HEAD OF EDUCATION
Common Good, a well-established NGO based in Cape Town South Africa, mobilizes the church to engage and act justly, creating opportunities for those marginalised by poverty and injustice to realise their full, God-given potential.
Common Good seeks a passionate, seasoned education specialist with experience in school model design and implementation, management of a network of schools and instructional leadership.
Context:
South Africa’s education system is systemically challenged by its difficult history and a new strategy for fixing it is essential. Most South African civil service and government education initiatives have not worked with individual schools and have previously offered large-scale school improvement programs which fail to appreciate the context of each school. This means there is a dearth of education specialists with experience in working with a smaller number of schools in a focused way, implementing instructional leadership, developing monitoring and evaluation systems and forming close relationships with the teachers and principals of the school.
Using the Collaboration Schools Model, Common Good seeks to improve individual schools by identifying the challenges they face and formulating their own particular paths to excellence.
You will live in beautiful Cape Town for a period of 2-3 years and work in communities that have struggled to overcome their socio-political context for many years. The Head of Education will work closely with the Common Good team of Executive Principals who will coach and develop the teachers and principals at the Collaboration Schools. You will design, implement and constantly evaluate the school model, from curriculum to institutional design. This role has the potential to empower many poor children in South Africa to receive an excellent education despite their difficult context.
As the Head of Education, the incumbent will ensure that each Principal and School Leadership Team receives the appropriate balance of challenge, support and professional development that facilitates school improvement and crucially, achieves outstanding outcomes for learners. He/She will provide senior school leaders with the high-level direction and expertise required to enable him/her to provide purposeful leadership on a daily basis and to deliver an outstanding education for all learners through consistent and sustained improvement.
The Head of Education will be responsible for:
· Leading and working closely with the Head of Academics and Instructional Development in ensuring clear alignment of key school improvement priorities and rigorously monitor progress against the actions required to meet them
· Direct management, coaching and mentoring of each Principal to ensure both in-school and systematic improvement
· Establishing a shared culture between schools that enables everyone to work collaboratively, share best practice, celebrate success and accept responsibility for outcomes
· Ensuring that the schools (under the day-to-day leadership of the Principals) make rapid and sustained improvement, with minimal disruption to progress ensuring that aspirations and standards continue to rise over the long term
· Ensuring that each Principal and School Leadership Team receives the appropriate balance of challenge, support and professional development that facilitates school improvement and crucially, achieves outstanding outcomes for learners. You will provide senior school leaders with the high level direction and expertise required to enable him/her to provide purposeful leadership on a daily basis and to deliver an outstanding education for all learners through consistent and sustained improvement.
· Leading the design, direction and management of professional development of a group of Principals and School Management Team (SMTs) members, enabling us continually to raise the aspirations of learners and teachers alike. Evaluation of the success of initiatives and a readiness to change plans based on the success or failure of initiatives is essential.
· Working to unite all schools in an unwavering commitment to the highest achievement for all, regardless of background or ability.
· Playing a key role in the transition of schools into the Common Good Collaboration Schools network, embedding the Common Good vision and standards, ensuring proper induction for principals and their teams, and identifying specific areas for targeted intervention, as well as leading the design of school improvement plans.
· Working closely with Common Good’s senior leaders to develop a range of communication strategies that strengthen the profile of Common Good and each of our schools with parents, stakeholders and the entire community we serve.
The Head of Education must meet the following criteria:
· Recognised REQV14 teacher qualification / Recognised 3 to 4-year teaching qualification
· At least 7 years actual teaching experience or direct experience working with individual schools to improve results
· Minimum of 5 years in school management
· Experience of having worked successfully in at least one school in an urban, multi-cultural setting, teaching students from backgrounds of socio-economic disadvantage
· Successful team leadership and strong track record of results
· Strategic management of a network of schools
· Managed budget and financial processes
· Skillful and engaging leadership and political nous for maintaining effective working relationships with parents, governors and other stakeholders
· Passion for Social Justice demonstrated through background/experience
· Legislation and current international thinking on education achievement and improvement
Please send your CV, letter of motivation and complete the AA bio summary form in MS word format to: [email protected]
Closing date: Sunday 15 March