Head of Secondary

Department: Senior Leadership Team
Line Manager: Principal
Cover During Absence: Academic Vice Principal, Principal

Job Purpose:
Provides professional, highly effective leadership and management that will achieve outstanding results in all aspects of secondary school phase. The Head is responsible for ensuring that the curriculum, teaching and assessment practices inspire high levels of engagement, achievement and progress for students of all abilities.
Supports and develops learning and teaching within his/her team in close collaboration with the Principal to ensure a coherent curriculum which challenges and inspires students is delivered. Above all, a child-centred, caring and supportive environment, ensuring a happy and conducive atmosphere remains a key goal.

Key Relationships (Internal and External): Principal, Senior Leadership Team,Departement Heads, Secondary Students and Parents, Admissions Manager, External Agencies and Service Providers, Career Counselor

Key Accountabilities:

• Promote an inspiring vision dedicated to high standards that is shared by all members of the Secondary School
• Initiate, prioritize and lead Secondary School improvement activities through effective strategic leadership and planning
• Work closely and collaboratively with the career counselor of the school and the Academic Vice Principal
• Communicate a clear view of the Secondary School’s aims so that all staff know what is required of them and are competent and committed to achieving the school’s goals
• Distribute leadership effectively to achieve high standards of learning and personal development by creating an ethos of collective responsibility and mutual support
• Inspire and empower middle leaders, teachers and support staff by clearly defining all roles and aligning these roles with school priorities
• Ensure that the levels of students’ attainment and the quality of teaching successfully align with the Secondary Schools’ promise to parents
• Encourage others to contribute, creating a spirit of teamwork and opportunities of cooperation and collaboration between departments
• Participate and lead professional development workshops in the UAE, including events run by the Knowledge Human Development Authority (KHDA)
• Involve all Secondary staff in systematic, rigorous self-evaluation with explicit purpose of improving the quality of student’s experiences and their standards of attainment
• Evaluate students’ classroom experiences, track students’ attainment and evaluate progress towards meeting agreed targets
• Monitor the performance of all teaching and support staff in the Secondary School
• Ensure that self-evaluation provides valid, comprehensive and reliable analysis for identifying key priorities for the preparation of the improvement plan and involves Secondary staff, parents and students as appropriate
• Ensure that middle leaders and teachers collect and analyze appropriate and accurate information within the school as well as data for external sources, including international assessments and stakeholders surveys
• Ensure that middle leaders and teachers set aspirational yet realistic goals aimed at improving students’ performance
• Ensure that all improvement activities are focused on creating impact and raising quality in the Secondary School
• Ensure that all recommendation from previous inspections and evaluations are included in the school’s improvement plan
• Ensure accountability of the school’s actions and outcomes with regards to compliance, health and safety issues
• Comply with all regulations and guidelines issued by the local authorities and regulators
• Work collaboratively with the Principal and Admissions Manager to achieve enrolment targets and business objectives by marketing the Secondary School to the local and wider community with the aim of recruiting new students and retaining existing students to achieve a full school roll
• Ensure that teaching and learning is monitored closely and consistently observe to rate the quality of teaching practice across the school and identify areas of development
• Ensure that all Secondary School staff are appraises annually providing recognition for areas of strength and recommendations for areas of development and growth
• Be responsible for the safety and well-being of all students through positive recognition and high expectations for behavior conduct
• Monitor and promote outstanding attendance and punctuality across the Secondary School
• Build and maintain relationships with Secondary School parents and the community by establishing regular and appropriate communications with all members of the school community, both internally and externally
• Ensure that the Secondary School uses a wide range of effective methods, including technology, to communicate with parents taking into account the home language pf parents by promoting two-way communication
• Ensure that parents receive regular reports of their children’s progress and attainment that include next steps for learning
• Manage all aspects of students behavior, attendance, social and emotional growth and development
• Connect school events to local community events so that students and parents have the opportunity to participate in the broader local events such as Dubai Literacy Festival, Music Festival, Sporting and Academic competitions…etc.