Principal

Presidency School; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,800,000 - 3,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Education or Educational Leadership.
• Bachelor's degree with a recognized teaching qualification.
• Familiarity with ICSE/CISCE framework and requirements.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic academic and administrative leadership for the school.
• Ensure implementation of ICSE curriculum and CISCE requirements.
• Lead examination management and uphold assessment integrity.
• Mentor and develop teaching staff and establish accountability.
• Oversee student development, well-being, safeguarding, and pastoral care.
• Engage parents and stakeholders; manage communications and engagements.
• Oversee school operations, timetables, facilities, and safety systems.
• Drive strategic planning and continuous improvement in outcomes.
• Ensure compliance with safety, regulatory, and government norms.

Skills

Visionary leadership

Strategic planning

Educational leadership

Curriculum knowledge

Staff mentoring

Education

Master's in Education

Bachelor's teaching qualification

Educational Leadership qualification (advantage)

Job description

The Principal will provide visionary academic and administrative leadership to the school and will be responsible for maintaining high standards of teaching, learning, student development, discipline, staff performance, and school operations.

The Principal will ensure effective implementation of the ICSE curriculum and the academic and regulatory requirements of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), while fostering a safe, inclusive, values-driven, and future-ready learning environment.

Key Responsibilities

1. Academic Leadership

• Provide strategic leadership for academic excellence across all grades.
• Ensure effective implementation of the ICSE curriculum, academic framework, and school policies.
• Monitor lesson planning, classroom teaching, assessments, examinations, and student progress.
• Analyse academic performance data and implement improvement plans.
• Promote experiential, inquiry-based, technology-enabled, and student-centred learning.
• Ensure appropriate academic support for high-performing students as well as students requiring additional support.
• Maintain high standards of academic integrity and assessment practices.
• Drive continuous improvement in ICSE examination results and overall learning outcomes.

2. CISCE & Regulatory Compliance

• Ensure compliance with applicable CISCE requirements, regulations, and affiliation conditions.
• Maintain all required academic, administrative, student, staff, and examination records.
• Coordinate effectively with CISCE and other relevant educational authorities.
• Ensure timely completion of examination-related processes, registrations, submissions, and documentation.
• Ensure the school remains compliant with applicable government regulations, safety requirements, child-protection provisions, and statutory norms.

3. Examination Management

• Provide overall leadership for ICSE examination preparation and administration.
• Ensure examination processes are conducted with confidentiality, accuracy, fairness, and integrity.
• Monitor student preparedness through appropriate internal assessments and academic interventions.
• Ensure effective coordination of school-level examinations, pre-board assessments, and ICSE-related processes.

4. Teacher Leadership & Development

• Lead, mentor, motivate, and develop the teaching team.
• Establish clear performance expectations and accountability standards.
• Conduct or oversee teacher performance evaluations.
• Identify professional-development requirements and facilitate appropriate training.
• Encourage teachers to adopt effective pedagogical practices and use technology meaningfully.
• Build a culture of collaboration, innovation, professionalism, and continuous learning.
• Support succession planning and development of future academic leaders.

5. Student Development & Well-being

• Ensure the physical, emotional, social, and academic well-being of students.
• Establish and maintain a positive, disciplined, respectful, and inclusive school culture.
• Oversee student discipline and ensure fair and consistent implementation of school policies.
• Strengthen pastoral care, counselling, mentoring, and student-support systems.
• Promote leadership, communication, creativity, critical thinking, sports, arts, community service, and other co-curricular activities.
• Ensure appropriate child-safeguarding and student-protection mechanisms are implemented.

6. Parent & Stakeholder Engagement

• Develop strong and constructive relationships with parents and guardians.
• Communicate the school's academic vision, policies, expectations, and achievements effectively.
• Address parent concerns professionally and within appropriate timelines.
• Conduct parent meetings, orientations, workshops, and other engagement initiatives.
• Represent the school professionally before external stakeholders and the wider community.

7. School Administration & Operations

• Oversee the smooth day-to-day functioning of the school.
• Ensure effective coordination between academic, administrative, transport, security, housekeeping, and support functions.
• Ensure appropriate school timetables, calendars, duty rosters, and operational systems are in place.
• Oversee school infrastructure, laboratories, libraries, sports facilities, technology, and other learning resources.
• Ensure effective emergency preparedness, health, hygiene, and safety systems.

8. Financial & Resource Management

• Work with the management team on annual budgets and resource planning.
• Ensure responsible utilisation of school resources.
• Monitor expenditure and identify opportunities for operational efficiency.
• Ensure procurement and resource allocation support the school's academic priorities.

9. Strategic School Development

• Develop and implement the school's annual and long-term strategic plans.
• Establish measurable academic, operational, and developmental goals.
• Monitor key performance indicators and report progress to school management.
• Lead initiatives that strengthen the school's academic reputation and overall student experience.
• Promote innovation, digital transformation, and future-ready education.

10. School Culture & Values

• Establish a culture based on integrity, respect, responsibility, empathy, discipline, and excellence.
• Serve as a role model for students and staff.
• Promote the school's vision, mission, values, and ethos consistently.
• Encourage a strong sense of community and belonging among students, staff, and parents.

Educational Qualifications

• Master's Degree in Education / Educational Leadership / relevant discipline.
• Bachelor's degree with a recognised teaching qualification.
• Additional qualification in Educational Leadership or School Administration will be an advantage.
• Familiarity with the ICSE/CISCE academic framework and requirements is essential.

Experience

• 1015 years of overall experience in school education, preferably in an ICSE/CISCE school.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a senior school leadership position, such as Vice Principal, Head of School, Academic Head, Headmistress/Headmaster, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated experience in managing academic teams, school operations, student discipline, parent relationships, and staff development.
• Strong track record of academic improvement and student outcomes.
• Experience in ICSE examination processes and CISCE compliance is highly desirable.

Key Competencies

• Visionary and strategic leadership
• Strong academic and instructional leadership
• Knowledge of ICSE/CISCE curriculum and examination systems
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Teacher mentoring and performance management
• Student welfare and safeguarding
• Parent and stakeholder management
• Conflict resolution and decision-making
• School administration and operational management
• Data-driven academic improvement
• Change and people management
• High integrity and professional maturity
• Strong organisational and time-management skills
• Technology-enabled educational leadership

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

The Principal's performance may be evaluated against:

• ICSE examination results and year-on-year academic improvement
• Student learning outcomes and academic progress
• Teacher performance, development, and retention
• Student attendance, discipline, and well-being
• Parent satisfaction and engagement
• Student participation and achievement in co-curricular activities
• Compliance with CISCE and statutory requirements
• Staff engagement and school culture
• Effective utilisation of financial and physical resources
• Implementation of strategic school-improvement initiatives
• Overall school reputation, enrolment, and retention

Personal Attributes

The ideal candidate should be:

• A strong and inspirational educational leader
• Student-centric and academically driven
• Approachable yet firm and decisive
• Ethical, transparent, and accountable
• A good listener and effective communicator
• Collaborative while being comfortable making difficult decisions
• Passionate about teaching, learning, and holistic education
• Capable of managing multiple stakeholders and competing priorities

Authority & Accountability

The Principal will have overall responsibility for the academic leadership, staff management, student welfare, school administration, compliance, and effective functioning of the school, within the policies and authority delegated by the School Management.

The Principal will be accountable for ensuring that the school consistently delivers high-quality education and maintains the standards expected of an institution affiliated with CISCE.