Principal CEO

GEMS Education; Sharjah; On-site; Confidential; Full time

Job summary

GEMS Westminster School – Sharjah seeks an outstanding educational leader to become its next Principal/CEO, starting August 2027. The role builds on a strong foundation and an established reputation within the British curriculum, guiding teaching, learning and student achievement at a thriving school.

Reporting to a senior leadership team, the new Principal will sustain excellence, develop leadership capacity, and ensure safeguarding and wellbeing across the school community.

Qualifications

• Proven track record in senior leadership within British curriculum environments.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction for the school and uphold Westminster model excellence.
• Empower senior leadership and develop leadership capacity across the organisation.
• Drive teaching quality, student achievement and continuous school improvement.
• Foster safeguarding, wellbeing and an inclusive school culture.
• Collaborate with parents, staff, and the wider GEMS Education network.

Skills

Senior leadership

Strategic direction

Stakeholder engagement

Safeguarding

Educational outcomes

Job description

Job Description

Job Description

Start Date: August 2027

An exceptional opportunity to lead one of Sharjah's most established and successful British curriculum schools.

GEMS Westminster School - Sharjah is seeking an outstanding educational leader to become its next Principal/CEO from August 2027, succeeding a highly respected and successful long-serving Principal on her retirement. This is an exciting opportunity to inherit a thriving school with an established reputation, strong community standing and a deeply committed leadership team.

Part of the world-renowned GEMS Education family, the school is based on the highly successful Westminster model and delivers the internationally recognised national curriculum for England, preparing students for IGCSE, AS and A Level examinations. Since opening in 2012, the school has developed into a vibrant and diverse learning community, recognised for its welcoming culture and strong sense of belonging.

This is an opportunity for a thoughtful and values-driven leader to build on a strong foundation, preserve the distinctive culture of the school and bring fresh perspective to its future development. Working in close partnership with an experienced senior leadership team, the successful candidate will provide strategic direction while empowering others, developing leadership capacity across the organisation and ensuring every student continues to thrive.

We seek an accomplished school leader with a proven track record of delivering excellent educational outcomes within high-performing British schools. While maintaining the school's many strengths, the next Principal will continue to develop teaching, learning and student achievement, ensuring that standards continue to rise and that every learner fulfils their potential.

Skills Description

The successful candidate will be:

• An inspirational educational leader with significant senior leadership experience, ideally as a Principal, Head of School, Executive Principal or Deputy Head/Deputy Principal within a British curriculum environment.
• A collaborative leader who builds trust, develops people and values collective success.
• Passionate about securing exceptional academic outcomes and continuous improvement.
• Skilled at nurturing positive relationships with students, parents, colleagues and the wider community.
• Commercially aware and strategically minded, with the ability to balance educational excellence with operational effectiveness.
• Committed to safeguarding, wellbeing and creating an inclusive culture where all members of the community can flourish.

For an ambitious and accomplished school leader, this represents an opportunity to guide a successful and well-established school into its next phase of development while benefiting from the scale, resources and professional opportunities offered by one of the world's largest private education providers.

If you are a leader who values people, believes in the transformational power of education and is motivated by the opportunity to sustain excellence while shaping the future, we would be delighted to hear from you.

GEMS Safeguarding

GEMS Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We are dedicated to creating safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environments where students can thrive, and we expect all employees, volunteers, and partners to share this commitment.

As part of our safer recruitment practices, all successful applicants will be subject to comprehensive pre-employment checks, including verification of identity, qualifications, employment history, professional references, and criminal record checks from all countries of residence and employment, in line with local and international safeguarding requirements. These checks may include enhanced disclosure, prohibition, barring, and overseas police clearance checks where applicable. We are committed to recruiting individuals who uphold the highest standards of professional conduct and child protection.