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Shenzhen College of International Education

Job Title: Academic Assistant Principal (AAP)

Employment Type: Full Time

Start date: January/August 2027

WELCOME TO SCIE – STRIVING TO BE THE BEST

To lead the reporting system and drive re-accreditation, while supporting the ADP and Principal in the development, implementation, and quality assurance of the College-wide curriculum and data-driven learning

Specific Responsibilities

1. Reporting to the Academic Deputy Principal（ADP）, be responsible for the quality assurance of assessment, reporting and record keeping in liaison with the Educational Administration Office (EAO) and the CMS development team, supporting Heads of Faculty (HoF) and Heads of Subject (HoS) in establishing reliable assessment data, whilst holding them to account for timeliness and accuracy of reporting. Additionally, supporting ADP, HoS and HoF teams with data analysis to explore appropriate data-driven next steps.

2. Reporting to the ADP, be responsible for one area of the curriculum (e.g., the Gifted&Talented (G&T) and Enrichment Curricula or the AP), including a contribution to the appraisal of HoFs, and supporting both HoFs and HoS teams by clarifying the strategic goals of this curriculum area and the evaluation of its academic rigour

3. Responsibility for the line management and quality assurance of the CMS development team, while guiding them within the college's overall strategic plan, holding them to account for prioritising workflows, meeting deadlines, and contributing to college goals, and providing the Principal's Team and SLT with regular updates on their work and progress, including the strategic direction, support, and evaluation of the team. Additionally, responsible for training of CMS users, including induction of new staff, refreshers, and roll-out of new functionality

4. Responsible for managing course selection and course combinations for new and continuing students in collaboration with the EAO and University & Careers Office (UCO), with authority to make final decisions on course selection.

5. Responsible for leading HoFs and HoS teams to prepare and publish academic information materials for students and parents (e.g., option booklets), disseminate examination and academic information to the community (e.g., options deadlines, faculty weeks), oversee school calendar entries for academic and examination events, and lead Heads of Year (HoY) in the coordination of options fairs, the options form process, and the dissemination of options forms, ensuring timelines and accuracy are met.

6. Manage College accreditation and re-accreditation according to the requirements of our external accreditation bodies, serving as the primary liaison, with responsibility for mobilising Heads of Faculty, Heads of Year, and Principals team to initiate and conduct a timely self-study, as well as handling logistics, scheduling, documentation, communication with visiting teams, and conducting annual learning feedback and community surveys.

7. Jointly responsible with the ADP for the review of purchase requests for educational materials by faculties, ensuring value for money and alignment with curriculum needs. Additionally, take full responsibility for managing whole-school accounts for online educational technology in conjunction with the Library and Learning Technology

8. Serve as a collaborative member of the Principal's Team, contributing productively to the leadership, development, and implementation of the strategic plan

9. Contribute fully to the Principals team commitment to providing professional feedback from Learning Walks and Lesson Observations, based on SCIE teacher standards and a model of excellence, which exceeds these.

10. Any other allocated task consistent with the primary purpose of the position.

Person Specification

We require a colleague who is flexible and learns quickly, fully committed to supporting the Principals’ team in realising the school's vision to become the most successful high school in Asia. They will live and breathe the school's educational objectives, joining a team utterly committed to driving these ambitions forward constantly across both teachers and students. This includes developing learners with outstanding academic achievement, intellectual curiosity, creativity, analytical and problem-solving skills, and mastery of English to a first language level. Our ambition is to see as many of our learners as possible progress to the world's most selective universities, including Oxford, Cambridge and leading institutions in the United States, and the candidate will share that determined focus and hold shared accountability and shared responsibility for this.

Analytically minded, values driven, and always asking: what is best for our learners and their families? They will not be fixed to specific ideas or prior ways of working but instead demonstrate genuine flexibility and a willingness to learn quickly while also questioning what could be better, adapting to ambiguity and occasionally working outside typical hours. Attention to detail is highly important; accuracy in data, reporting and documentation is non-negotiable. They must be able to work both without supervision and under pressure. Experience in at least middle leadership within a school is important, providing a practical foundation for the responsibilities of the role. This is not a training role; the successful candidate will be expected to contribute meaningfully and reliably from the outset, while being supported to grow into unfamiliar areas.

The Academic Assistant Principal will work alongside the Academic Deputy Principal to support the quality assurance of assessment, reporting and record keeping. Experience of quality assurance in an academic context is desirable, but ultimately these are learnable skills for the right person. The candidate must be confident about what strong learning looks like and will positively and relentlessly contribute to the shared senior leader responsibility of ensuring learning is of the highest possible quality.

Members of the Principals Team understand that ignoring is condoning, so they must always be willing to hold colleagues to account and develop others. This includes supporting the ADP with the appraisal of Heads of Faculty, contributing to the development of middle leaders, while also noting their strengths and helping to celebrate their achievements. They notice when colleagues need support and take initiative to provide it, never allowing others to face challenges alone. In Principals’ Team meetings, they must be forthcoming with ideas, willing to contribute fully to identifying areas for improvement, and bring a solution focused approach rather than simply highlighting problems. A candidate who requires extensive hand holding or prolonged supervision before becoming productive is unlikely to succeed in this role.

The right person will not need to arrive with every skill fully formed, but we expect core competencies and values: humility, curiosity, and the determination to master new systems and processes quickly. They must act with integrity in every aspect of their work and be able to be part of the community without risking sharing confidences or confidential information entrusted to them. A full commitment to student safeguarding, in line with international standards, is crucial.

Brief Description of SCIE

UK curriculum high school (Cambridge International AS/AL & IGCSE) teaching through the medium of English to mainly Chinese students preparing for overseas universities.

We also run an AP stream since 2025, hence there are some opportunities for teachers interested in AP teaching in various subjects.

The mission of the College is to educate Students in a Challenging, International Environment leading to academic achievement at the highest level, and to develop Social responsibility, Creativity, Independence and Enthusiasm, providing each student with the best preparation for future opportunities.

• Highly selective – English and Mathematics admissions tests

• Medium of instruction & communication – AS/AL English, with students functioning at first language level, mostly studying AS/AL English language or literature in A1/A2

• 1800+ students, High school only – UK Key Stages 4 & 5

• Accreditation – Fully accredited by Council of International Schools (CIS) & WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges in US) and regional members of FOBISIA & EARCOS

• Examinations – AS/AL, IGCSE (Cambridge International and AQA), and AP (College Board)

• Day & boarding school – teachers are not involved in boarding facility nor have evening or night duties

• Founded in 2003

Students

• Highly motivated academic students

• Students complete IGCSE exams at end of G2, and then go on to 5/6 subjects at AS, and 4/5 at AL (including English) or follow an AP curriculum

• Average international exam results, typically grade A/A* across school

• 41 Oxbridge offers and over 90% students applying to UK achieve offers from top 10 universities in 2025 cohort

• US university offers including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Columbia, Cornell

• Students achieve success across range of subjects including Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Languages, Science and Mathematics

• Class size maximum 26 at IGCSE and 24 at AS/A Level

• Huge range of ECAs with over 200 clubs, both staff led and student led

Schedule

• Working week: Monday – Friday 07:50 – 16:40 (with 07:30 start Mondays and early finish 15:00 Fridays)

• Normal contact teaching time – 24 x 40-minute periods per week (approx. 50% timetable)

• Extra – Curricular Activity – 1 hour per week ECA after school (16:30 – 17:30)

• CPD – large range of professional development available both online and face-to-face.

• Holidays – 1 week for October China National Day holiday, 2 weeks Christmas holiday, 3 weeks Chinese New Year holiday, Chinese public holidays, mid-June to early August Summer holiday.

Benefits

• Published fixed salary scale (reviewed annually) based on years of teaching experience and annual progression at SCIE

• School provided accommodation (Expat apartments adjacent to campus)

• Full international medical cover (self + 1 dependent)

• Annual flight allowance (self + 1 dependent)

• Dedicated staff gym in campus

Application Process:

Apply by cover letter with CV to jobs@scie.com.cn

When applying through this platform, please make sure to upload your cover letter. Thank you for your cooperation.

We undertake a straightforward and involved selection process. Applicants can expect to have 2 rounds of interviews with the Principal Team.

SCIE is committed to creating a safe environment for students. All applicants are required to comply with our child-protection guidelines for application. References will be taken up including direct contact with your current, or most recent employer for a safeguarding reference check and to confirm clearance from contract commitment. Please note that no offer will be made until the background check is complete.

Please find more information for our school on the official website：

https://www.scie.com.cn/