Head of School
Madison International School, Merida (Mexico)

MADISON INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL 

MERIDA, YUCATAN, MEXICO 

Search for new HEAD of SCHOOL

  from August 2016 

The school belongs to the Madison Group of Schools (see www.colegiosmadison.edu.mx), which has more than 35 years of experience in the educational field.     It is a group of international schools located in different cities in Mexico offering bilingual education at all levels through academic programs of high quality including those of the International Baccalaureate (IB).    All the schools are well resourced and emphasise especially the importance of teachers having good professional qualifications and ongoing professional development in pedagogy.     Each school has a strong commitment to the welfare of all members of the school communy, including students, parents, teachers and other staff.     Their aim is that graduating students should become true citizens of the world with well developed critical thinking skills and a genuinely international attitude.

The group is already running several schools with great success in Monterrey, Chihuahua, Veracruz and Torreón, and is now launching its newest venture in Mérida, Yucatan.

(See http://www.colegiosmadison.edu.mx/colegios-madison-merida.htm).    

It is expected that there will be about 25 teachers and staff and about 150 students in the school’s opening year, with rapid growth thereafter.

B.   THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

The successful candidate will have good academic and professional qualifications, and have the qualities and experience to be able to be an effective and inspiring mentor for the teaching staff.   He/she will also be a native speaker of English – candidates from a UK background may have some advantage.

He/she will be either fluent in Spanish or at least with some knowledge of the language and a willingness to take lessons to become fluent within a fairly short time.  Another language requirement is some ability in French (French is taught from grades 6 to 9 as a third language) – again, either fluency or the willingness to take lessons to improve.

Other qualities required are adaptability, intercultural awareness and tolerance, and a strong work ethic.     

The Head of School will

• provide educational leadership
• promote the school’s mission and vision
• contribute to the school’s effective and efficient performance
• co-ordinate all aspects of the school’s management and leadership
• manage the overall direction and all day-to-day decisions of the school including
• strategic, academic and financial operations. 
• keep staff well informed about the implementation of decisions, and monitor staff
• performance effectively
• attend and participate in all meetings of the school Board and its committees.

C.   REMUNERATION

The salary and benefits package will be competitive, and commensurate with the qualifications and previous experience of the successful candidate.     The Board’s aim is to give the Head a generous starting package that will allow him/her to live well on the pesos element of the salary and also make substantial savings of US dollars every month, with the opportunity to gain salary increases subsequently for good or outstanding performance.     Further details will be given to short-listed candidates.

D.   APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Suitably qualified candidates should send to David Cope of Search Associates – dcope@searchassociates.com – all the items below collated together in a single pdf as an email attachment (to arrive as soon as possible, and no later than 31 October 2015)

• a letter of application (no more than one page), briefly outlining why the candidate wishes to apply for this position and what specific skills, qualities and experience he/she can offer
• a CV (no more than two pages)
• a statement of educational and leadership philosophy (no more than one page)
• the names and full contact details of at least three professional referees
• a good recent head-and-shoulders photo 

Initial interviews will take place during November 2015, and the Board aims to appoint the new Head no later than mid-December 2015.     However, it reserves the option to invite selected candidates to interviews in advance of this schedule.