Dean of Instruction and Learning (Athi Primary)

We are looking for an outstanding educator to serve as a Dean of Instruction and Learning at Nova Pioneer Athi River Campus. This is an opportunity to help create a transformative school model with the future of Africa’s youth at stake.

As a Dean of Instruction of Learning, serving on the school leadership team, you will help the Principal establish an extremely strong and vibrant school culture consistent with Nova Pioneer's core culture principles. However, your primary focus will be teacher development. Drawing on support from instructional leaders on Nova Pioneer's network team, you will create a professional development “machine” inside the school: deliberate practice routines and management habits that stretch teachers professionally and give them higher quality, more intensive coaching than they can get anywhere else. You will build a pipeline of homegrown local teacher talent inside the school that produces master teachers and great instructional leaders over time.

You will play a critical role in delivering an exceptional 21st Century learning experience for our students. This is an exciting opportunity to be a part of an innovative network of schools that is developing generations of innovators and leaders who will shape the African Century. Male candidates are highly encouraged to apply.

Disclaimer: Nova Pioneer does not charge any fee to process your application.

ABOUT NOVA PIONEER

Imagine a world in which every young person across Africa attends a school that truly sets them up for success in the 21st century. A school that cares about individual students and allows them to explore the world around them. A school that focuses more on developing skills than on memorizing content. At Nova Pioneer, we have done more than just imagine this future, we are bringing it to life. Nova Pioneer is a pan-African, independent network of schools offering high quality, accessible education from pre-primary through secondary school. Nova Pioneer uses a unique, enquiry-based learning approach that encourages students to ask “why” instead of telling them the “what”. It allows them to form their own thinking through exploration, investigation and collaboration. Nova Pioneer currently has 16 schools in South Africa and Kenya with a vision to launch 100 schools and reach tens of thousands of students across the African continent in the next decade. To learn more visit www.novapioneer.com.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Key responsibilities for the role include: 

• Work with the School Principal to set the pedagogical vision of the school that is consistent with the Nova Instructional Model
• Work with the Principal to articulate a compelling short- and long-term vision for the development of the school’s culture for academic and teacher-based programs
• Set and model a consistent tone of highest expectations, joy, and growth mindset for learning
• Lead key school rituals as needed to model and ingrain culture
• Quickly identify and coordinate with the Deputy Principal to effectively respond to classroom/school culture or behavior issues to promote effective instruction and learning.
• Collaborate with the Deputy Principal to ensure new student adhere to the enrolment process (transfer of required academic records, student assessment, parent assessment and homeroom allocation)
• Serve as hiring manager and line coach for all instructional staff hires
• Coach new teachers and onboarding them in culture principles and academic and work expectations
• Coach teachers through extensive observation, feedback and academic walkthroughs
• Develop grade teams and coaches  
• Ensure professional teacher documents are created, collected and up to date
• Coordinate teacher designers to ensure curriculum expectations are met
• Coordinate school timetabling, including lessons and teacher subject allocation
• Coordinate assessment process, including acquisition, moderation, marking, score analysis and report cards 
• Coordinate termly teacher conferences/ progress meetings   
• Coordinate parent events/ meetings on various academic needs (academic nights, CBc capacity building, etc.)
• Lead all professional development routines and activities across the school, including termly teacher prep PDs 
• Facilitate collaboration among teachers within/across grade levels and subject areas

ABOUT YOU

Skills and Qualifications required:

• You have a TSC certificate
• You have a Bachelor’s Degree in Education 
• A Masters in education/education management is desirable
• You have 4+ years of experience in a rigorous, high-expectations school setting including at least one instructional leadership role (e.g., department chair, grade level lead, teacher coach, etc.)
• You have rich and vast experience in school administration
• You are widely recognized as a highly effective teacher and can model what great, inquiry-based teaching looks like
• You have a track record of improving other people’s performance through coaching and build uncommonly strong relationships
• You have an exceptional ability to think strategically and yet you sweat the small stuff—people see you as unusually detail-oriented and conscientious
• You are driven by data and know how to use data from student assessments to strengthen and differentiate student learning
• You are excited about our organizational culture—and in particular, you are fired up to challenge yourself by embracing mutual vulnerability and a firehose of feedback
• You have a desire to further develop your learning design skills and apply them to transform the lives of African youth.

HOW TO APPLY

Does working at Nova Pioneer excite you? If so, then apply now!

To apply, please complete the form on the right hand side of this page. We cannot process applications that are emailed to us.

Please note: You are encouraged to attach your resume in PDF format to protect formatting.

There are a series of stages in the Nova Pioneer interview process and candidates will be moved forward in the process depending on their success in the previous stage. The process is as follows:

• Phone interview: a short conversation to understand your skills and experience a little better.
• Practical demonstration of what you can do: you will complete a written task or a demonstration related to the role you are applying for. Teachers sit an assessment and deliver a lesson to a class.
• Final interview: you’ll have a final conversation with the hiring manager before decisions are made.

WORKING AT NOVA PIONEER

Nova Pioneer is a place where our people experience tremendous growth, fast! We invest heavily in the growth of our people because it leads to greater mastery in both us and our students. “Novaneers” work harder and work longer hours than at most schools but as a result, the growth they experience is extraordinary. We offer consistent and ongoing professional development and provide clear career pathways that ensure that our people are always achieving their personal and professional best. Nova Pioneer has a highly energetic, entrepreneurial environment where our people get to bring their creative and innovative ideas to life. We look for people who are flexible and who are able to adapt and respond quickly to adversity with a positive, can-do attitude (there are no problems, only solutions!). We welcome challenges and roll with the punches because it makes us, and our students, better. There is no problem too big for us! We work hard but we also have a lot of fun together. We bring infectious energy and enthusiasm to everything we do because joy fuels the hardest work and learning. Read more about our culture principles here.

Nova Pioneer will never request an application fee from candidates. If you are contacted with a request to pay a fee from someone claiming to be a Nova Pioneer Talent or Recruitment representative, please do not pay them and report it to us immediately on talent.ke@novapioneer.com or talent.sa@novapioneer.com.