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Head of School
Crescendo -HELP International School (Malaysia)

We are pleased to announce that after a thorough search process the Board of Crescendo HELP International School in Johor, Malaysia has recently appointed Paul Starkie to be their next Head of School.

Paul has a B.Ed degree from Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Liverpool University, UK.        After teaching in the UK for several years he moved into international education in Indonesia, becoming Vice-Principal and Head of Secondary at the British School Jakarta in 1995 and staying in that post for 16 years.     He subsequently held similar leadership positions at the British School of Brussels (2011-2013) and Deira International School (2016-2018), and between 2013 and 2016 served as Headteacher of Prince Andrew School on the island of St Helena.

Paul will start his new job in Malaysia in August 2019 and he and his wife are greatly looking forward to joining the Crescendo HELP International School community.

 

Search for a new HEAD OF SCHOOL

 from August 2019

The Board of Governors of the Crescendo-HELP International School (CHIS) is looking for a new Head of School to take over from the current Head, Phillip Brisley, in summer 2019, and have asked Search Associates to help them in their search.

A.    THE SCHOOL

Crescendo-HELP International School (CHIS – see www.chis.edu.my), established in February 2017, is built on a partnership between 2 leading organizations that share the belief that a quality education can help our students achieve greater success and significance in their lives. The partnership between the two giants in the education of Crescendo Education Sdn. Bhd. and HELP Education Group delivers a world-class international school at an affordable cost. In just a short time, it boasts over 1000 students with expat and local teaching talents to hone 21^st century competences and influence young minds towards success.

The School is managed by HELP Education Services Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of the HELP Education Group, established since 1986. CHIS has started strong with 200 students in its inaugural intake in February 2017.    It now has a total population of 1000 students from 12 nationalities and is targeted to reach 1,200 students by the September 2019 intake. The full capacity of the School is approximately 1,800 students.    The school has achieved extraordinary growth and success in its 2 short years of existence, and the Board has high aspirations for it to continue to develop into a model school for Malaysia and one of the top schools in the region.

CHIS is part of a group of 3 schools, the other 2 being in Kuala Lumpur and Kuching that are collectively managed by HELP Education Services (HES) which comprises of a management team of 5 people based in Kuala Lumpur, led by a CEO with leaders in Administrative Operations, Human Resource, Marketing and Finance.

The CHIS Board of Governors comprises senior academics who come with a long-standing education management background. The School’s academic quality and standards are overseen by the Board of Governors and the School’s finances are managed by the Board of Directors.The Head of the School is supported by a robust leadership team overseeing the teaching and learning as well as the pastoral care of the School. He/ she is assisted by two (2) Deputies in charge of Academic and Pastoral care respectively. The middle leadership team consists of two (2) Assistant Principals, three (3) Key Stage Coordinators and thirteen (13) Heads of Year. The School practises meritocracy in its staff recruitment process and has an almost even number of expatriate and local academic staff. The administrative structure of the School is strongly supported by a bursar and three (3) managers overseeing Finance, Admissions and Marketing, Facilities and Events and Human Resources.

Curriculum

CHIS offers the IPC as the primary curriculum, the Cambridge curriculum as the secondary curriculum and Cambridge ICSGE and A Levels in the upper secondary years. For admissions, applicants do the CAT4 assessment with a written component as an English proficiency test. The academic progression assessment is done with a year group CAT4 test at Year 3, 6 & 9 and Year 6 & 9 checkpoint exams.

Vision and Mission Statement

School Vision Statement

Providing excellence in preparing students to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

School Mission Statement

• To create a caring, challenging environment in which each student is encouraged to flourish and fulfil their potential.
• To provide each student opportunities to grow, through their learning, across a wide variety of curricular and co-curricular activities.
• To create an environment where young people are educated to be tolerant, respectful, socially responsible and independent of mind, equipping them for our changing world.
• To challenge each student to discover his/her strengths and to develop and to excel socially.
• To nurture pupils as global citizens with character, passion, and integrity, so that they are equipped to overcome future challenges and make a difference to their community and country.

School Motto

To help students fulfil their full potential by providing an educational culture and environment that enables them to experience the joy of learning.

School Values

1. Integrity
2. Endeavour
3. Selflessness
4. Curiosity
5. Respect
6. Communication

Location

The Crescendo-HELP International School Campus is located in Ulu Tiram, Johor, Malaysia.

The Crescendo-HELP International School is easily accessible from almost anywhere in Johor state.

By road, the CHIS Campus is:

• 25 minutes from Senai International Airport
• 25 minutes from Johor Bahru City
• 45 minutes from Puteri Harbour, Nusajaya (Legoland, Sanrio Town)
• 1 hour from Singapore

The following are some of the surrounding residential areas (with journey time to or from School) favoured by expatriates working nearby.

• Austin Heights (20 minutes)
• Taman Gaya (10 minutes)
• Taman Pelangi Indah (10 minutes)
• Taman Desa Tebrau (15 minutes)

For further information please see https://chis.edu.my/

B.     THE HEAD OF SCHOOL - RESPONSIBILITIES

OBJECTIVE:

To provide a challenging, effective, well-rounded international educational experience for the students attending the School.

 

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP:

The Head of School is responsible for the direction and supervision of all personnel who perform their respective functions within the school.

The Head of School reports directly to the CEO of HES.

The Head of School will also have to provide regular reports to the Board of Governors who oversee the academic standards and direction of the school.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:

• Responsible for the coordination of all school activities and programmes.
• Direct the school, students and staff towards the school’s vision, mission and the school’s goals.
• Develop, implement and maintain the vision and mission statement of the school. Involve students, staff and parents.
• Actively promote international education opportunities for students to develop global leadership skills and an understanding of global issues.
• Responsible for developing, monitoring, evaluating and promoting the school instructional programme.
• Work with School Leadership Team and Board of Governors to ensure current innovative educational practice, relevant curriculum content and regular assessment of the quality of the education given.
• Establish and promote high standards and expectations for all students and staff for academic performance and responsibility for good behaviour.
• Develop school improvement plans with staff that align with the school’s long-term and short-term goals.
• Use meaningful data and statistics to make informed decisions on school improvement.
• Lead a system of faculty / staff monitoring whereby all teachers receive systematic feedback on their professional performance.
• Recognize and promote the use of Information Technology as an essential 21^st century learning tool. Effectively use technology for efficient and effective administrative practices.
• Lead the production of secondary curriculum and promotional documentation.
• Establish procedures for reviewing current policies and procedures for changes as needed.
• Coordinate and supervise a school management team, including the Deputy and Assistant Principals.
• Assist in the process of recruiting high quality teachers for the school.
• Plan, propose and manage staff assignments.
• Organize programmes of assistance and orientation for new teachers.
• Responsible for preparation of the teacher handbook and student handbook.
• Oversee the development and implementation of the school master calendar in the context of the whole school calendar.
• Coordinate student advisory groups and programmes.
• Develop community contacts and work with community organizations.
• Develop procedures for maintenance of permanent records.
• Work with the Assistant Principals in maintaining a consistent and fair behaviour management system for students.
• Supervise and approve field trips, staff development activities, assemblies, report card distribution, parent/teacher conferences, and other special events.
• Attend school performances and fixtures.
• Maintain a positive, interactive and transparent relationship with the school community.
• Contribute actively and creatively support the whole-school Administrative team.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the HES CEO.

C.    THE HEAD OF SCHOOL – PERSON SPECIFICATION

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS AND QUALITIES:

• Completion of at least a post-graduate certificate in education. Certification of having completed a course in school leadership will be an advantage.
• Must have experience working in senior school leadership positions, preferably as Head of School, but exceptional candidates who are currently serving as Deputy Principals are welcome to apply.
• Commitment to teacher training and the development of both local and expatriate staff
• Strong organizational, public relation and interpersonal skills.
• Commitment to internationalism in education.
• Ability to demonstrate, with evidence, the impact of leadership on student achievement in the school.
• Sound knowledge and understanding of pedagogy and the ability to lead the school staff in teaching and learning.
• Proven ability to work autonomously and collaboratively as a member of a leadership team with high levels of accountability.
• Demonstrated capacity to produce and implement clear, evidence-based improvement plans and policies and lead innovation and change.
• Demonstrated capacity to ensure that the school’s human, physical and financial resources are efficiently allocated and managed.
• Evidence of ability to create a professional learning community that is focused on the continuous improvement of teaching and learning, supporting all staff to achieve high standards and commitment to their own learning and wellbeing.
• Demonstrated capacity to work well with a diverse school community and develop positive relationships with parents/families and the local community.

 

D.    TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE APPOINTMENT

The initial contract offered to the successful candidate will be for three years, renewable thereafter by mutual agreement of the Head and the Board.

The compensation package will be commensurate with the responsibilities of the position and will include the following:

•  A competitive salary, with an optional Employees Provident Fund contribution
• Group PA Insurance
• Group Hospitalization & Surgical Insurance
• Accommodation allowance
• Full Tuition fees coverage for dependent’s 2 children enrolled with CHIS
• Annual return airfare for Head of School and his/her dependents
• Relocation allowance (reimbursement basis)

 

E.     THE 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 15 January 2019)

• 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 (one of which should if possible be the leader of the applicant’s current organisation)
• a good recent head-and-shoulders photo.

Interviews are scheduled to take place during January 2019, with the final round in Johor Bahru. However, CHIS’s Board reserves the right to invite selected candidates to interviews in advance of this schedule.

Closing date: 15 January 2019        Applications to:            dcope@searchassociates.com