Overview
GEMS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL – AL KHAIL
Job Description
GEMS International School (GIS) is located in the prestigious community of Dubai Hills in Dubai, UAE. Respect, Trust, and Ambition are values that guide the school community. The school is the epitome of internationalism, not only through the IB curriculum on offer but also through the multinational staff and student body. GIS is an international community of learners composed of students, faculty, and staff from over 98 countries. There is no dominant culture with the largest representation less than 14%.
GIS is an authorized IB World School providing the full IB continuum pre-k to grade 12, offering the PYP, MYP, DP, and CP programmes. The school will reach just over 2650 students at full capacity. GIS is also a fully inclusive school, meeting a diverse set of needs. 16% of students are part of our achievement center and receive some level of support. An alternative pathway (Tareeqi Center) was created in 2021/22 to focus on life skills for students on significantly modified programmes.
Assistant Head of Primary
The Assistant Head of Primary is a contributing member of the school-wide Executive Leadership Teams (ELT/PELT) as well as the Academic Leadership Teams (PALT and Academic Board).
Key Responsibilities:
- Support the smooth day-to-day operation of the Lower or Upper Primary school and ensure positive experiences for all stakeholders
- Assist the Head of Primary with school-wide and phase-specific leadership tasks
- Contribute to ELT discussions, school policies, and strategic planning
- Foster a positive staff, student, and community culture, modelling high professional standards
- Oversee class schedules, class list allocations, staff cover, and community events
- Support admissions, conduct teacher appraisals (PELT), and lead parent workshops
- Mentor teachers and TAs; support wellbeing initiatives and manage student behavioural concerns
- Lead or contribute to professional development, curriculum coaching, and assessment data analysis
- Maintain strong communication across teams; contribute to newsletters, parent sessions, and key meetings
- Recommend appropriate programs, resources, and learning tools to support teaching and learning
Skills
The ideal candidate will have:
- A certified professional teaching qualification at degree level, such as B.Ed, PGCE, PGDE or equivalent
- Masters Degree or equivalent in related education and/or leadership is preferred
- Proven effectiveness as a teacher in the IB Primary Years Programme
- Excellent understanding of and experience in curriculum design, implementation, management and evaluation
- Passion for excellence and innovation in education
- Proven ability to develop effective management structures and build, lead and develop high-performance teams.
- Proven ability to establish and sustain strong relationships with parents, students, teaching and support staff, alumni and other stakeholders.
- Passionate about providing high-quality education to children and their families.
- Experience in successfully managing school operations
- Experience in living and working internationally, ideally in the UAE
- Embraces an appreciation for inclusive practices and positive approaches to behavior support along with the safeguarding and welfare of all children and young people
What we offer:
All positions attract an excellent remuneration package, including competitive tax-free salary, individual fully furnished accommodation, free schooling for 1 child, private medical insurance, annual airfares to country of residence and end of Service Gratuity.
GEMS Teachers also have free access to our loyalty app GEMS rewards www.gemsrewards.com which provides significant savings on day-to-day life in the UAE. We offer thousands of discounts and 2 for 1 offers on everything from flights, hotels, restaurants and retail outlets, making your salary go further and enhancing the opportunity to save whilst working overseas.
Next steps:
Shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Those successful at the initial stage will be invited to interview. Interviews will be held as soon as possible, both in person and online.
We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those shortlisted will be contacted for the next stage of the recruitment process.
Join us in shaping the future of education at GEMS International School. Together, we can make a lasting impact on the lives of our students and empower them to become world-class and world-ready individuals.
GEMS Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all of its students and staff. A UK-enhanced DBS or equivalent police check is a pre-requisite for all appointments.
Preferred Candidate
Management – Manager Director of Staff
About GEMS Education
Trusted for over 55 years and now a third generation education family, GEMS Education began in a single school room in Dubai. Today, we have the privilege of educating over 190,000 students from over 176 countries through GEMS owned and managed schools globally; over 270,000 students access resources through our services division; and we will impact 20 million by 2020 students through the initiatives of our Charity partner Varkey Foundation.
