Director Of Pastoral Care - Johannesburg at African Leadership Academy

Key tasks and responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and implement the pastoral strategic development plan, ensuring it reflects our context and the needs and aspirations of our students’ parents, and other major stakeholders.
• Coordinate the pastoral strategy, policy, and practice in the Academy in conjunction with the Dean of the Academy.
• Ensure that pastoral and academic matters align and are working with the Director of Teaching and Learning (DTL) in the best interests of students.
• Develop and promote a collegial working environment, where pastoral staffulty feel empowered through appropriate consultation and communication and prioritising their individual professional growth in the context of whole school improvement.
• Develop and maintain excellent parental relationships, ensuring a high level of communication and consultation, so that parents feel fully involved with the residential and co-curricular life of their child.
• Produce a regular detailed boarding report to the Dean, indicating successes, areas for improvement and provisions for ensuring financial efficiency.

Financial Management

• Prepare and manage the pastoral budgets effectively through good planning and resource management.
• Liaise with Operations and Finance, ensuring that pastoral budgets are effectively, efficiently, and rigorously managed.

Residential Experience           

• Lead the day-to-day operations of boarding; maintaining and enhancing the quality of provision, promoting boarding as a caring, nurturing, and supportive environment dedicated to the wellbeing and education of students.
• Maintain the highest standards for boarding in line with the international boarding schools’ best practices.
• Maintain positive relationships within and between the boarding houses, ensuring that students are supported academically, socially, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
• Ensure continuity and consistency of practice and policy across the Houses.
• Manage and liaise with house and academic staff in producing and managing boarding supervision rotas, holiday pick-up/drop-off arrangements, beginning and end-of-term programs, and other administrative requirements.
• Partner with Operations to ensure the safety and security of residents.

Co-curricular experience         

• Coach, mediate and supervise the student leadership groups.
• Collaborate with academic HODs on key community activities that engage the students.
• Identify, encourage and facilitate the organisation of spiritual activities and faith-based initiatives.

Safeguarding  

• Commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people by ensuring that all staff, and those connected to the school, share this commitment and responsibility.
• Take seriously the responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and to work together with others to ensure adequate arrangements within the School help to identify, assess, and support children who are suffering harm
• Work with House staff, ensuring that world-class safeguarding policies and health and safety procedures are implemented effectively in each House.
• Manage and implement policies related to matters such as missing students, bullying, online safety and access, and device use and policies.

Staff Development and Growth

• Provide coaching and mentoring of staffulty to ensure professional dialogues are happening across residential space and are linked closely to the progress and development of the students.
• Work closely within the Dean’s Team to ensure the pastoral CPD calendar reflects whole school strategic priorities and lead staff CPD sessions particularly in relation to the pastoral provision.
• Support staff professional growth, providing a range of opportunities for professional collaboration and ensuring that individuals within the pastoral space are fully supported in meeting their professional development goals.
• Ensure robust annual review of residential staff’s professional performance.
• Ensure that all staff, through regular briefings, bulletins, and meetings, are consulted on and kept up to date on academic matters and key school events.
• Work with the Dean on the recruitment of boarding staff.

Medical support for students

• Ensures the standards and quality of health care are maintained.
• Collaborate with the school medical staff and consulting doctors to devise and maintain all administration structures and procedures necessary to deliver an effective first aid service and delivery.
• Oversee all first aid requirements, structures, and processes throughout the school for students through the Senior nurse.
• Manage all contracts with external agencies related to health care for students (including but not limited to medical doctors, health insurance, etc.)
• Liaise with necessary bodies to ensure the delivery of necessary vaccination programs.

Communication          

• Maintain, in association with the Dean and Deputy Dean, open communication with parents by working in partnership with them through consultation and sharing of information about the pastoral needs and progress of the students.
• Participate in and lead information sessions for parents as part of our parent partnership programs (Dejen).
• Actively establish good relations with parents and visitors to the school.
• Support with the organisation of school functions open to parents and members of the public.
• Attend marketing events as required.
• Lead and prepare pastoral literature for parent information and school marketing.
• Ensure that all staff, through regular briefings, bulletins, and meetings, are consulted on and kept up to date on pastoral matters and key school events.

Person Specification:

Essential        

Behaviours  

• Respect for the views of parents and a commitment to the importance of the involvement of parents in the learning process.
• Uphold the values and ethos of the school by actively promoting an emotionally secure, warm, stimulating, and safe environment appropriate to the needs of the individual pupils and their families.
• Professionalism and consideration of the well-being of children.
• Ability to act as an effective and compelling ambassador for the school.
• Respect for all members of the community, irrespective of position, gender, age and ethnicity.
• A positive, resilient, and solution-focused attitude to working life.
• A flexible approach and a willingness to get involved wherever needed.
• A commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Skills and Knowledge

• A clear understanding of the needs of older teenagers and their developmental stages.
• Knowledge and understanding of teen development and its impact on behaviour.
• Ability to work in a way that promotes the safety and well-being of older teenagers.
• ALA is academically rigorous. All staff need to be comfortable guiding highly able students and supporting their progress to the world’s best universities.
• Excellent program and staff management skills.
• Effective communication and engagement with children and their families.
• Open to exploring innovative approaches from across the educational field.
• Knowledge and understanding of positive disciplinary methods.
• Organisational, administrative and IT skills.

Qualifications and Experience

• Fully qualified with an appropriate education degree, or a Bachelor’s degree and an internationally recognised high-quality postgraduate qualification in education.)
• A minimum of ten years of teaching experience, including experience in residential positions (at leading schools on the continent or globally) as a senior leader including working with students from 15-19 years.
• Experience in a school delivering the Cambridge curriculum or equivalent.
• Evidence of relevant and challenging continuing professional development.