Head of Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) and High School Biology
UWC South East Asia, East Campus
Singapore
- New
- Job type:
- Full Time, Fixed Term
- Start date:
- 01/08/2025
- Apply by:
- 8 January 2025
Job overview
UWCSEA has a vacancy for August 2025 at its East Campus for the Head of Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) teaching IB ESS, IB Biology and Grade 9/10 Coordinated Science. The appointee will lead learning in ESS and will ensure that the values which underpin the College mission statement are reflected in the intended learnings. They will lead colleagues in the development, teaching and administration of the curriculum, and will identify and address professional learning needs as they arise in consultation with the Vice Principals.
The Head of ESS will be exected to be an active and dynamic leader, and support our efforts to develop a positive culture of learning. The successful candidate will join well-resourced Science and Humanities Faculties that are composed of enthusiastic and dynamic teachers, and contribute to the leadership of the Science Faculty.
Main Responsibilities
Leaders as teachers
- Teachers should be willing to contribute positively to the collaborative culture of the Science department, Science Faculty, and broader High School teams.
- Teachers construct learning experiences that challenge and inspire students, support the diversity of learners, and demonstrate a strong commitment to concept-based teaching and learning.
- Teachers ensure assessments support ongoing learning and provide timely, relevant, and appropriate feedback to students on formative and summative assessments.
- Teachers demonstrate effective classroom management that shows an understanding of the academic, social, and emotional dimensions of learning.
- Teachers keep parents informed about the learning of their children, and be proactive in communication with parents.
Effective Leadership – Leading across all five areas of the learning programme
- Puts student learning at the forefront of all decisions and planning.
- Has a clear vision for the department and translates this into practical and achievable plans.
- Ensures that the learning programme in the department is consistent with the UWCSEA mission, the UWCSEA Learning Principles, the UWCSEA profile and with the strategic goals of the school, campus and College.
- Ensures that the learning programme in the department develops and changes as necessary to match developments in technology and educational practice.
Professional Development – Supporting the professional development of staff they lead
- Identifies and utilises the full potential of staff in the department by being alert to professional development needs.
- Mentors staff within the Professional Learning Programme, and coaches where appropriate so that they work most effectively.
- Organises and/or runs informal/formal Professional Development opportunities for the department as individuals or as a whole.
Collaboration – working collaboratively within teams
- Enthuses and motivates staff and fosters an environment where creativity and collaboration flourish.
- Involves people in decisions, and delegates interesting and challenging tasks.
- Gives, expects and acts on constructive feedback, and acknowledges error.
- Assumes shared and individual responsibility for successes and problems and is happy to be accountable for the outcomes.
- Sets clear boundaries and expectations providing freedom for the team to work effectively.
- Acts and leads ethically and with integrity.
Communication – communicates effectively within and beyond their team
- Relates well to individuals and deals sensitively with potentially difficult situations with colleagues/students/parents and has effective sensitive and/or difficult conversations.
- Chairs meetings effectively and ensures opportunities for more informal communication to take place within the department.
- Is clear and articulate in both spoken and written communications with students, colleagues, parents and the wider community.
- Is proactive in making appropriate information available to colleagues, pastoral teams, parents and the College community.
Expectations and Standards
- Follow the UWCSEA Professional Code of Conduct and Safeguarding Code of Conduct
- Lead in line with UWCSEA Leadership Standards
- Teach in line with the UWCSEA Teacher Standards
Person Specifications
- A good Science degree and a recognized teaching qualification or certification are expected.
- Broad experience of curriculum development and programme development would be an advantage.
- Teachers should be willing and eager to participate in the five key elements of a UWCSEA education: Academics; Activities; Outdoor Education; Personal and Social Education and Service.
- Academic expectations include enthusiastic participation in Professional Learning.
- Pastoral expectations include the leadership of a mentor group, unless the teacher is exempted due to other responsibilities.
- On average the College expects a yearly contribution of one and a half sessions per week in each season to Activities and/or Service.
- The College expects that teachers will participate enthusiastically in the curricular Outdoor Education experiences which are relevant to their students and will also occasionally volunteer for holiday Outdoor Education trips.
- A commitment to diversity and inclusion is essential alongside a willingness to adapt and develop pedagogy to meet the needs of our learners.
Applications
Apply via our job portal by Wednesday, 8 January 2025 23:59 Singapore Time
The UWC Mission is to make education a force to unite people, nations and culture for peace and a sustainable future. We are committed to creating a community in which all members feel safe and secure, and know that their authentic selves and individual differences are accepted with respect and care. At UWCSEA, we acknowledge that diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) is an ongoing and evolving process and strive to create and sustain a sense of belonging for all members of our community, past, present and future. All qualified applicants, including those who identify as a part of marginalized group(s) and individuals with (dis)abilities are all encouraged to apply. Our 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 follow safe recruitment practices and all appointments are subject to interview, satisfactory references, identity and criminal record checks.
About UWC South East Asia, East Campus
About UWCSEA and the UWC movement
The pursuit of the UWC mission to unite people nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future is at the heart of the College. As the largest of the 17 UWC schools and colleges worldwide, UWCSEA in Singapore has over 5,600 day and boarding students enrolled across two campuses, aged 4 to 18 years. Our concept-based K-12 curriculum leads to the IB Diploma in the final two years of schooling.
Our vision is to be a leader in international education, with a worldwide reputation for providing a challenging, holistic values-based education with an emphasis upon academic achievement, service to others, teamwork and leadership.
In the pursuit of this vision, we provides teachers with a dynamic and challenging a professional life based upon our values. Our staff are innovative, experienced and deeply committed to student learning. The learning at UWCSEA extends throughout the College community as our staff are active and collaborative learners themselves.
UWCSEA guiding statements
We are a mission-driven organisation with a strong commitment to the educational principles of Kurt Hahn, our founder, and a passionate belief in the importance of education as a force for good in the world.
We believe that learning is a life-long process in which learners engage with and reflect upon information and experiences to construct new or modify existing understanding as well as develop and apply skills and qualities.
This definition of learning and our learning principles guide our educational practice across all five elements of the UWCSEA learning programme. Our commitment to a holistic education results in the provision of an extensive range of experiential and service-based programmes across five elements of this learning programmes: academics, activities, outdoor education, personal and social education and service.
UWCSEA's learning programme and curriculum
Our UWCSEA learning programme is based around five interlinking elements. The rigorous academics, combined with a unique outdoor education programme, extensive activities and meaningful service, are underpinned by a supportive pastoral care programme. Students participate in all five elements of the programme throughout their time at the College, and the elements will have varying importance at different times in their journey through UWCSEA.
The learning programme delivers UWCSEA's unique, concept-based curriculum which has been articulated for each element of the learning programme across K-12. This means that from K1 to Grade 12, each curriculum area (or subject) has standards, which identify key concepts that underpin that curriculum area. These standards are applied at all grade levels and build naturally in complexity through the Infant, Junior, Middle and High Schools, culminating in the IB Diploma in Grades 11 and 12.
In turn, each standard has conceptual understandings that describe what a student should understand as a result of studying a particular content area. They are statements of understanding that are appropriate to a student’s developmental stage, and build towards the standard.
Benchmarks are then attached to each conceptual understanding. The benchmarks describe what a student should know, understand or be able to do at each stage of their learning in each subject. These benchmarks are what our teachers assess to ensure that students are reaching the conceptual understanding and are working towards the standards.
In the High School, the standards, conceptual understandings and benchmarks specifically take into account the requirements of external examining bodies that set the (I)GCSE and IB Diploma examinations that students sit at the end of Grade 10 and Grade 12.
Educating for a better world
The academic curriculum aims to develop the specific conceptual understandings necessary to build Peace and a Sustainable Future. These are derived from UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development Goals for and through a collaboration with our educational partners the Ellen Macarthur Foundation. Along with the skills and qualities of our Learner Profile many of these concepts are reinforced through linkages to the other four elements of our Leaning Programme. You can find out more here.
Results
UWCSEA has outstanding IB Diploma results. In May 2019, our cohort of 561 students achieved an average IB Diploma score of 36.6—the worldwide average was 29.8 (in 2018). Each year a number of our students are admitted to highly selective universities in the US, the UK and many other countries. For further information please see the results section of our website.
Staff and structure
Each campus has its own Campus Leadership team and academic and administrative staff to support the delivery of UWCSEA’s world-class education. Each campus is divided into Schools (Primary, Middle and High). Each School is managed by a Principal, assisted by Vice Principals and Heads of Grade or Department.
The College President oversees both campuses, supported by senior educational leadership on each campus. The campuses have the same Board of Governors.
The Dover Campus has 3,000 day and boarding students (K-12) and employs 300 teaching and 200 support staff. The East Campus has 2,550 day and boarding students (K-12) and employs 240 teaching staff and 160 support staff.
The boarding houses on both campuses are supported by live-in teaching staff and offer a unique opportunity for a city-based residential boarding programme to students aged 14-18 years - 192 students on Dover and 160 students on East.
Our expectations
We welcome applications from educators who share our vision and values, and are willing to contribute to UWCSEA's unique learning community and to the UWC mission.
Teachers are expected to contribute wholeheartedly to the provision of all elements of this programme both inside and outside the formal academic curriculum. All teachers run activities or service projects in addition to their teaching, which can include supporting the College's range of sporting, dramatic and musical performances, as well as providing support for the extensive expeditions programme.
Safeguarding children
UWCSEA is committed to safeguarding our students and protecting them from harm. In keeping with the expectation that all staff and volunteers share this commitment, those applying for a position at the College must be willing to undergo employment background checks and screening appropriate to the post.
Professional life and development opportunities
UWCSEA aims to provide an exceptional professional experience to its teachers and to be an Employer of Choice. The UWCSEA benefits package includes a competitive salary, contribution towards housing, medical insurance, a service gratuity (set at 20 percent of gross salary at the end of each year), recruitment and repatriation flights and biennial leave passages.
We offer a wide range of professional development opportunities. Teachers are expected to commit to three professional development days scheduled each year, and are provided many additional opportunities for professional learning through our the extensive Professional Development Programme.
We have a highly experienced teaching faculty who provide excellent opportunities for peer-to-peer learning. Among the full-time teaching staff, we have large numbers of IB PYP Trainers, IB MYP workshop leaders, IB DP workshop leaders and IB DP Examiners or Moderators, allowing us to run in-house workshops and seminars.
Teachers attend workshops or seminars in the region, and at the College’s Centre for Professional Learning. This in-house Centre allows UWCSEA teachers to attend a range of educational conferences and other events that draw teachers from across the region, providing extensive opportunities for peer learning and networking. In the past, external experts who have visited to provide workshops or seminars on campus include Bambi Betts, Kath Murdoch, Dylan Wiliam, Lyn Sharratt and Sarah White.
Our teachers also regularly act as lecturers, seminar leaders and facilitators at educational conferences and workshops run by organisations such as EARCOS and ECIS.
Engage with us and learn more
UWCSEA Perspectives - the newsroom of UWCSEA
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