Principal

Purpose of the role

People development and wellbeing

• Ensure the safety and wellbeing of students and adults across school activities, functions, and policies.
• Build empowered leadership teams through recruitment, development, and succession planning.
• Use leadership programmes and the Learning Hub to grow talent.
• Lead the annual performance and development cycle, with goal setting, progress reviews, and professional growth planning.
• Oversee teacher feedback and tailored development; foster an inclusive, collaborative culture and employee engagement.

Student learning outcomes

• Be accountable for learning quality, student progress, achievement, and ISP Learning KPIs.
• Use data to inform strategy and interventions and drive improvement through evaluation and teacher development.
• Embed the Learning.First Framework, Learning Improvement Process, 5 Key Learning Pillars, EdTech tools, ISP AI toolkit, and professional learning.
• Lead curriculum strategy to align relevance and challenge with student needs, parent priorities, and Future Pathways.
• Partner with the Regional Learning Director to improve learning and teaching.

Community and customer experience

• Deliver the School of Choice strategy in the local context and promote ISP's purpose, principles, and strategic initiatives.
• Understand the school's market and audiences to support student retention and enrolment.
• Collaborate with ISP teams on branding, communications, and enrolments.
• Use parent feedback and sentiment to guide action planning and engagement.
• Maintain regular two-way communication with parents and carers and involve them as valued members of the learning community.

Commercial success

• Own financial, learning, people, marketing, health and safety, and safeguarding targets and KPIs.
• Manage school resources and staffing allocation efficiently to support profitability.
• Drive enrolment growth, income generation, and financial goals.
• Improve parent and employee satisfaction, NPS, and engagement survey results.
• Support the school team in meeting commercial and EBITDA targets.

Experience and qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and postgraduate teaching qualification (PGCE, teaching license, or equivalent) are essential.
• Advanced leadership qualification, such as MA Educational Leadership, NPQH/NPQEL, or EdD.
• Significant senior leadership experience in a whole-school or multi-phase setting in an international school; Middle East experience is ideal.
• Proven success in school-wide improvement, raising standards, and delivering strong inspection outcomes.
• Knowledge of international curricula across phases, including IB or NCfE.
• Experience with inspection and accreditation frameworks such as Ofsted, BSO, COBIS, KHDA, ADEK, or equivalent.

Key skills

• Strategic planning, educational leadership, safeguarding, inclusive leadership, and emotional intelligence.
• Community building, stakeholder engagement, team development, performance management, and engaging communication.
• Data-driven decision-making, marketing insights, financial acumen, change management, and collaboration.

Safeguarding and inclusion