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Principal (Head of School)
Atlantic Hall (Nigeria)

On behalf of the Governing Board of Atlantic Hall School, Nigeria, Search Associates is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Terry Howard as the new Principal (Head of School), to start in August 2022.

Dr Howard is a US citizen with a BA degree from Bethel University, Indiana, an MA degree from Indiana University South Bend and a PhD from the University of Central Florida.   After teaching (Biology and General Science) for over 20 years, with the US Peace Corps in Liberia and then in Kuwait, the USA and Norway, he joined the International School in Kenya as a teacher and school counsellor, becoming Principal of the school in 2005 and serving for six years in that role.    Subsequently he worked for three years as a counsellor with the UN, UNICEF and the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations in Nigeria and South Sudan.   In 2015 he became Director of the American International School of Libreville, Gabon, and in 2016 Director of the American International School of Brazzaville, Congo.   Following two years back in the US as a professor in Counsellor Education at the Universities of Central Florida and Alaska-Fairbanks, Dr Howard has since 2020 served as Head of School at Chiang Mai International School, Thailand.    

Dr Howard is very happy to be returning to a school leadership position in Africa at this point in his long and distinguished career.

Search Associates would like to thank everyone who contributed to the achievement of this successful outcome, as well as all the candidates who applied for the position.

 

 

 

This position is being re-advertised.

ATLANTIC HALL

EPE, NIGERIA

Search for a new PRINCIPAL (Head of School) 

  from August 2022

The Governing Board of Atlantic Hall, Epe, Nigeria is seeking a Principal (Head) for the school, to take up the position from 1 August 2022.    The Board has asked Search Associates to assist them in the search.

A.       THE SCHOOL

Founded in 1989, Atlantic Hall is a co-educational secondary boarding school for approximately 600 students between the ages of 10 and 17.   It is located on a large and beautiful campus in Poka, Epe, close to the Atlantic Ocean about 70 kilometres from Lagos.     

The school offers a unique fusion of the Nigerian and British curricula.    At the end of their 3 years in the Junior Secondary section of the school (ages 10-13), students take two examinations, the Lagos State Basic Certificate of Education and also Checkpoint, organized by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE).  In the Senior Secondary section, students sit for IGCSE examinations at the end of their second year, and then the West African Senior School Certificate examination (WASSCE) at the end of their third year.

ICT is central to academic life at Atlantic Hall, and the school’s Virtual Learning Environment is well supported by a wide range of state-of-the-art ICT tools and resources.    

The school also prioritises teaching and learning initiatives that foster entrepreneurship, including innovation management and venture development, and aims to become the leading model for this work in Nigeria.    It has recently established a close partnership with Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada to promote exciting new learning opportunities in this field for both teachers and students.

Atlantic Hall is a full boarding school.   There are four boarding houses, and the house system is at the heart of the life of the school community.    

The school is committed not only to achieving academic excellence but also to offering a well-rounded education based on a wide range of extra-curricular activities.   These include a variety of sports, among them football, cricket, basketball and tennis, as well as art, music and drama.     

The ethos of the school community is based on the Christian faith, but the school is open to families of all faiths who identify its values of excellence and integrity.  

Besides the boarding accommodation, the extensive campus offers outstanding teaching facilities, including 5 laboratories, as well as a purpose-built Sports Centre, extensive playing fields and a school farm.

School policies are reviewed and decided by a distinguished Governing Board who meet regularly to advise the school administration and to whom the Principal is accountable.   

For further details of the school please see its website.

B.       THE PRINCIPAL

The Governing Board is now looking to appoint a Principal to:

• provide inspirational and motivational leadership, vision and direction across the school
• work with the senior leadership team to deliver a broad, balanced, interconnected curriculum and co-curricular programme, supported by effective monitoring, analysis and feedback and rigorous staff development
• promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young people within the school, establishing a culture in which students can flourish and thrive
• develop innovative ways to engage parents, carers and external stake holders and build strong community and international links
• ensure that the budget is efficiently and effectively managed.

In return for your energy, passion and ambition, the school will offer you the opportunity to take an already successful school to even greater heights.    Atlantic Hall is a remarkable institution, and this is a “not to be missed” chance to achieve a significant and highly rewarding milestone in your own career.

You will lead a highly committed team in which every member of staff cares.

You will also be supported and challenged by a Governing Board that is open to fresh ideas and new ways in which the school can differentiate itself and stand out from the crowd.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Principal takes primary responsibility for ensuring the smooth and effective running of all the day-to-day activities of Atlantic Hall School, as well as contributing to the successful strategic development of the school in the longer term.    

Specifically, the Principal’s duties include the following:

• managing all aspects of all school programmes – including the planning and delivery of all core-curriculum and extra-curricular activities
• directing, monitoring and controlling both teachers and administrative staff.
• ensuring that all school records are adequately kept
• ensuring that teachers and ancillary staff carry out their duties effectively, establishing and maintaining excellent educational standards and ethics
• organising regular meetings with teachers (and administrative staff as required)
• organising regular professional development workshops for the teaching staff
• ensuring that the school follows all the guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Education.  This entails the carrying out of regular checks, and communication with relevant government offices
• teaching as and when the need arises, and maintaining teaching standards in accordance with statutory and modern-day requirements
• generating ideas for the general improvement of the school
• making contacts with all relevant teachers’ organizations, national and international, for aid in kind or cash and in order to maintain high and internationally accepted standards in academics and in the school’s overall performance
• handling all human resources issues, including those relating to employment, general discipline, staff complaints, staff dismissals etc, and making recommendations on the same to the Board
• handling all student issues, including counselling, students’ complaints, disciplining of students as appropriate etc, and making recommendations on the same to the Board
• keeping the Board well briefed on the progress and problems of the school and as required
• keeping high standards in the repair and maintenance of school property and premises
• ensuring that all necessary teaching resources are adequately stocked at all times
• ensuring the smooth running of the school’s boarding houses.

Applicants should be well qualified both academically and professionally, and should have had at least five years’ successful experience in a senior leadership position, preferably as Head of School or as an ambitious Deputy Head of School, in a British (UK curriculum) co-educational school either in the UK or overseas.  

Applicants should have the creativity, drive and ambition to lead our school and an understanding of the qualities and standards required to take the school to the next level.     

Experience of boarding education is highly desirable, and experience in Africa will also be an asset.

 

C.       THE SALARY AND BENEFITS PACKAGE

The new Principal will be offered an initial contract for 2 years, renewable thereafter by mutual agreement, and an attractive salary/benefits package including the following elements:

• a competitive tax-free salary (to be negotiated with the Board’s preferred candidate)
• furnished accommodation on the school campus, rent-free with all utilities bills paid by the school
• domestic staff for the living premises
• insurance to cover the living premises
• official car with driver (the school responsible for the car’s maintenance and the driver’s salary)
• comprehensive medical insurance (including medical evacuation)
• Annual return air travel to and from the home country for the Principal and spouse.

The school will apply for, pay for and obtain the relevant work permit/expatriate quota to be issued in Nigeria by the relevant authority.

Full details of the package will be given to short-listed applicants.      Candidates invited for interview will have the opportunity to discuss the conditions of service during the interview.

D.       APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Suitably qualified candidates should send the following information to David Cope of Search Associates (dcope@searchassociates.com), all items collated into a single pdf file, to arrive as soon as possible.

• a letter of application (no more than two pages), briefly outlining why the candidate wishes to apply for this position, what specific skills, qualities and experience he/she can offer the school, and why he/she feels confident in meeting the challenges of this position and of living and working in Nigeria
• a CV (no more than two pages)
• a statement of educational and leadership philosophy (no more than one page)
• the names and full contact details (including current email addresses and telephone numbers) of three or more professional referees, one of whom should be the most senior employer in the candidate’s current (or most recent) institution, typically the Chair of the Board.

The Board hopes to appoint its chosen candidate no later than October/November 2021.

E-mail David Cope: dcope@searchassociates.com             Closing date: re-opened