Middle School Head of Science

Shanghai, China

Head of Science

For August 2026

Primary Responsibilities:

YK Pao School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and requires all staff to always respect this commitment, regard it as their own responsibility, and evaluate the work all-round from the perspective of children's safety. To comply with, participate in and implement the work and requirements of child protection is the primary task of all staff members. At the same time, the school expects the staff to take the initiative and contribute to the school community and school’s development in a wider range.

Keep abreast of the latest national laws and regulations, industry norms, certification (such as CIS/WASC) standards related to the business within your responsibilities, maintain a high level of professional ethics and requirements, and ensure that management decisions, policy making and work practices fully comply with the above regulations, standards and requirements; Revise relevant internal policies, procedures and the release of information in time when relevant regulations and requirements are changed or updated, and remind promptly relevant personnel and departments within the school to ensure that the school operation is always in compliance.

Applications are invited as soon as possible as we will be beginning online interviews shortly.

Position Aims:

To ensure all year subject teachers are hold accountable to develop whole-person bilingual education at YKPS Middle School.

Job Overview:

In addition to his/her teaching role, the Head of Department (HoD) is responsible for the leadership and management of a subject and provides curriculum & pedagogical leadership within the school. The HoD reports to the Director of Academics.

Main Job Responsibilities:

1. Curriculum Leadership

Support the development of a comprehensive curriculum for the department:

• Engage in discussions with the academic leadership team as well as department members around key curriculum areas including the unpacking of standards (local and international), the identification of skills and how they progress across year levels, and the key content and its alignment across year levels.

• Facilitate the creation of necessary curriculum documents for the department with the support of the academic office.

• Speak with confidence and clarity about the curriculum for the department.

Refine the curriculum annually with a systematic and thorough approach:

• Update any curriculum documents prior to the start of each school year.

• Facilitate meetings with department members to reflect on curriculum and discuss potential changes.

• Share feedback/suggestions with academic leadership team.

2. Teaching and Learning Leadership

Develop consistency and collaboration in planning across the department:

• Determine and communicate clear expectations for planning for the specific subjects/teams.

• Attend planning meetings for teams as needed to provide support and guidance.

• Share progress, successes, and challenges about departmental planning practices with academic leadership team and seek support as needed.

Develop high-quality instruction across the department:

• Build departments members’ understanding of school-wide expectations around instruction and their implementation.

• Conduct focused walkthroughs and whole-lesson observations to gather evidence of departmental practice, develop observation and feedback skills, and identify trends and next steps.

• Facilitate pedagogical conversations with department members throughout the year.

• Share progress, successes, and challenges about departmental instruction with academic leadership team and seek support as needed.

Develop consistent assessment practices across the department:

• Build department members’ understanding of school-wide assessment philosophy, guidelines, and practices and their implementation.

• Establish guidelines for moderation and ensure all department members have a strong understanding of them including frequency, method, and desired outcomes.

• Develop a department wide marking and feedback policy and support teachers in implementing the practices.

• Attend moderation and data analysis meetings with teams as needed to provide support and guidance.

• Share progress, successes, and challenges about departmental assessment, marking and feedback with academic leadership team and seek support as needed.

3. Teacher Development and Support

Establish clear and relevant annual department goals and priorities:

• Articulate the department goal including a strong rationale (why is this goal worth pursuing), the impact on student learning, and what success looks like.

• Collaborate with department members to establish and enact clear actionable steps to achieve the goal, including what evidence will be collected to measure progress.

• Share progress, challenges, and any needed supports about the departmental goal with the academic leadership team regularly.

Implement the school procedures for Performance Review:

• Complete tasks that are part of the HoD component of Performance Review for teachers in the department.

• Share feedback about Performance Review with the academic leadership team as needed.

Support new teachers in their understanding of the subject area:

• Ensure all documents and resources are provided for their course.

• Provide training and guidance around learning platforms, department-wide practices, and classroom expectations.

• Check-in regularly to determine what supports may be needed and how/who can best address them.

4. Administrative Tasks

Monitor planning and assessment recording practices:

• Check materials on utilized platforms for completion and consistency.

• Communicate key assessment dates for the department and school.

• Follow-up with teachers to ensure deadlines are met and tasks are completed according to stated expectations.

Manage department budget and resources:

• Create an annual budget and review semester spending.

• Solicit resource and supply requests from teachers and submit request to CLT and Purchasing.

• Oversee teacher expense requests for department supplies and follow-up as needed.

Ensure high-quality internal and external communication:

• Attend and present at parent sessions about the subject sharing information about the curriculum, assessment, and reporting practices.

• Support department team members in the preparation and delivery of subject presentations.

• Send relevant information and updates to parents about the department curriculum.

• Share pertinent school information with department in a clear and timely manner.

Job requirements:

1. Completion of a BA degree.

2. 5+ years teaching experience.

3. Experience of leadership/leading colleagues.

4. Teaching qualification.

5. A thorough understanding of school’s curriculum offering.

6. Excellent classroom practitioner/specialist committed to continued excellence at programs YKPS offer to students.

7. The ability to make accurate assessment of students’ learning and be able to support others to do the same.

8. Ability to lead and manage staff to work effectively both individually and in teams.

9. High visibility/evidence of commitment to wider life of the school (e.g. students’ performance, community events etc.).

10. Collaborative and developmental approach when working with colleagues and staff.

Attractive Remuneration Package:

1. Competitive Salary

2. Comprehensive International medical insurance (except US)

3. Pension Contribution

4. Housing Allowance

5. Flight Allowance

6. Relocation Allowance

For more information please visit: https://www.ykpaoschool.cn