Head of Design and Technology, Secondary School (August 2026)

About This Role

Job Overview The Arbor School seeks a special individual for an exciting opportunity that has arisen within our school. The successful candidate will play a key role in fulfilling the school’s ecological and sustainability vision, as well as challenging students to fulfil their potential within the academic disciplines. The Arbor School is seeking a highly motivated  Head of Design and Technology to lead the Food Technology and Resistant Materials department in the Secondary School.

We are looking for an experienced teacher/leader with a passion for this subject area. The successful applicant will be able to teach students of all abilities as well as demonstrate a proven track record of securing outstanding student outcomes. Proficient and experienced in teaching Design and Technology, ideally with experience of teaching across GCSE/iGCSE and A Level/BTEC.

Enough For All, For Ever The Arbor School opened in 2018 with a very different vision of what education could and should be – experiential, authentic and inspired by the natural beauty, human ingenuity, and profound ecological and social challenges of the Arabian Peninsula.

The cultivation of a learning community uniquely committed to understanding and restoring the health of ecological and human communities as interconnected parts of a whole requires equal parts optimism, ambition, and humility. A fundamental belief in the inherit goodness of people and their capacity to act with empathy and compassion underscores the sense of hope that is fundamental to learning for a sustainable future. The resilience and determination to tackle challenges that have grown to global proportion is essential to finding sustainable solutions and orchestrating the social changes needed to grow them to scale. The realisation that comes from recognising that we are all students – never a master – drives our commitment to ignite a lifelong love of learning.

Role Recognising the interconnected nature of the cognitive, affective, and participative domains, and their roles in shaping learning, we are pursuing a holistic approach to teaching and learning, designed to prepare learners:

• to understand the interconnected concepts of sustainability, individual and collective well-being, and environmental and social justice;
• to find purpose, meaning and joy in their interactions with the natural world and with each other, and to seek to understand people who are different to themselves;
• to experience a sense of accomplishment and self-efficacy through their actions at home, in school and in the wider world.

The Arbor Promise Arbor teachers are a part of a community which is inclusive, fun-loving, and active. Arbor teachers enjoy authentic friendships with their colleagues, positive relationships with school leaders, who care for their wellbeing, and are a team in the true sense. Arbor teachers are resilient in the face of challenge, are stable and calm in the face of change, and creative and flexible when solving problems. Arbor teachers bring their passions and interests to enrich our school and are clear that there is an expectation to do so. We commit to meeting agreed deadlines, to communicating proactively with an assumption of positive intent and share a passion to provide an education of the highest quality to our students.

Job Summary The successful candidate will be proficient and experienced in teaching Design and Technology with experience of teaching across GCSE/iGCSE and A Level/BTEC. You will lead the team, with responsibilities across KS3, KS4, and KS5, overseeing Design Technology.

Key Responsibilities

• Doing all that you can to ensure that you safeguard and promote the welfare of students (in line with Arbor’s Safeguarding framework/policy/Code of Conduct).
• Positively and actively promoting the Arbor vision, mission, and values.
• Ensuring your practice is in line with the Arbor Staff Handbook, the Arbor Support Teacher: A Framework for Outstanding Support.
• Implementing, where appropriate, school policies, procedures and expected practices, as identified by the Senior Leadership Team at the Arbor School.
• Undertake specific operational tasks as agreed upon with the Assistant Head of Curriculum, including some or all of the following areas:
• To support in developing and reviewing the Design Technology curriculum and schemes of work at KS3, KS4 and KS5.
• Support in the preparation, delivery and evaluation of schemes of work for the school in accordance with the National Curriculum requirements; with a particular focus on challenge, pace, high order questioning and thinking skills to facilitate students accessing the highest grades at KS3, KS4 and KS5.
• To ensure that the learning environment is well-ordered, safe and stimulating, leading by example to encourage a high standard of display work in classrooms and communal areas with a clear emphasis on celebrating success, sharing achievements and highlighting specialist subject knowledge.

Required Candidate Profile

• Native-level English language skills
• Bachelor’s degree in Design Technology or similar, with a PGCE in Education with QTS or equivalent
• A minimum of 3 years experience teaching Design and Technology in the UK or a reputable British school overseas
• A track record of outstanding GSCE and/or A Level examination results.
• A track record of outstanding teaching and learning and an ability to create a caring and nurturing classroom environment.

Remuneration: A competitive tax-free compensation package will be provided in accordance with School's policy and UAE labour law regulations.

Application: To apply for this position, please complete the application on TES and upload:

• An up-to-date CV with a recent photograph to be included.
• A letter of application, no longer than two pages in length, which outlines your educational philosophy and suitability for the Arbor School.

The Arbor School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all the students in our care and expects all applicants to share this commitment. We hold ourselves to a high standard of effective, safer recruiting practices with specific attention to child protection. All appointments are subject to CV and qualification checks, interview, identity checks, criminal record checks, and successful references. All appointments are subject to the approval of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority and the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.