School Principal (Pre-School and Early Years)

Etonhouse International Schools; Singapore; On-site; SGD 125,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international education provider in Singapore seeks a strategic leader for their school. The role involves formulating the school’s strategic direction, managing operations, ensuring curriculum quality, and leading a high-performance team. The ideal candidate will have a Master's or Bachelor's degree in Education, along with substantial leadership and teaching experience in international settings. Key responsibilities include overseeing operations, financial management, and building relationships with parents and the community.

Qualifications

• 5 years of leadership experience in an International School.
• 8 to 10 years of teaching experience in an International School.
• Experience in inquiry-based curriculum is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Formulate strategic direction and development plans for the school.
• Oversee daily operations ensuring effective management.
• Lead curriculum design in collaboration with the Pedagogy team.
• Inspire and mentor teaching and non-teaching teams.
• Manage financial performance and ensure budget adherence.

Skills

Leadership

Communication skills

Strategic planning

Financial management

People management

Education

Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Education

Job description

Strategic Leadership of the School

• Formulating overall strategic direction of the school and ensure that it is aligned with the Group’s strategic goals and targets.
• Devise the long term and short-term development plan of the school to support the achievement of its overall direction and objectives.
• Present the school development plan to the Board for its approval.
• Execute and monitor the school’s long term and short-term development plan to ensure that it is on track.
• Evaluate the school’s development needs and revise the plan as required.

Overall Management of the School

• Oversee the daily operations of the school to ensure that it is run smoothly, efficiently and effectively.
• Establish and review the standard operating procedures (SOP) of the school and ensure that it is aligned to the Group’s SOP.
• Ensure the school environment is well maintained and well‑resourced to provide the best learning environment for the students and working environment for the school team.
• Maximise the effective utilisation of school facilities and resources to ensure effective learning for students.

Curriculum Management

• Lead the school in the management of its curriculum design in collaboration with the Pedagogy team at Headquarters.
• Responsible for the quality, balance and relevance of the academic, pastoral and after‑school activities in the curriculum received by the students within the framework of the curriculum adopted by the school.
• Ensure alignment of the school’s curriculum with the other schools within the EtonHouse Group in order to provide a smooth transition for students progressing within the EtonHouse Group.
• Ensure that teaching staff effectively implement the curriculum framework and maintain high quality pedagogy.
• Coach and support the teaching team to monitor, assess, document and maintain the evaluation and assessment of students’ learning and development.
• Ensure that relevant and authentic evaluation and assessment of children’s learning and development is maintained and documented, with appropriate updates and reports to parents where required.
• Ensure the confidential storage and maintenance of all students’ records.
• Ensure that teaching materials and resources are adequate to support a high quality learning environment for young children.
• Responsible for the quality of teaching delivered by the teaching staff, monitor and review teaching and learning standards.
• Assist in teaching on an ad‑hoc basis, where required.

Staff Management

• Lead, inspire and motivate the teaching and non‑teaching team to build a positive, collaborative and high energy school environment.
• Coach and mentor the teaching and non‑teaching team to enable them to realise their full potential in their performance.
• Participate in classroom observation and give timely feedback and coaching to the teaching team to improve the teaching standards.
• Set performance and development goals for teaching and non‑teaching team and evaluate performance against goals set.
• Plan professional development for the school team through assessment of the training needs of the team.
• Work closely with the HR Business Partner to plan the projection of staffing requirements to ensure that the school is adequately staffed.
• Lead the selection and recruitment of teaching staff and non‑teaching staff.
• Mentor and on board new staff members to ensure that they assimilate smoothly into the school’s environment.
• Manage staff scheduling which includes relief covers during staff’s absences and resources for new program or class.

Safe Guarding

• Lead the school team in all child safeguarding matters to promote the safety and wellbeing of all students.
• Ensure that all school members are aware of the importance of the safeguarding of students.
• Develop and review policies and procedures relating to safeguarding of students and ensure the implementation and adherence to the policies.

Student Management

• Participate in the admission process of new students into the school.
• Ensure that student records are well‑maintained with required documents prior to admission.
• Responsible for the allocation of students to classes with consideration to be given to age, friendship groupings, previous class placement, learning and development considerations, and any other relevant factors.
• Responsible for ensuring that the required child‑staff ratios in all classes are met.

Parent Management

• Build and maintain a professional and positive relationship with the parent community.
• Ensure timely, effective and regular communication with the parent community so that they are kept up to date on the progress of their children.
• Ensure that the teaching and non‑teaching team maintain a professional and positive relationship with parents and communicates with them regularly.

Marketing and Enrolment

• Develop strategies to market and maintain the school’s student enrolment to maximise the utilisation of the school capacity and resources.
• Collaborate with the marketing team in executing marketing strategies to achieve target student population.
• Lead the school’s parent liaison team in building strong relationships with existing and prospective parents.
• Participate and lead marketing events and programs to promote the brand image of the school and the Group.
• Interact with prospective parents, when possible, to explain the curriculum and the ethos of the school e.g. conduct tours of the school as required.

Financial Management

• Responsible for the financial performance of the school to achieve financial targets and KPIs.
• Accountable for the financial management of the school and adherence to approved financial budget.
• Responsible for setting the school’s budget on annual basis and reviewing it regularly to ensure that the school has adequate resource to run effectively.
• Responsible to ensure that all school fees are collected on a timely basis.
• Collaborate with the Finance Team to ensure that accurate management report is submitted to the BOD on a monthly basis.
• Manage cost control in all aspects of school operations.

Communication with Head Office

• Provide regular updates on the school's performance to the CEO and BOD.
• Support the CEO and BOD in any other responsibilities assigned.

What are we looking for?

• A Master’s or Bachelor’s degree in Education.
• 5 years of leadership experience in an International School.
• 8 to 10 years of teaching experience in an International School working with preschool and primary children.
• Experience in inquiry based curriculum is preferred.
• A leader who regard the child as the first and singularly most important consideration.
• A resilient leader with the ability to navigate through ambiguity.
• A self‑starter who is able to think on your feet and work under pressure.
• A people leader with the charisma to motivate and inspire your team.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• International experience, especially in Asia, is highly valued.