Candidate Pack - Beaconhousse Director of Education

Director of Education
Candidate Pack May 2017

Beaconhouse School System
Director of Education
Candidate Pack – May 2017
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
From its humble beginnings as a Montessori school for nineteen toddlers set up by Mrs Nasreen
Kasuri in 1975, the Beaconhouse group has grown to become one of the largest private school
networks in the world. Through its various divisions, each catering for different ages and socioeconomic
groups, Beaconhouse reaches around 280,000 students globally.
Beaconhouse is currently looking to appoint a Director of Education for its flagship network, the
Beaconhouse School System (BSS). BSS has campuses in 30 cities in Pakistan as well as in Malaysia,
Thailand, the Philippines, Oman, the UAE, and Europe. In total, BSS educates 105,000 children
between the ages of 3-19. It offers a diverse mix of curricular, from international programmes such
as the IB, IGCSE and A Levels, and the IPC, to the national curricular of host countries as well as its
own Beaconhouse School Curriculum. BSS’ educational ethos is centred on life-long learning and
21 st century skills.
The Director of Education is the academic and educational leader of the school system. Based in
Lahore, Pakistan, and reporting to the CEO, Kasim Kasuri, s/he will provide pedagogical and
strategic oversight for the entire education provision. Ideal candidates will be innovative,
inspirational and future-oriented educational leaders with experience in school improvement on a
large scale. It is expected that the Director of Education will build on BSS’ success as a global leader
in the education sector while navigating the opportunities and challenges presented by an uncertain
future – both in terms of education content and delivery.
For an informal conversation, prior to applying, please contact Hannah Doughty at the executive
search firm Society at hannah.doughty@society-search.com.
Applications should consist of a CV, ideally accompanied by a brief covering letter addressing the
criteria in the Person Specification. These documents can be uploaded via Society’s website:
www.society-search.com.
The deadline for receipt of applications is midday (GMT) on Monday 5 th June 2017.

BEACONHOUSE SCHOOL SYSTEM (BSS)
Established in 1975, BSS has grown to become one of the largest private school networks in the
world. Its first school was opened in Lahore, Pakistan, where it maintains a strong presence and an
excellent reputation. It now has schools in 30 cities throughout the country and has expanded
internationally to include K-12 school networks, preschools and child development centres in
Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Oman, the UAE, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. In total,
BSS educates around 105,000 children between the ages of 3-19, a number that increases from year
to year. As the birthplace of Beaconhouse School System, Pakistan plays an important role within
the organisation. Not only is it home to the global headquarters but it also has the greatest number
of schools within the system.
Significantly, the founder of Beaconhouse, Mrs Nasreen Kasuri, is an important figure for women’s
empowerment within Pakistan. She received the Woman Power 100 award at a ceremony in
London in 2012 and founded the not-for-profit Beaconhouse National University, the country’s first
broad-based liberal arts university (www.bnu.edu.pk). Beaconhouse is proud to have a high number
of female employees - around 62% - and a strong representation of women in leadership roles
throughout the company.
The Beaconhouse Curriculum
BSS offers a number of curricula across its network, including international programmes such as
the IB, IGCSEs and A Levels, and the IPC, as well as the national curricula of countries such as the
Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Oman, the UAE, and Pakistan. Beaconhouse has also developed its
own curriculum, the Beaconhouse School Curriculum, that runs from Grades 1-8 in most of its
schools. With early influences from the Scottish curriculum, the Beaconhouse curriculum is
presently a hybrid between the UK national curriculum and Beaconhouse’s own unique insights
gained over its 42 years of operation. At its core, this curriculum champions the cultivation of valuesled
cultural understanding in children from an early age, as captured within the Beaconhouse
Learner Profile. Taught in English throughout (except in some schools in Thailand), the
Beaconhouse School Curriculum endeavours to make learning relevant to the local context of the
schools it is used in and is designed to be easily contextualised across the geography of the school
system. BSS aims to provide an impactful education, rooted in local communities but with a
distinctive global outlook.

The Beaconhouse Learner Profile
The Beaconhouse Learner Profile translates BSS’ mission of benefitting students, the community
and the wider world into a set of attributes essential for holistic development. The Learner Profile
embodies values and beliefs that are essential for students to learn and grow into responsible citizens
of the world. These values are consistent throughout Beaconhouse’s Early Years, Primary, Middle
and Secondary schools. The Learner Profile helps to create a community of learners who are
empowered, inspired and aware. With these attributes, students are empowered to actively engage
with the complex world beyond schooling – a world to which they can contribute with compassion
and a sense of responsibility. Beaconhouse learners aim to be creative and innovative, analytical,
resolute, inquisitive, empathetic, globally aware, ethical, healthy and active, and digitally literate.
Investing in Teachers
Since its inception, BSS has maintained a tradition of providing exceptional teacher training in line
with the latest research within the education sector. Collaborating with institutions such as the
Moray House School of Education in Scotland, the College of St Mark & St John, and the
Universities of Bradford and Exeter in the UK, Beaconhouse has consistently invested in a rich
programme of professional development and support for its teaching and school leadership staff.
Indeed, it is often considered by other private schools in Pakistan to be a reliable source for trained
teachers.
Professional development programmes at Beaconhouse operate at multiple levels from entry-level
to post-graduate certificate level, leading ultimately to Masters in Education qualifications from the
UK. Entry-level training is mandatory, while more advanced training is open to motivated teachers.
In addition to formal teacher training, Beaconhouse offers a range of needs-based training including
programmes in education technology, SEN, Student Counselling, Project-Based Learning, the
International Baccalaureate, Cambridge International Exams, and much more. Some of these
programmes are offered by Beaconhouse on its own, while others are offered in collaboration with
external partners such as the IBO, CIE, Buck Institute for Education, TeachThought, Beaconhouse
National University, and many others. Most training is delivered in Pakistan while some of it is
delivered internationally.

School of Tomorrow Event Series
BSS not only provides opportunities for its staff to grow as educators but makes a significant effort
to remain an active contributor to and energising force within educational debates and advances.
Beaconhouse has held the ‘School of Tomorrow’ conferences every five years since 2000, and
annually since 2015 (www.sotevents.com). These events have taken place in Lahore, Karachi,
Islamabad, and Kuala Lumpur in the past and have featured global thinkers including Noam
Chomsky along with various heads of state and government officials in keynote capacities. The last
SOT Event, ‘A World of Tomorrow: Seeking Inspiration & Equilibrium in a New Age’ was held in
Islamabad in March 2015 and featured 140 speakers from many countries including
writer/historian Lesley Hazleton as keynote speaker, and was open to the general public. The next
SOT Event is scheduled to be held in Dubai in the first quarter of 2018. The Chair of the SOT Event
Series is the CEO of Beaconhouse, Kasim Kasuri, while the Director of Education provides key
inputs in programme design.

ROLE DESCRIPTION
Beaconhouse is looking for a Director of Education to become the academic and educational leader
of the Beaconhouse School System and, working with colleagues across the system, direct the
development and on-going enhancement of the overall education programme. The postholder will
be based in Lahore, Pakistan, and will report to the CEO, Kasim Kasuri. This is an opportunity to
play a central role in a vast yet forward-looking school system that educates around 105,000
students globally.
General Responsibilities
contributing to translating the corporate education vision and long term strategy into tangible operational
plans for all key stakeholders;
formulating, implementing and monitoring policies that facilitate the implementation of standards by
building a nationwide consensus among all key stakeholders;
recruiting and training highly qualified academic staff who have the potential to assume leadership
positions at a later stage;
liaising with the relevant public and private educational providers both within Pakistan and internationally;
reporting regularly to the CEO and Beaconhouse Management Executive Council on all areas of education
within Beaconhouse School System;
formulating annual education and strategic plans in partnership with relevant internal stakeholders;
upholding the principles and practices as articulated in the Beaconhouse Learner Profile and proposing
reviews of this document when required;
be committed to social equity and inclusion in all Beaconhouse educational programs.
Assessment and Achievement Monitoring
establishing standards and guidelines for the assessment of all levels and subjects;
ensuring the implementation of externally produced standardised assessments to compare the
effectiveness of Beaconhouse curricula, student performance and teaching on an international level;
reviewing both student and staff assessment tools on a regular basis and analysing their effectiveness in
improving student achievement;
enhancing student achievement by setting appropriate benchmarks for assessment as well as improvement
programs for mixed ability groups of learners.
Curriculum Development
leading a team of educators and curriculum specialists to further develop a solid, research-based approach
to educational development in the 21st century;
reading and researching developments in international education practice and principles to inform the
further development of curriculum, evaluation and assessment standards within the Beaconhouse system;
providing oversight and direction into the research and development of new curriculum programmes
reflecting international trends;
designing and disseminating a school improvement framework that gives all schools the capacity to use
data to improve teaching and learning;
defining both student centred curricula, and teaching standards and guidelines for all subjects and levels
across a large and dynamic educational system;
articulating a vision and policy for Digital Learning in Beaconhouse and continuing to improve guidelines
on the integration of technology into the curriculum;
leading the IB accreditation and licensing requirements in the designated Beaconhouse Schools, along with
developing a system for supporting existing IBDP, MYP, and PYP schools across the network;

supervising the development, implementation and evaluation of special pilot programmes or projects.
Staff Training and Development
providing scalable instructional program leadership to all school leaders with specific responsibility for
planning, development, implementation, assessment and improvement across all current and future
schools;
monitoring and evaluating school leaders providing personal feedback and clarity of roles, functions, goals
and accountability;
developing plans to capitalise on individual leader strengths as well as plans to help them improve and
address areas of potential growth with real time feedback;
establishing systems for school improvement and ongoing development and monitoring the progress and
professional development of all education staff;
supervising the design, dissemination and evaluation of teacher training courses and other professional
development initiatives;
establishing standards for designing, conducting, moderating and evaluating professional development
courses.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Beaconhouse is looking for an innovative, inspirational and seasoned educational leader who will
build on their current success as a global leader in the education sector.
The ideal candidate will have school improvement experience as well as exceptional strategic,
organizational, leadership and people skills. They will also be expected to demonstrate evidence of
the following skills, capabilities and experience:
possess a degree in education, educational leadership, management and administration preferably up
to PhD level;
have built up a minimum of 10-15 years of overall experience in education, of which at least 8-10 years
have been in education leadership and management roles;
show a proven track record of teaching and preferably of having run a school or a network of schools
(in the past);
taken on an education leadership and/or improvement role that resulted in visible improvements in
a K -12 school network with at least 20,000 students;
cultivated an understanding of various international curricula such as IB, CIE or IPC and of enquiry
and project-based learning;
accumulated solid knowledge of curricula and teaching methodologies that enhance student learning;
have a comprehensive working knowledge of a school organization and of improvement and change
management in education;
possess a deep understanding of the opportunities provided by technology for the enhancement of
student learning and teacher development;
be culturally sensitive with an international outlook;
have the cognitive and emotional intelligence to facilitate working with a dynamic group of
stakeholders in a dynamic and challenging environment.

APPOINTMENT DETAILS AND HOW TO APPLY
Beaconhouse School System is being assisted in this appointment process by the executive search
firm Society.
Applications should consist of a CV, ideally accompanied by a brief covering letter addressing the
criteria in the Person Specification. These documents can be uploaded via Society’s website:
www.society-search.com.
The deadline for receipt of applications is midday on Monday 5 th June 2017.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview in early July.
An appointment will be made subject to receipt of satisfactory references. The appointed candidate
will be offered a package that is commensurate with their experience and the seniority of their new
role.