This is a fantastic opportunity for a forward-thinking, ambitious and experienced professional to join our team as the Head of School for the Dalian American International School and Dalian Huamei School – educating international and local students on the same beautiful campus in Northeast China.   

The SCHOOL

Dalian American International is an American international school in the Golden Pebble Beach National Resort, in Jinzhou New District, Dalian, China, about 60 kilometres east of the centre of Dalian. Founded in 2006, DAIS has provided every student with an opportunity to achieve personal excellence and to contribute to the global community. It serves students of approximately 30 nationalities in?Pre-K?through 12th grade. The language of instruction is English for all classes?with the exception of?proficiency levelled Mandarin classes and the school follows the American curriculum.

Dalian Huamei School was established in 2010 and provides bilingual education in grades 1 to 12 for full-time Chinese students. Based on the Chinese curriculum requirements, the courses incorporate elements of an international program, such as American English and the sciences. Lessons are given in Chinese and English, creating an immersive learning environment. Guided by our School Wide Learner Outcomes, we aim to help students develop academic competence, core qualities, and character strengths through courses and activities, in preparation for lifelong learning.

The Dalian School has world-class school facilities, which include specialist classrooms and extensive sports facilities including an indoor swimming pool, and athletics area. It offers a 7-day boarding programme in its unique Campus Village residential which also provides premium accommodation to many faculty members.

As part of the Nord Anglia Education family of schools, the school shares resources and knowledge with over 80 other Nord Anglia schools around the world. Nord Anglia’s exclusive Global Campus connects Dalian students with a global community based in 33 different countries worldwide. We also enjoy exclusive collaborations with The Juilliard School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), UNICEF and IMG Academy, as well as all the benefits of being part of an extensive network of leading international schools.

The Role

This is a unique opportunity for an experienced and visionary leader to drive academic excellence, foster a dynamic school community, and hence inspire students to achieve their full potential in a globally connected environment. Supported by an exceptional leadership team, the principal takes responsibility for the leadership, organisation and management of the whole school community, including education, student welfare, global student recruitment, HR, finance and school development. The post-holder’s key deliverables are aligned with the school’s operational objectives and our strategic plan.  To achieve them, s/he must be a genuine enthusiast for holistic education, a passionate believer in students and their success, an excellent communicator and a compelling storyteller.  S/he must be able to command the respect of the school community – students and staff – by engagement in all areas of school life.  At DAIS, we believe it’s what you do that counts: leadership from the middle.

Key objectives include education quality and outcomes, student well-being, school growth, financial targets, staff development, and resource utilisation.

The ideal candidate will:

• Relentlessly pursue outstanding academic performance for the many, not the few
• Understand how to blend the best of international curricula with contemporary educational research and thinking on education
• Understand the value of true parental collaboration and involvement and work to maximise this with a community that wants to be supportive
• Lead strategic institutional change and improvement together with innovations in teaching and learning
• Have the proven capacity to collaborate and build high performing teams, and be able to inspire, motivate and develop sustainable relationships with all members of the school community to achieve outstanding results in all areas
• Possess a creative and pragmatic mind with the ability and experience of working within or with wider international networks
• Engage with students, teachers, parents and community leaders in a manner that is open, inclusive and conveys the values of the organisation and school
• Drive the marketing and admissions process of the school with passion and a focus on quality that grows the number of students and continues to create a distinctive positioning for the school in its market
• Manage financial budgets with astuteness
• Engage and contribute successfully to the wider organisation.