Director
Al Sahwa Schools, Muscat (Oman)

‘Respect, Gratitude, Proactivity’

Al Sahwa School

Situated in Shatti al Qurm, the Al Sahwa School occupies a prime location in the heart of the city's diplomatic area.  Established in 1993, Al Sahwa School is a “school of national significance” within the educational landscape of Oman.

In addition to being accredited by the Council of International Schools (CIS), the Al Sahwa School is a K-12 IB World School offering the PYP, MYP, and DP programs, along with the national school leaving qualification in Oman (GED) for students in grades 11 and 12. The Al Sahwa School will be visited by a CIS and IB team as the school seeks reaccreditation and reauthorization in December 2027.

The school is bilingual (Arabic and English) and come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education. Classes are mixed-gender in Kindergarten; students are then taught in single-gender classes in grades 1-10 before concluding their educational program in mixed-gender classes in grades 11 and 12. 

In May 2024, the second IDBP cohort graduated and exhibited the highest diploma program results in Oman, across a wide range of metrics.  This level of academic success resulted in many graduates having access to schoolships which enabled them to attend some of the best universities both internationally and in Oman.

Current student enrolment is slightly under 1,200, with 100 in Kindergarten, 470 in the Primary School, and 570 in the Secondary School.

The student population is 98% Omani, and the school reflects a strong sense of community, great national pride, and deep commitment to the school.  Many of the students are either the children of alumni or have other family members who are closely associated with the school.

In recent years, there has been a focus on reconnecting the alumni with the school and there are now regularly scheduled events in support of his initiative.  The school has also recently launched parent education sessions that are accessible to all parents across the school.  This community connection further extends the strong identity of the school and fosters recognition and celebration of Omani heritage and culture, a cornerstone of the Al Sahwa School.

There are currently 172 members of faculty and staff.  40% of the employees are Omani (primarily in administration, Arabic language, and instructional support), with 60% of the employees representing 31 different nationalities.

The guiding statements of Mission, Vision, and Values, were reaffirmed in 2022 through a process that engaged representative community constituents.  This work further supported the development of a community-driven strategic planning process and the school is currently in the second year of a five-year strategic plan. 

Additionally, the school rebranded three years ago, developed a new website, and further refined its social media presence.  In 2024-2025, a new school uniform was introduced that reflects the balance between honoring the school’s legacy and a look to the future.

The school has been constructed over two floors with a combination of shared facilities, including a cafeteria, science labs, and art and design classrooms occupying the center spine of the facility. There are mirror-image classrooms for grades 1-10 on either side of the center spine.  Kindergarten occupies a separate facility.  The school also includes a library, art, design, music, science and physical education facilities, to include a 25 meter pool.

Along with all government-owned entities in Oman, the school is currently in the midst of an ownership transition as it moves from joint ownership of the Royal Oman Police pension fund, and the Royal Office to the central unifying body of the Social Development Fund.  Any further implications for governance, investment, and the for-profit nature of the school are yet to be fully determined.

Director’s Job Description

     Overall Purpose of Job

The Director is responsible for leadership and management within the school, promoting the achievement of excellence in international education and supporting Omani values and culture.

Main Responsibilities

The Director will demonstrate the leadership skills to work with the members of the community in line with the Schools’ Mission and Vision. He/she will inspire and motivate students, staff and all other members of the school community. The Director will lead the operational development of the schools in line with the Board’s strategic focus.

Strategic direction and development of the school

To work with the Board to strategically analyze and plan for the future and the further development of the schools within the local, national, and international context:

• To create an ethos and provide educational vision and direction which secures effective teaching, successful learning, and achievement by students and sustained improvement in their ethical, moral, cultural, academic, and physical development and prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of adult life.
• To secure the commitment of parents and the wider community to the vision and direction of the Al Sahwa School and the implementation of the school strategic plan, underpinned by sound financial planning, which identifies priorities and targets for ensuring that students achieve high standards and make progress, increasing teachers’ effectiveness and securing school improvement.
• To ensure that all those involved in the Al Sahwa School understand and are committed to its strategic vision, and are involved in meeting long, medium and short term objectives and targets which secure the educational success of the school.
• To ensure that the management, finance, organisation and administration of the school support its vision and aims.
• To ensure that the practises drawn from the Board’s policies take account of international, national, local and school data and inspection research findings
• To monitor, evaluate and review the effects of policies, priorities and targets of the school in practice and take action if necessary.

Teaching and Learning

• To secure and sustain effective teaching and learning outcomes throughout the school and to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching standards of the level of students’ achievement, using benchmarks and setting targets for improvement.
• To ensure that all students receive a good quality education through programmes designed to promote a stimulating style of learning in a safe & healthy school environment.
• To ensure a consistent and continuous school-wide focus on students’ achievement, using data and benchmarks to monitor progress in every child’s learning.
• To ensure that learning is at the centre of strategic and operational planning and resource management.
• To ensure a culture and ethos of challenge, accountability and support where all students’ can achieve success and become engaged in their own learning
• To be able to demonstrate and articulate high expectations and set stretching targets for the whole community.
• To be able to implement strategies which secure high standards of behaviour.
• To ensure effective pastoral care of students.
• To ensure the delivery of a demanding and inclusive curriculum and implement a high quality effective assessment framework.
• To be able to take a strategic role in the development of the new and emerging technologies to enhance and extend the learning experience of students.

Leading and managing staff

• To lead, motivate, support, challenge and develop staff to secure improvement.
• To maximise the contribution of staff to improve the quality of education provided and standards achieved and ensure that constructive working relationships are formed between staff and students and national and international staff.
• To plan, allocate, support and evaluate work undertaken by groups, teams and individuals, ensuring clear delegation of tasks and devolution of responsibilities in a manner consistent with their conditions of service and talents.
• To implement and sustain effective systems for the management of staff performance, incorporating appraisal and targets for teachers, including targets relating to students’ achievement
• To ensure that all staff in the school have access to advice and professional development appropriate to their needs.

Efficient and effective deployment of staff and resources

• To deploy people and resources efficiently and effectively to meet specific objectives in line with the ISL Group strategic plan and financial context:
• To work with senior colleagues to recruit staff of the highest quality available
• To work with senior colleagues to deploy and develop all staff effectively in order to improve the quality of education provided.
• To advise the Board and implement decisions in relation to staffing
• To advise the Board on the adoption of effective procedures to deal with the competence and capacity of staff.
• To advise and work with the Board on appropriate priorities for expenditure, allocate funds and to ensure effective administration and control.
• To manage and organise academic and non-academic space efficiently and effectively, to ensure that it meets the needs of the curriculum and health and safety regulations.
• To make arrangements, if so required, for the security and effective supervision and maintenance of the school buildings, contents and grounds.
• To undertake responsibilities as defined in the Health and Safety Policy.
• To ensure that appropriate risk assessments are in place and followed.
• To manage, monitor and review the range, quality, quantity and use of all available resources in order to improve the quality of education, improve student outcomes, and ensure efficiency and value for money
• To ensure that staff participate in and benefit from meaningful and relevant professional development.

Accountability

• To be accountable to the Board and the school’s community for the efficiency and effectiveness of the school and in particular ensuring that students enjoy and benefit from a school that promotes high standards for education, responsibility and citizenship in a supportive learning community.
• To provide information, objective advice and support to the Board to enable it to meet its responsibilities for securing effective teaching and learning and improved standards of achievement and for achieving efficiency and value for money
• To create and develop an organisation in which all recognise that they are accountable for the success of the school
• To present a coherent and accurate account of the school’s performance in a form appropriate to a range of audiences, including parents, board members, the local community, and other professional bodies, to enable them to play their part effectively
• To ensure that parents and students are well-informed about the curriculum, attainment and progress and about the contribution that they can make to achieving the school’s targets for improvement
• To provide information about the work and performance of staff where it is relevant to their future employment.

Strengthening Community

• To ensure that student well-being is promoted through the community and that parent involvement is strengthened.
• To be able to build a school culture which, takes into account the needs of the school’s communities.
• To ensure learning experiences for students are linked into and integrated with the wider community.
• To ensure a range of community-based learning experiences.
• To work in partnership with other agencies in providing for academic, spiritual, moral, social, emotional and cultural well being of students and their families.
• To seek opportunities to invite parents and carers, community figures, business or other organisations into the school to enhance and enrich the school and its value to the wider community.
• To contribute to the development of the education system by, for example, sharing effective practices, working in partnership with other school and promoting innovative initiatives.
• To ensure that the school promotes effective links with the local community and continues the development of close liaison with other local, independent and international schools.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary and benefits are competitive and will depend on the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate. Benefits include furnished housing with paid utilities, comprehensive medical insurance, life insurance, long-term disability insurance, a retirement program, professional development support, shipping allowance, and full school tuition for dependents enrolled at Al Sahwa School.

Application Procedures

Al Sahwa School has appointed Search Associates to act as their consultant in the search for the new Director with Dr. Norma Hudson and Dr. Brent Mutsch serving as the lead consultants. The deadline for making an application for the position is Wednesday, February 26, 2025.

Candidates should submit a letter of interest and the requested materials as early as possible, as the Search Committee reserves the right to close the selection process at any time if an outstanding candidate is identified early in the process.

The review of files will begin as soon as applications are received. The Search Committee will select finalists from mid-March to early April. A short list of three candidates and their spouses will be invited to the Al Sahwa School campus for a multi-day campus visit in early April. Finalist candidates will see the school in operation and visit with various community members, including the Board of Trustees.  The new Director will be appointed after the school visits have concluded.

Candidates should send the information listed below as a single PDF file attached to an email:

A letter of application explaining your strengths as a candidate and why you are interested in the Director position at Al Sahwa School.

A statement describing your management and educational philosophy, not to exceed two pages.

A current resume should not exceed two pages.

A one-page list of references who have served as immediate supervisors with telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.

A maximum of three letters of reference already in your possession may be included with your application but is not required.

The total document size should be less than 5MB. Applications should be sent to nhudson@searchassociates.com and bmutsch@searchassociates.com

Additional information about the can be found on the school’s website at: www.alsahwa.edu.om