Principal - Secondary at Bradfield Consulting

The Principal is the chief administrative officer of the school and is charged with the responsibility for the operation of the school. He/she is directly responsible to and shall operate the school according to the By-laws, Policies and Procedures, and philosophy formulated by the School Board.

RESPONSIBILITIES

LEADERSHIP

• Demonstrate clear vision, motivation and leadership to the academic teams.
• Ensure that the objectives and ethos of the school are met by all staff.
• Inspire and motivate staff to promote the holistic development of the pupils.
• Promote effective relationships with supporting bodies outside of the school including local education authorities and social services.
• Promote services and oversee an efficient admissions and assessment process to maximise appropriate referrals and placements for the school
• Treat people fairly, equitably, with dignity and respect to create and maintain a positive school culture.

STRATEGIC DIRECTION

• Ensure that improving standards of learning and care remain at the centre of planning and resource management for the School.
• Develop and enhance the strategic plan for the School and the Centre whilst ensuring that services remain operationally effective, financially viable and responsive to changing needs over time.

LEADING, LEARNING AND TEACHING

• Ensure a culture and ethos of challenge and support where all pupils become engaged in their own learning and development, realise their potential and live life to the full.
• Use data as benchmarks to monitor student progress within the waking day curriculum.
• Determine, organise and implement a diverse flexible curriculum and implement an effective assessment framework
• Monitor, review and evaluate the impact of classroom practice and promote improvement strategies.
• Ensure pupil behaviours are pro-actively and effectively managed to minimise potential barriers to learning and personal development.
• Demonstrate and articulate high expectations and set stretching targets for the whole school community.
• Challenge under performance at all levels and ensure effective corrective action and follow up.
• Celebrate achievements and maximise internal and external opportunities for recognition through accreditation.

STAFF MANAGEMENT AND TEAM BUILDING

• Ensure an effective organizational structure is in place to deliver the waking day curriculum and organisational objectives.
• Ensure that staffs are motivated, skilled and that their professional development needs are met in order to continue to meet and anticipate the needs of the pupils.
• Ensure that professional duties are fulfilled as specified in the job descriptions, terms of conditions of service for teachers, care and other staff.
• Deploy staff effectively in order to improve and maintain a high quality of education and care within the resources available.
• Maintain effective line management, staff supervision, appraisal, training and development practices to meet organisational objectives and accountabilities.
• Establish an effective method of team working and communication in order to share knowledge and develop the service provided.
• Ensure that staff are aware of the aims and priorities of the School, motivated and empowered to achieve objectives and targets and promote the educational and life skills development of each pupil.
• Identify and take appropriate remedial action whenever performance of staff is unsatisfactory.
• Promote and manage the health and safety of staff and students ensuring that risk assessments and staff training are of a sufficiently high standard to protect the welfare and health and safety of pupils and staff.

MANAGING FINANCE AND RESOURCES

• In conjunction with the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Finance agree appropriate priorities for expenditure ensuring that expenditure is effective, well targeted, managed and monitored.
• Manage the school’s human resources effectively and efficiently within legal frameworks in order to achieve organisational objectives.
• Manage the accommodation efficiently to ensure that all school accommodation is utilized successfully for the benefit of the pupils.
• Effectively market and promote the school to maintain target pupil numbers and ensure the continuing long term viability of the service.

ACCOUNTABILITY

• Report directly to the Chief Executive Officer and work with the Governing Body, parents and other stakeholders to provide a high quality service.
• Advice and support the Governing Body, providing such reports as necessary, to help ensure it continues to meet its responsibilities.
• Inform parents of the direction and priorities of the curriculum and pupils’ attainment and progress.
• Ensure individual staff accountabilities are clearly defined, understood and agreed and are subject to timely and effective review and evaluation.
• Ensure timely compliance with policies, procedures, plans and objectives as agreed for the School and/or the Centre as appropriate.
• Liaise and co-operate with officers of local authorities, reporting in connection with discharge of the School Principal functions as they may properly require.
• Present accurate and comprehensible accounts of the school’s performance in forms appropriate to a range of audiences.

COMMUNITY

• Work in partnership with parents and governors to develop and support the pupils’ achievements and personal development.
• Develop and nurture links within the local community to enable the pupils to participate in suitable activities whilst maintaining their physical and emotional health.
• Collaborate with other agencies in providing academic, spiritual, moral, social, emotional and cultural well being of pupils and families.

SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES

The prospect must demonstrate:

• Familiarity with use of Microsoft Word, Outlook and with Excel at a basic level
• Proven manager in special education with team leadership experience
• Developing and managing positive behaviour programmes in a school setting
• Budget and Resource Management
• Proven track record of positive career progression within education sector
• Management of various relevant curriculum programmes
• Principles of designing, managing and delivering an effective curriculum

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• A higher degree of Masters or PhD in Education would be an added advantage and must have registered with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
• Candidates without a Master degree should have a minimum of 15-20 years teaching experience with some of this experience in school leadership position
• At least 10 years work experience in the education industry, 3 of which shall be in a managerial position (previous experience as a Principal in a similar school setting will be an added advantage.
• Well developed organisational and management/leadership skills
• Ability to communicate very effectively and persuasively at all levels, both internally and externally.
• Assimilate and analyse complex information to enable timely decision making
• Ability to set “smart” goals/targets and lead change if necessary to achieve them.
• Strategic Planning