the ability to form purposeful relationships matter here.

As a school, we are ambitious. We want our PYP to be thoughtful, innovative, and deeply aligned with the values of an IB education. We are looking for educators who bring strong professional knowledge, but more importantly a forward-looking mindset, and a desire to help build something. This is a role for someone who wants to contribute, not simply slot in.

As part of Orbital Education, WAT offers educators the chance to contribute to a school with a clear local identity while benefiting from the perspective, connection, and collaborative potential of a wider international group of schools.

Living and working in Tirana offers the chance to be part of one of Europe’s most dynamic and fast-rising capital cities: a place known for its energy, creativity, hospitality, and strong tradition of religious tolerance. Tirana blends modern momentum with deep cultural roots, giving educators the experience of working in a city that feels both vibrant and grounded. At WAT, that same sense of diversity is reflected in our community: around 70% of our students are Albanian and 30% are international, including families from embassies and diplomatic circles. Tirana is a city on the rise, and WAT is a school very much part of that story.

Experience in inquiry-based learning and the IB Primary Years Programme is highly desirable. But a strong commitment to inclusive practice, student wellbeing, and the development of the whole child is fundamentally important. Above all, we are looking for a teacher who combines warmth, expertise, energy, and a genuine belief in what a great primary education can do.

Benefits of working at an Orbital Education School

The World Academy of Tirana, Albania is part of the Orbital Education group, an expanding group of international schools specialising in providing international education to an internationally diverse student population, between the ages of 5 and 18 years.

In addition to our school in Tirana, the Orbital Education group has other schools in Hungary, Spain, Slovenia, China, Mexico, Ecuador, and the Middle East, with plans to develop schools in new regions across the globe.

In this role, you would have the opportunity to collaborate and work with teaching staff at other schools across the group, to support our students achieve their potential. After two years’ successful employment, you would also have the option to be considered for roles at other schools across the group, providing the opportunity to progress your career while also seeing the world.

Key reasons to work at an Orbital Education School include:

Opportunities to collaborate with colleagues and students on an international scale.

Enhanced professional development opportunities, through partnerships with specialist learning providers to offer recognised and accredited professional development programmes.

Enhanced opportunities for future career development and movement within the group, providing opportunity to see the world whilst progressing an attractive and rewarding career.

Safeguarding – The World Academy of Tirana is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all of its staff and stakeholders to share this commitment. As part of the school’s commitment to safeguarding, all post-holders are subject to background checks and an International Child Protection Certificate administered by ICP Certificates (acro.police.uk) (if ever worked or lived in the UK or other overseas territories). Prohibition Checks where appropriate and/or Criminal Records (Police Check) disclosure from their most recent country of residence, or countries of residence within the past 10 years.