Head of Secondary

Job Purpose
The Head of Secondary provides visionary leadership for the Secondary School, inspiring students and staff to achieve outstanding outcomes while nurturing a culture of care, inclusion, and aspiration. This role is responsible for driving academic excellence, strengthening student wellbeing, and ensuring every learner is known, valued, and supported to reach their full potential.

Through collaborative leadership and a commitment to continuous improvement, the Head of Secondary ensures our students leave Dover Court as confident, resilient, and globally minded young people equipped to make a positive difference in the world.

Exceptional leaders are not defined solely by what they achieve, but by how they grow through challenge, inspire those around them, and continually refine their leadership practice. At Dover Court International School, we seek a Head of Secondary who brings academic ambition, strategic thinking, and the self-awareness and relational maturity needed to lead a thriving school community.

We invite you to share the experiences, influences, and defining moments that have shaped your leadership journey and continue to guide your development as a leader.

About the Role

Strategic Leadership

• Embody the school’s mission and vision in word and action;  
• Gain and maintain the trust and confidence of students, colleagues and parents;  
• Be accountable for all aspects of standards in the Secondary School;  
• Motivate students and staff to aspire to excellence in all that they do;  
• Build strong, high-performing teams;  
• Create the conditions for staff to continue to learn;  
• Be responsible for safeguarding students;  
• Deploy resources with due diligence, with efficiency and effectiveness;  
• Plan strategically for the continual improvement of the Secondary School; 
• Take on any other duties required by the Principal. 

Teaching, Learning and the Curriculum 

• Providing a curriculum which provides exemplary learning opportunities within and beyond the classroom;  
• Maintaining exemplary student behaviour that encourages learning within a purposeful and safe environment;  
• Developing and maintaining effective systems for the care and guidance of students, from transition from primary through to university;  
• Demonstrating wide-ranging knowledge of effective pedagogy and curriculum;  
• Ensuring that our curriculum reflects our place in Asia and in Singapore;  
• Ensuring the powerful use of technology to enhance learning and developing STEAM;  
• Developing and maintaining a rigorous system of school self-evaluation;  
• Monitoring, evaluating and improving standards of teaching through the use of lesson observation, work scrutiny and assessment data;  
• Recognising and celebrating teaching excellence and challenging poor practice;  
• Personally supporting the life of the school beyond the classroom;  
• Ensuring that students participate in a rich and varied programme of co-curricular activities, trips and residential experiences. 

Staff Leadership & Professional Development

• Fostering a culture of respect, equity, ambition, leadership, responsibility and integrity; 
• Developing and maintaining a community of professional learners;  
• Developing everyone’s ability to use the performance management system to raise standards and contribute to professional growth;  
• Leading and mentoring and managing the performance and professional development of the Secondary Leadership Team;  
• Ensuring that the middle leaders are effective in leading their teams;  
• Working with the Principal to recruit and retain the highest quality teachers, including participation in interviews and selection;  
• Organising initial and ongoing induction for new teachers;  
• Contributing to the professional development of teachers;  
• Contributing to the provision of references for teachers moving to new schools or new positions. 

Community Engagement & Collaboration

• Ensuring that parents are regularly informed about their child’s progress, attainment and achievement and ensuring that they know how to support their child’s learning;  
• Informing parents of key events, trips and residential activities with sufficient notice for families to plan, logistically and financially;  
• Keeping parents informed of events and priorities;  
• Ensuring that the achievements of students and staff are recognised and celebrated.  
• Maintaining a high standard of presentation in all printed and on-line materials relating to the Secondary School;  
• Working with parent representatives;  
• Organising and presenting at parent workshops through the NAE Parent Academy;  
• Developing wider community links through CAS and other projects.  
• Directing the strategic planning of cohesive seamless transition across all key stages;  
• Promoting a culture of safety and happiness within the school and valuing all individuals within the school  
• Ensuring that there is a safe and supportive culture across the school, adhering to robust safeguarding practices, student behaviour processes and attendance monitoring.

Operational Leadership

• Creating and maintaining an annual calendar of Secondary School events, taking into account the operation of the whole school;  
• Managing the Secondary School budgets for annual orders, classroom supplies, PD, trips, supply teaching and examinations;  
• Holding regular, productive meetings with the Secondary School Leadership Team, keeping a clear record of outcomes;  
• Working with the Marketing, Admissions and Communications Team to attract and recruit students and ensuring effective induction for new students and families;  
• Assisting in whole school marketing initiatives and contributing to the growth of the school;  
• Thinking and planning strategically for continual growth and improvement;  
• Communicating a clear, concise, coherent vision and enabling others to contribute to achieving that vision;  
• Contributing to whole school strategic planning. 

Professional Conduct & Value Alignment

• Acting with integrity;  
• Maintaining a professional appearance and manner and expecting the same of staff; 
• Being personally ambitious, engaging in significant professional development;  
• Being culturally sensitive and agile.  
• Being inclusive, approachable and recognising of need.  
• Demonstrating a deep understanding and tolerance relating to equality, diversity and inclusion.

About You

• Bachelor’s degree or higher qualification in a relevant field.
• PGCE, QTS, or an internationally recognized teaching qualification.
• Proven track record with at least 5 to 7 years’ experience in a school leadership role. Candidates with substantial senior leadership experience, including multiple Deputy Headship appointments or an extended and impactful tenure as a Deputy Head in a large school setting are welcome to apply too. Experience in a leadership capacity within a Nord Anglia Education (NAE) school, FOBISIA member school, or a similarly high-performing international school is desirable.
• A strong track record of leadership and curriculum delivery across at least two of the following areas: the English National Curriculum, IB, GCSE, BTEC and ADAN.
•  Experience in international schools, including working with groups of students with diverse additional educational needs and for whom English is an additional language.
• Experience leading and contributing to successful school accreditation and inspection processes.
• Track record of leading or contributing to professional development of teachers.  
  

About us
Established in 1972, Dover Court International School in Singapore is a leading inclusive international school with British heritage, serving international families, set on a green 12-acre site about 20 minutes from the Singapore CBD. Dover Court International School is a community with inclusion at its heart. With more than 2000 students aged 3 to 18, our unique Pathway programme enables us to provide an education that meets the needs of a diverse student population, ensuring all learners are appropriately supported and challenged in their learning. 

In our Early Years we use a Reggio Emilia inspired approach. In Primary we are guided by the National Curriculum for England and the International Primary Curriculum. In Secondary we have IGCSE/GCSE, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and International BTEC qualifications. We also offer courses that focus on English, mathematics, life skills and employability through ASDAN programmes.

All students are involved in a wide range of co-curricular activities, mainly run by teaching staff. Resulting in a rich and varied co-curricular offer for our students, with our school active and competitive in the local international school sports league across a number of sports. The school has an extensive programme of residential trips starting in Year 3 up to the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award in Secondary.

Our unique approach enables us to prepare all students to flourish in our dynamic world, so they are active participants in a globally connected community, now and throughout life. 

We are members of the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA) and are accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

Dover Court is a strong, vibrant community, where all staff are well supported with access to a range of professional learning opportunities and a commitment to professional reflection and growth.

Safeguarding
Dover Court International School in Singapore is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including references from previous employers in accordance with our safer recruitment practice. Final interviews will be conducted in person, and they will explore candidates’ suitability to work with children. 

How to apply

We are interested in understanding the leader you have become, the experiences that have shaped you and how your leadership continues to develop.

You application should include:

1. A current CV detailing your professional experience, qualifications and key leadership experiences.
2. A Cover letter (maximum 1000 words) exploring your leadership journey and its relevance to the role of Head of Secondary at Dover Court International School.

We invite you to draw on the professional experiences that have most influenced your development, including those that have challenged your assumptions, tested your judgement or changed how you work with others.

Our expectations

We are not looking for a flawless account of your career or a set of idealised leadership statements. We value leaders who can reflect candidly on their experiences, articulate the lessons they have learnt, and demonstrate how those experiences have influenced their growth, judgement, and leadership journey.

The application timeline

Application window is open until 23 November 2026

Initial interviews from 23 November 2026

Final in person interviews at Dover Court International School in Singapore on 7 & 8 December 2026

* Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and the school reserves the right to commence interviews at any stage of the recruitment process.