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Middle School Principal
Concordia International School Shanghai (China)

 February 2024

 

 

 

JOB DESCRIPTION  February 2024

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To apply, please visit Concordia’s career page and submit an application:

https://www.concordiashanghai.org/employment/open-positions

Contact information: recruitment@concordiashanghai.org

Application deadline: July 31^st, 2024

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Position Title: MS Principal

Division: Administration: Middle School

Supervisor: Head of School

 

Direct Reports:  Assistant Principal, Middle School Counselors, Middle School Teaching Staff, Divisional Secretaries, Support Staff

 

Position Summary: The Principal serves as the educational leader responsible for communicating with and empowering the Middle School to carry out the school’s overall vision and mission.  S/he is responsible for managing the policies, facilities, regulations, and procedures that ensure students in Grades 6 through 8 are learning, being supervised in a safe learning environment and are providing a high-quality education that meets the approved curricula as framed by the School-wide Learner Outcomes (SLOs).

 The Principal works collaboratively with faculty, administrators and parents to: meet the academic, physical, spiritual, and social needs of middle school students, advance the school’s core values; foster a sense of community throughout the school, monitor progress toward school-wide goals, and establish sectional goals for ongoing improvement which align with school-wide goals. 

 

Requirements:

           Education

• Master’s Degree or above.
• Appropriate Administrative License or Certification.

  

           Experience

• Minimum 10 years of successful teaching experience.
• Minimum 5 years Middle School administrative experience at the Assistant Principal or Principal level.
• Active Christian faith, interested in the complex questions of faith and spirituality, and keen to learn and interact with others of different faith traditions.
• A strong moral character with the ability to engender trust in her/his leadership.
• Solid conceptual and applied knowledge of current research and trends in best practice Middle School education, including curriculum development, assessment for learning, literacy instruction, multilingual learning, technology integration, and standards-based assessment and reporting.
• Proven success working with a diverse student population from a wide variety of cultural, social and religious backgrounds.
• International school experience at a like size school or larger is preferred.

 

Terms of Employment:

• Thirty working days of vacation beyond school holidays.
• Salary based upon experience.

 

Skills

• Ability to articulate the developmental needs of Middle school aged children and translate these needs into vision.
• Ability to establish and maintain an effective learning climate in the school.
• Ability to effectively manage and multi-task within a demanding, dynamic and changing environment.
• Ability to interpret and implement all policies.
• Ability to supervise Middle School personnel for the purpose of monitoring performance, providing for professional growth and achieving overall objectives of the school's instructional program.
• Ability to develop school plans and organizational procedures for the health, safety, discipline and conduct of students.
• Ability to prepare and manage the Middle school budget.
• Ability to serve as liaison between the school and community, interpreting activities and policies of the school and encouraging community involvement with the school.
• Ability to provide direction to others and to make independent judgments.
• Ability to work harmoniously with others and to communicate effectively (both orally and in writing) with students, parents, teachers, and the community.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality.
• Ability to communicate with individuals of varied cultural and educational backgrounds.
• Ability to keep and maintain accurate records and to meet deadlines.
• Ability to use technology as required to perform duties.

 

Concordia Fit

Spiritual Leader

• Demonstrates moral integrity, honesty, kindness, faithfulness
• Is a person of moral principles
• Models a Christian faith walk
• Models servant leadership characteristics

Mission Centered-Vision Focused

• Is inspirational
• Takes personal ownership in fulfilling the mission
• Can “see” the future and articulate, plan, and execute next steps
• Demonstrates a positive, optimistic, can-do attitude
• Demonstrates a passion for teacher and student success

Instructional Leader

• Focuses instructional leadership on the question of “How does this improve student learning?”
• Leads curriculum based on the most recent understanding about learning
• Ability to develop, implement, and monitor curriculum and learner progress
• Is a leader of learning
• Promotes professional development focused on improving student achievement
• Observes teachers regularly and provides appropriate feedback
• Models lifelong learning.

Team Focused

• Respectful of all, builds people up, is equitable in relationships
• Is transparent, flexible, and adaptable
• Demonstrates commitment to school improvement
• Works collaboratively with all in the school and community
• Advocates and nurtures a positive school culture conducive to student learning and teacher growth
• Demonstrates ability to resolve conflict
• Is collegial and contributing member of the school wide community

Management Competence

• Manages the school, operations and resources to provide a productive environment for learning
• Demonstrates ability to delegate, empower co-workers and develop leaders
• Clearly communicates, both orally and in written form, to a diverse group of cultures and in diverse settings

 

Key Areas of Responsibility

 Staff Recruitment, Development, Supervision, and Evaluation

• Recommend for hire, top quality faculty and support staff that are capable of effectively performing their roles and responsibilities in carrying out the mission and goals of Concordia.
• Supervise and evaluate faculty. Ensure that all teachers and staff have a clear understanding of their performance expectations.  Negotiate and monitor annual professional goals for staff supervised.
• Encourage and support professional development so that teachers continuously improve in their instruction and overall teacher effectiveness.
• Foster a sense of collegiality through effective team planning and decision-making, involving faculty in goal setting and planning. Develop the leadership capabilities of teachers so that instructional leadership becomes a shared responsibility.

Curriculum/Program Development, Supervision and Evaluation

• Working with the school administration and the Assistant Head of School – T&L, provide leadership to co-ordinate and support curriculum development and monitor achievement of classroom curriculum goals and ensure that student performance outcomes on the school’s Schoolwide Learner Outcomes (SLO) are being met.
• Working with the school administration to assess programs against the needs of students, parent expectations and school-wide goals to ensure that they continue to be effective.
• Set annual and long-range goals for the middle school program improvement and involve faculty in goal setting and motivate their efforts towards successful achievement of the goals.

Community Relations and Development

• Develop a strong sense of community within the division and within the school. Maintain a positive school climate, where all students, faculty and staff have the opportunity to be engaged, involved, recognised, and feel valued, as well as to develop and achieve their potential both individually and collectively.
• Maintain effective communication between school and home about individual student progress and school goals and involve parents in significant decisions associated with their child’s education.
• Provide parent forums (Parent Connects) for two-way communication.
• Be an active supporter of the after school extra-curricular programs (ECA) and parent events. 

Financial Management

• Responsible for sound financial management including accurate program budget planning and fiscal accountability to ensure school resources are effectively and properly utilized.

Facilities Management

• Working in conjunction with the Operations Department to manage current middle school facility as well as plan and determine long-range facility improvement and maintenance to ensure that the school’s resources are being used to serve the students, faculty, and staff to their full potential.

Others

• Provide leadership and support, as needed, for the effective operation of the whole school.
• Serve as a collaborating, constructive, contributing member of the senior administration of the whole school.
• Provide leadership and support any other committee (e.g., WASC, Board, Curriculum) as assigned by the Head of School.