Job Vacancies at Spark Schools

Purpose of Role:

The Head of School Management is the most senior instructional leader at SPARK Schools, responsible for the management of our schools, as well as school leadership development. This role drives network-wide excellence and consistency in school leadership and culture, data-driven instruction, and stakeholder experience. The Head of School Management leads School Achievement Managers, who coach and manage groups of Principals to drive scholar achievement.

Reports To: Chief Operating Officer

Requirements

• Drives achievement in schools through the School Achievement Managers in the following areas:

  • School Leadership

    • Creates a united team of school leaders who live the SPARK Schools mission, vision and values daily through their appropriate decision-making and behaviours.

    • Models effective coaching and management practices for ongoing network-wide leadership development.

  • School Culture

    • Envisions, plans, implements, and monitors a consistent, high quality network-wide school culture that leads to thriving SPARK scholars and staff.

    • Creates tools to evaluate school culture and determine targeted improvement plans.

  • Data-Driven Instruction

    • Establishes network-wide protocols for data meetings that result in evidence-based planning and instructional decisions.

    • Ensures the integrity and credibility of scholar achievement data through comprehensive moderation procedures.

    • Establishes a comprehensive instructional and leadership development program that prepares instructional staff in all roles to fulfill their duties and excel in service to scholars and their families.

  • Parent and Family Engagement

    • Develops and maintains mechanisms to inform, involve, and consult our scholars’ parents and families.

    • Engages parents and families through platforms for feedback, used to inform stakeholder experience initiatives.

• Builds a regular rhythm of school visits and observations, in order to evaluate consistency and quality across SPARK Schools network, as well as identify the highest leverage network-wide and school-specific action steps for implementation.

• Champions the student information system, as well as any other systems related to school administration and stakeholder communication.

• Creates and maintains a rhythm of accountability within the School Achievement team, including quarterly data analysis and regular team meetings.

• Collaborates with the Head of Efficacy and Regional Operations Managers to ensure high quality outcomes in all five key drivers of the SPARK Schools model.

• Identifies, recruits, and engages in the selection of new School Achievement Managers and instructional school leaders, who are able to successfully lead school growth and continuous improvement efforts.

• Provides feedback on the learning model and highlights areas of success and areas of improvement.

• Collaborates with all departments in SPARK Support, in order to build and maintain relationships between schools and the Support office.

• Ensures alignment of instructional practices across the network and in line with SPARK Schools practices, policies, and core values.

• Interprets and ensures compliance of both academic and operational standards as per current South African legislative requirements.

• Provides relevant reports and analytics to the Chief Executive Officer and other relevant stakeholders regarding the SPARK Schools network.

• Ensures the integrity of academic and student data.

• Enforces compliance with ethical standards guided by the company values and mission.

• Participates actively in staff development opportunities as a member of the SPARK Schools team.

• Conducts self in a professional manner at all SPARK Schools events and to all stakeholders.

• Updates job knowledge by participating in conferences and educational opportunities, reading professional publications, maintaining personal networks, and participating in professional organizations.

Qualifications and Criteria:

The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications and criteria:

• Degree in education, a postgraduate qualification advantageous

• SACE accreditation

• At least 3 - 5 years of experience leading a team in school management and instruction with evidence of high achievement

• At least 3 years managing other managers

• Experience and practice with labour laws

• Comprehensive knowledge of the South African Primary School CAPS curriculum

Competencies:

• Critical thinking skills applied to strategic planning, data analysis, collaborative problem-solving, and confident decision-making.

• Professional, clear, and concise written and verbal communication, which can be tailored by audience and brief.

• Ability and willingness to take initiative, in order to drive one’s own development and team leadership in a fast-paced environment;

• Calm and resilience to lead self and others through challenges;

• Strong organisational skills that allow a detail-oriented approach, while maintaining a “big picture” view.

• Ability to consolidate feedback in order to clearly communicate highest leverage action steps.

Qualities:

• Grit: Persistence through challenges.

• Excellence: A track record of high expectations personally and professionally.

• Mission and Vision Alignment: Understanding of and passion for the SPARK Schools mission to provide excellent education at an affordable cost.

• Self­ Reflection: Finding the capacity to bring your best self to challenges and opportunities.

Values: Service, Persistence, Achievement, Responsibility, Kindness

Benefits

SPARK offers:

• fair market linked remuneration

• performance-based annual bonuses and increases

• above average/good annual leave

• life, disability and funeral cover

• employee wellness support

• educational support & study leave

• individualised professional development, support and mentorship

• employee discount on school fees

• opportunities for career growth

Compensation: Commensurate with experience

Position Type: Full Time

Location: Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa

SPARK Schools may expire the posting of this advertisement at their own discretion.

Kindly note that should you have not heard from us within two weeks of the closing date please consider your application unsuccessful.

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Requirements

Responsibilities:

• Leads the learning model team to:

  • Design and roll out high quality curriculum that meets and exceeds local standards and drives scholar achievement to global competitiveness.

  • Acquire or develop formative, interim, and summative assessments in all grade levels and subjects.

  • Translate rigorous assessment for learning into data analysis that drives personalised instruction and interventions.

  • Deliver effective professional development, communication, and change management to instructional leaders and instructional staff.

  • Create alignment between online and offline learning, as well as continued innovation and thought leadership in blended learning and personalisation in the learning models.

  • Ensure that all curriculum, educational resources, and pedagogical training reflect SPARK Schools’ commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and culturally-responsive teaching and learning.

• Leads the High School Product Manager to:

  • Define and monitor the progress of the critical success factors for the high school model and SPARK Randburg, the network’s first high school.

  • Use customer research to inform the design and implementation of the high school model.

  • Design and confirm all elements of the high school model curriculum and assessments, backwards planning from matric assessments, in line with global standards.

  • Document and codify the school culture and school management model for high school, specifically highlighting deviations in practice from the primary school model.

  • Design and finalize the scholar value proposition for high school SPARK scholars.

  • Engage business units to drive strategic direction with regards to all elements of the high school, including the financial sustainability of the model.

  • Line manage and coach the Principal of SPARK Randburg, through a regular coaching cycle to drive personal and professional development, as well as build the Principal’s pedagogical content knowledge and the full range of leadership competencies needed to lead a high performing high school.

• Creates a tool for evaluation of the codified learning model and inspection schools network-wide.

• Drives efficacy and constant research and strategic development of the learning models, striving for world-leading learning model standards.

• Champions Learning Management System, as well as any other systems related to scholar achievement, like gradebook and report cards.

• Owns and steers the codification of the SPARK Schools model as documented on our knowledge management platform by:

  • Monitoring the effectiveness of the implementation and adoption of the codification in schools through agreed metrics.

  • Defining and implementing processes related to the change, update, addition, or deletion of resources the codification knowledge management platform.

• Builds a regular rhythm of school visits and observations, in order to evaluate consistency and quality across SPARK Schools network, as well as identify the highest leverage network-wide and school-specific action steps for implementation.

• Champions the Learning Management System, as well as any other systems related to scholar achievement, like gradebook and report cards.

• Creates and maintains a rhythm of accountability within their team, including quarterly data analysis and regular team meetings.

• Collaborates with the Head of School Achievement and Regional Operations Managers to ensure high quality outcomes in all five key drivers of the SPARK Schools model.

• Provides feedback on the learning model and highlights areas of success and areas of improvement.

• Collaborates with all departments in SPARK Support, in order to build and maintain relationships between primary schools and the Support office.

• Interprets and ensures compliance of both academic and operational standards as per current South African legislative requirements.

• Provides relevant reports and analytics to the Chief Executive Officer and other relevant stakeholders regarding the SPARK Schools network.

• Ensures the integrity of academic and student data.

• Enforces compliance with ethical standards guided by the company values and mission.

• Participates actively in staff development opportunities as a member of the SPARK Schools team.

• Conducts self in a professional manner at all SPARK Schools events and to all stakeholders.

• Updates job knowledge by participating in conferences and educational opportunities, reading professional publications, maintaining personal networks, and participating in professional organizations.

Qualifications and Criteria:

The ideal candidate will possess the following qualifications and criteria:

• Degree in education. Advanced degree preferred.

• SACE accreditation.

• Experience teaching and/or leading in both primary and high schools.

• At least 3 - 5 years of experience leading a team in school management and instruction/learning model with evidence of high achievement.

• Evidence of past experience in curriculum design and/or development

• At least 3 years managing other managers.

• Experience and practice with labour laws.

• Comprehensive knowledge of the South African Primary and Secondary school CAPS curriculum

Competencies:

• Critical thinking skills applied to strategic planning, data analysis, collaborative problem-solving, and confident decision-making.

• Professional, clear, and concise written and verbal communication, which can be tailored by audience and brief.

• Ability and willingness to take initiative, in order to drive one’s own development and team leadership in a fast-paced environment;

• Calm and resilience to lead self and others through challenges;

• Strong organisational skills that allow a detail-oriented approach, while maintaining a “big picture” view.

• Ability to consolidate feedback in order to clearly communicate highest leverage action steps.

Qualities:

• Grit: Persistence through challenges.

• Excellence: A track record of high expectations personally and professionally.

• Mission and Vision Alignment: Understanding of and passion for the SPARK Schools mission to provide excellent education at an affordable cost.

• Self­ Reflection: Finding the capacity to bring your best self to challenges and opportunities.

Values: Service, Persistence, Achievement, Responsibility, Kindness

Benefits

SPARK offers:

• fair market linked remuneration

• performance-based annual bonuses and increases

• above average/good annual leave

• life, disability and funeral cover

• employee wellness support

• educational support & study leave

• individualised professional development, support and mentorship

• employee discount on school fees

• opportunities for career growth