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Secondary Principal
Luanda International School of Angola (Angola)

Dear Colleagues,

I write with an update on the search for the Secondary School Principal at Luanda International School.  Grant Rogers has been named to this position, and will take up his new role starting in July of 2018.

Grant comes to this position from a similar role at the Ecole Mondiale World School, an IB World School in Mumbai, India, where he served from 2014-2017.   This was preceded by 13 years’ leadership experience in secondary schools and with the IB program at Renaissance College Hong Kong and New International School of Thailand.  He has served as a teacher of geography, humanities and physical education in Monaco and New Zealand, his country of origin.

Grant has been an active candidate of the Deelman/ Chiang Mai office of Search Associates. 

Kind regards,

Bridget McNamer

 

 

 

Luanda International School (LIS)

Luanda, Angola

 

Seeks a new

Secondary Principal (Year 7 – 13)

Effective August 1, 2018

Deadline for applications: August 31, 2017

Introduction:

We are seeking an exceptional person to join Luanda International School (LIS) and lead our Secondary Section from August 2018. This role deserves someone who is dedicated and passionate about supporting the whole child to foster growth, learning and healthy relationships, as well as inspire students and colleagues alike. We believe this is a unique school and context so we are looking for the right person to be part of our team.

The School:

 

Our Vision: Courage to empower. Passion to inspire. Together shaping our future.

 

Our Mission: A diverse community of learners, committed to fostering compassionate, confident and socially responsible individuals who thrive in the world.

Luanda International School is a private coeducational day school, which offers an English medium educational programme for students from age 3 to 18 predominantly to the international community in Luanda. LIS is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School and is authorized to offer three International Baccalaureate programmes: Primary Years Programme (PYP), Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the IB Diploma Programme (DP). We use these programmes as the framework for an inquiry based approach to learning and teaching. LIS is committed to self review and continuous improvement. Although a relatively young school, LIS is fully accredited with CAISA, NEASC and CIS. Our next combined IB/CIS visit is planned for November 2019.

LIS was founded in 1996 and whilst it has grown over the years, it still has a warm family-like atmosphere. The students are our greatest asset and, along with our mission statement, take centre place in our discussions, decisions and community. With representation from 50 different countries there is a real presence and foundation of cultural diversity and internationalism which we celebrate and embrace. We believe the quality of instruction in any school is only as good as the quality of its educators. Our teaching faculty are recruited from around the globe and bring a significant level of experience, qualifications and passion to the LIS community. We are truly privileged to attract such a high calibre of internationally minded educators and leaders.

If you don’t know our school already then take a look at our website (www.lisluanda.com), which offers all the information you need to find out who we are and what is important to us. 

 

The Role:

Being a Secondary Principal is a complex and challenging position, as you must  have a genuine appreciation of the needs of the young adolescent as well as the young adult. The secondary years are characterised by growth and change. Understanding this dynamic and creating effective pastoral and academic support is the heart and soul of what makes an effective Secondary Principal. There are a number of roles that come with such a position, so please see the Job Description for details.

The Person:

We are looking for a person who can not only demonstrate the right experience in leading a secondary learning community, but someone who will  add value and capacity to our team and help us in bringing continual improvement to our school, our programmes and ourselves. The person we seek will:

• Have a strong IB background and philosophical alignment to our vision, mission and core values.
• Have proven leadership experience skills and confidence to lead growth and change
• Understand that s/he is a learning leader for the school.
• Demonstrate a strong commitment to the whole child and support their pastoral and academic needs.
• Be open to lead and model professional learning and support the professional growth of staff.
• Want to know all about the students -- what they like, don’t like, are good at or struggle with, their dreams and aspirations. Getting to know our parents is equally important.
• Embrace innovation and balance this with sensitive and timely change leadership strategies
• Possess the ability to lead through developing other leaders and “checking in” one’s ego at the door.
• Demonstrate genuine care and empathy
• A sense of team, calm and humor.
• Have the ability to connect with parents and support them in their role as partners in their child’s learning.
• Have an understanding and interest in cultural diversity.
• Have the ability to engage in tough conversations with diplomacy and tact, without losing sight of the responsibility of leadership or the integrity of all involved.
• Be able to communicate comfortably with individuals as well as large groups.
• Have the desire and ability to contribute to the betterment of the whole school.

 

The Job Description:

SUMMARY

An effective school is dependent on school-based administrators and the quality of leadership they provide.  The Secondary Principal will assist the Secondary School Leadership Team in providing the overall leadership and management of the educational programme for the Secondary School.  The Secondary Principal will also assist the Senior Leadership Team in providing the overall leadership and management for the development of LIS.   The Secondary Principal will report to the Director.

IB Standards and Practices, January 2014 Standard A1: The school’s educational beliefs and values reflect IB philosophy. Standard B1: The school’s leadership and administrative structures ensure the implementation of the IB programmes. Standard B2: The school’s resources and support structures ensure the implementation of the IB programmes. Standard C3: Teaching and learning reflects IB philosophy.

 

 GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Respect	Supports and advances the Mission, Values and Objectives of the Luanda International School  Supports and advances international education throughout the school
Clarity	Effectively communicates with all community stakeholders (students, staff, parents, Board)  Contributes to the development and communication of a clear Secondary School vision and development plan
Rigour	Supports student learning and achievement through collaborative effort and best practice  Supports and promotes the Prep 3 to Year 13 curriculum based upon the IB goals and mission
Sustain- ability	Manages change by incorporating current research and best practice in decision-making  Encourages reflection and capacity building from all members of the community

 

 ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

It is expected that the Secondary Principal will demonstrate the following skills, knowledge and qualities:

• an unwavering commitment to the growth and development of LIS;
• ability to plan for and manage change;
• effective team leadership to produce a positive and healthy school culture;
• commitment to excellence and holding students, teachers, leaders and parents to high expectations;
• excellent conflict resolution and interpersonal skills with the ability and desire to work collaboratively with the school community including students, staff, parents and the Board;
• intervention strategies and effective leadership and decision making abilities;
• strong background in classroom supervision and instruction;
• flexibility to work in a variety of settings.

The following description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, knowledge, or abilities associated with this position.  Other responsibilities may be assigned as required by the Director.

• Ensure that LIS has the facilities and resources to develop an outstanding academic and social/emotional programme;
• Recruit highly competent international educators with resilience and adaptability;
• Develop and manage communication systems to ensure targeted and effective communication;
• Develop and manage the professional growth and appraisal model by supervising and evaluating teachers;
• Support ongoing professional learning through classroom visits and providing professional learning opportunities;
• Facilitate parent meetings and develop a healthy home-school partnership;
• Play an active role on the following teams: Senior Leadership,  Whole School Leadership, Secondary School Leadership, and Leaders of Learning.

QUALIFICATIONS

It is expected that candidates for this position will be highly qualified educators. Characteristics of the ideal person for this position would include:

• An outstanding educator;
• A Masters Degree (or pursuing one) in Education, Education Administration or Curriculum Studies;
• A minimum of ten years teaching, with international experience;
• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability and desire to work collaboratively with the school community;
• Experience with the IB and other professional arenas;
• Experience in developing and implementing professional development and teacher supervision programmes;
• Highly organized with excellent written English, technical and communication skills;
• Previous leadership experience in an international school.

Procedures for Application:

Luanda International School has appointed Search Associates as its consultant in its search for a Secondary Principal, with Bridget McNamer serving as the lead consultant.

The deadline for applications will be August 31, 2017.  However, interviews could well be conducted before the August deadline, and the search committee reserves the right to close this search before the application deadline should a suitable candidate be found before then.  It is therefore in the best interests of serious candidates to apply as soon as possible.

Interested applicants should submit the following:

• A well-written cover letter, not to exceed 2 pages, stating why this position matches your skills
• A clear resume that succinctly documents your achievements, not to exceed two pages
• A distinct statement of your educational leadership philosophy, not to exceed two pages
• A one page list of references with current accurate phone numbers, email and Skype  addresses
• A one  page paper that outlines specific priorities to focus your first one hundred days at LIS.

Applications should be emailed in a single PDF document not larger than 8MB to:

bmcnamer@searchassociates.com

 

Thank you for your interest in this position!