Middle School and High School Librarian

The International School of Kuala Lumpur; Kuala Lumpur; On-site; MYR 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) seeks a MS/HS Librarian to advance a culture of reading, inquiry, and information literacy across middle and high schools. You will work with divisional leaders and teachers to foster evidence-based learning and responsible use of information.

You will lead the development of a coherent literacy and research strategy, supporting teachers with design, collaboration, and professional learning.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to lead MS/HS literacy, inquiry, and information literacy programs.
• Experience embedding AI ethics, source evaluation, and digital literacy in curriculum.
• Strong collaboration with divisional leaders, teachers, and library team.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for MS/HS Library as a center for reading, inquiry, and collaboration.
• Develop and implement a coherent MS/HS approach to research and information literacy.
• Partner with classroom teachers to design, apply, and evaluate library-informed lessons.

Skills

Literacy instruction

AI literacy

Research skills

Library operations

Digital literacy

Interpersonal skills

Education

Master's degree (library specialty)

Teaching qualification (library media specialist MS/HS)

Experience in international schools

Job description

The International School of Kuala Lumpur View all jobs

Vision: Know yourself, care for all, and create a better world.

Mission: We are an inclusive and dynamic community where passions, values, and competencies are cultivated to inspire learners to shape their path as global citizens.

Established in 1965, The International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) has become known as a center of excellence in the world of international education. ISKL is a co-educational, private, non-profit school responsible for the learning journey of over 1,500 students aged 3-18 years representing over 65 nationalities at its state-of-the-art campus in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

ISKL offers a robust international curriculum that combines leading North American educational frameworks with global best practices. The curriculum recognizes that students are on a lifelong learning journey and is driven by ISKL’s Mission to support students in cultivating their passions, values, and competencies as they shape their path as global citizens.

ISKL is accredited internationally through the Council of International Schools (CIS), in the United States through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), and is an IB World School. ISKL has a strong school-wide focus on service and sustainability and is a member of the Eco-Schools organization and the Green Schools Alliance.

ABOUT ISKL

Vision: Know yourself, care for all, and create a better world.

Mission: We are an inclusive and dynamic community where passions, values, and competencies are cultivated to inspire learners to shape their path as global citizens.

Established in 1965, The International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) has become known as a center of excellence in the world of international education. ISKL is a co-educational, private, non-profit school responsible for the learning journey of over 1,500 students aged 3-18 years representing over 65 nationalities at its state-of-the-art campus in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

ISKL offers a robust international curriculum that combines leading North American educational frameworks, with global best practices. The curriculum recognizes that students are on a lifelong learning journey and is driven by ISKL’s Mission to support students in cultivating their passions, values, and competencies as they shape their path as global citizens.

ISKL is accredited internationally through the Council of International Schools (CIS), in the United States through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), and is an IB World School. ISKL has a strong school-wide focus on service and sustainability and is a member of the Eco-Schools organization and the Green Schools Alliance.

JOB PURPOSE

The MS/HS Librarian is a learning leader responsible for advancing a culture of reading, research, inquiry, and information literacy across the Middle and High Schools. Working collaboratively with divisional leaders, Curricular Area Leaders, and teachers, the Librarian provides leadership in developing students who read widely and deeply, pursue questions with curiosity, engage critically with information, and use evidence ethically and effectively to construct and communicate knowledge.

The Librarian leads the development of a coherent MS/HS approach to literacy and research, strengthening both the love of literature and the skills and dispositions required for effective inquiry. The role supports teachers in designing rich learning experiences, develops shared practices for research and information literacy, and helps the school respond thoughtfully to the changing information landscape, including artificial intelligence, social media, misinformation, and emerging technologies.

The Librarian provides leadership for the MS/HS Library as a dynamic center of learning, reading, inquiry, collaboration, and intellectual life within the school community.

RESPONSIBILITIES inclusive but not limited to:

Duties are outlined below in the three main areas of learning and teaching, leadership/collaboration and program administration/management.

Literacy and a Culture of Reading

• Provide leadership for the development of a strong culture of reading across the Middle and High Schools, promoting reading for pleasure, learning, curiosity, and personal growth.


• Champion literature and ensure students encounter rich, diverse, challenging, and engaging texts that broaden perspectives and deepen understanding of themselves and others.


• Collaborate with teachers to strengthen literacy across disciplines and within the curriculum of all disciplines.


• Develop initiatives, experiences, collections, and community partnerships that make books, literature, authors, and ideas visible and valued within the intellectual life of the school.

Research, Inquiry, and Information Literacy

• Lead the development of a coherent MS/HS approach to research and inquiry, establishing shared expectations for how students ask questions, locate and evaluate information, construct arguments, use evidence, cite sources, and communicate new understanding.


• Collaborate with teachers and Curricular Area Leaders to embed research, inquiry, critical thinking, and information literacy authentically within curriculum and assessment.


• Lead the school's development of students as discerning users and creators of information, with particular attention to source credibility, critical evaluation, misinformation, media literacy, academic integrity, artificial intelligence, and the ethical use of information.


• Ensure that students progressively develop the research skills and dispositions required for increasingly sophisticated independent inquiry from Middle School through graduation.

Instructional Leadership and Collaboration

• Serve as a learning leader and thought partner to teachers and school leaders in the areas of literacy, inquiry, research, information literacy, best practices in library sciences and emerging information technologies.


• Work alongside teachers to co-design, co-teach, and reflect upon learning experiences that develop students as readers, researchers, critical thinkers, and knowledge creators.


• Build faculty capacity through coaching, modeling, professional learning, resource curation, and collaborative curriculum development.


• Collaborate closely with classroom teachers to design, apply and evaluate successful lessons, units and curricular standards


• Partner with teachers to implement AI disclosure protocols, transparent process documentation, and authentic attribution frameworks


• Supervise the processing, distribution and maintenance of classroom textbooks at the High School level.


• Expand collection management and curation responsibilities to include managing digital databases alongside AI-powered research platforms and establish guidance for high-quality, peer-reviewed database access.


• Contribute actively to curricular and divisional conversations where expertise in literacy, research, inquiry, information, or emerging technologies can strengthen student learning.


• Identify opportunities for interdisciplinary inquiry and research that connect learning across subject areas and divisions.

Library as a Center for Learning

• Provide strategic leadership for the ongoing development of the MS/HS Library as a vibrant and inclusive center for reading, inquiry, intellectual exploration, collaboration, and community.


• Ensure that library collections, digital resources, spaces, programming, and services respond to the evolving learning needs and interests of students and faculty.


• Supervise, lead, and develop the MS/HS Library team, establishing priorities that place student learning, reading, research, and engagement at the center of its work.


• Use evidence of student and faculty engagement to evaluate the impact of the library program and identify opportunities for continued development.


• Manage library resources, collections, budgets, systems, and operations effectively in support of the library's educational purpose.

Library Expertise (Technical skills)

• Familiarity with all genres of fiction and non-fiction literature, to best promote and support lifelong reading among users of all ages, interests and abilities


• Demonstrated competence in instruction, AI literacy frameworks, generative search tools, and ethical AI integration in G6–12 and IB environments


• Significant understanding of significant concepts in the area of research learning: such as the inquiry model, reliability of information, and structures of research arguments. It is especially important that the candidate has a deep understanding of the potential impact of AI and social media in the research process


• Competence in library operations and management including but not limited to library circulation and cataloging systems.


• Build information literacy and architecture with familiarity with AI queries, critical evaluation of synthetic content, and digital media literacy tools


• Knowledge of how to use digital technologies effectively in promoting student learning


• Outstanding interpersonal skills: a good listener with a collaborative style

Personal attributes

• Emulate and excel in ISKL’s culture in demonstrating empathy and care, commitment to collective efficacy beliefs in nurturing positive impacts to students’ achievements and have high expectations of self is an absolute necessity


• Have the ability to interact well with all within the ISKL community, able to navigate and be respectful in multinational settings


• Maintain a caring yet professional relationship with the students through respecting each student as an individual


• Be a self-starter, independent, problem-solver, flexible, hardworking and have the ability to be creative and be an absolute team player


• Be able to think creatively, communicate effectively, reason critically, collaborate constructively and learn enthusiastically.


• Demonstrated ability to develop community and generate trust while working with others


• Awareness of contemporary library design elements


• Innovative and creative ability to create a space that positions the library at the center of learning and future readiness


• Highly energetic, enthusiastic, visible, approachable and open minded

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE Preferred

• Advanced training (Master’s degree with emphasis in library specialty)


• Teaching qualification and experience (library media specialist both MS/HS level preferred)


• Successful progressive library experience (including in an international school preferred)

Important notes:

Role holders are expected to be fully committed and supportive of ISKL’s ongoing commitment to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice by holding themselves accountable and by modeling this commitment in the execution of duties and responsibilities in ISKL.

This role profile describes the core output expected in this role and does not encompass a comprehensive list of specific tasks, temporary activities, or projects initiated as a result of changing contexts. Agility and a growth mindset are expected of all our employees.