Job Title:                  Head of Subject – English 

Employment Type:      Full Time

Start Date:                   1st August 2027

WELCOME TO SCIE – STRIVING TO BE THE BEST

• Are you an exceptional A Level & IGCSE English Language & Literature teacher?
• Do you enjoy teaching your subject to the highest level?
• Do you aspire to teach at China’s premier school for Oxbridge offers?
• Do you want to work hard whilst placing high value on quality of life?  (teaching load is a 50% timetable)
• Are you looking for a well-established school? (Founded in 2003)
• Are you looking for a school with accreditation? (CIS & WASC accredited)
• Are you ready to live in Shenzhen — located in the central district of one of China’s most dynamic, cosmopolitan, innovative and livable cities, just a stone’s throw from Hong Kong?

Person Profile:

• Direct UK teaching experience preferred
• Minimum 2 years AL/IGCSE/AP teaching experience in the relevant area
• Ability to teach high achieving students (highly selective intake)
• Degree in area of expertise for teaching
• Teaching qualification (PGCE, QTS or equivalent)
• Management experience to apply for the position of Head of Subject- English

Job description:

Principal Purpose of Position:

You are responsible for the leadership and development of the department and for supporting the whole school vision. You ensure that teachers are accountable for high-quality learning (& teaching) which promotes progression to Oxbridge, Ivy League and top universities or conservatories within your subject.

Be the main source of leadership for learning

• Lead by example in your own classroom. You must be infectiously passionate about your subject and be the department’s main source of leadership, advocating high-quality teaching and learning.
• Establish and relentlessly uphold high expectations for high-quality teaching and learning. Celebrate high-quality teaching and learning (T&L) and, when required, be willing and able to engage in difficult conversations with teachers who do not meet SCIE expectations.
• Quality Assure teaching and learning through regular walkthroughs, observations and work scrutiny. Relentlessly monitor, evaluate and provide feedback on the quality of learning in all lessons in your subject, including Gifted & Talented (G&T) and Enrichment.
• Hold teachers accountable for providing pupils with regular feedback, both orally and through accurate marking, and encourage pupils to respond to that feedback.
• Challenge and develop teachers to adapt their practice for SCIE’s highly able learners.
• Actively promote, develop and reward teaching excellence in your subject.
• Support and challenge teachers to drive SCIE’s educational objectives, including the goal of achieving mastery of English to a first-language level.
• Relentlessly challenge underperformance and hold teachers to account for meeting SCIE teacher standards in all lessons in your subject, including G&T and Enrichment.
• Establish a data-driven approach to improving student performance, develop shared accountability for maximising outcomes in external exams, and take responsibility for those outcomes.
• Develop and schedule a programme of regular, high-quality internal professional development (PD), focused on how to successfully teach your subject to the highest level and on exam board alignment.

Drive departmental excellence and alignment

• Place SCIE learners at the heart of every departmental decision and action, support them in striving to be the best, and relentlessly safeguard SCIE learners in your subject.
• Demonstrate challenge and support through rigorous appraisal of all departmental teachers, including meaningful target setting and progress checks, and hold accountability for accurately rating teacher performance against expected SCIE standards.
• Be capable of supporting colleagues with remediation where appropriate.
• Be a passionate advocate of the school vision, specifically by ensuring strong learner foundations (G1–A2) to enable success in striving for top university applications.
• Establish shared accountability for promoting department success in applications to top universities in your subject, including Oxford, Cambridge and top US universities.
• Champion the Super Curriculum in your subject to complement the parallel ECA programme, providing opportunities to explore deeper and beyond the syllabus.
• Ensure all formal assessments meet SCIE expectations, and that End of Semester (EOS) exams and mock exams are checked for validity and accuracy and submitted to the Examinations and Assessment Office (EAO) on time.
• Ensure Schemes of Work (SoWs) and Schemes of Assessment (SoAs) demonstrate challenge at the highest levels, are aligned with the exam board and the expectations of WASC and CIS and are appropriate for SCIE learners.
• Ensure that support outside lessons, including tutorials, is data-driven, timely and appropriate to support identified groups in reaching thresholds, for example PUM 95+ SCIE learners.
• Support the Head of Faculty (HoF) in optimising staff allocations (for example but not limited to streaming and RPQ supervisions) of classes and ensure that G&T and Enrichment classes are strategically aligned with the school vision through rigorous teacher selection and scrutiny of learning and SoWs.
• Consistently support the HoF in effectively communicating and embedding whole faculty priorities and expectations, as well as those of the whole school and the Principal team.
• Be present for new teacher induction week & develop an induction manual for the department that enables close monitoring and supports new colleagues in becoming fluent with SCIE systems, outlining and embedding SCIE expectations and values.
• Hold teachers accountable for maintaining rigorous records of all types of assessment required for reporting to parents and for meeting school and faculty expectations.
• Ensure your subject team’s goals align with whole school T&L priorities, and that Action Plan priorities are acted upon in a timely manner to drive positive changes.

Brief Description of SCIE:

A UK curriculum high school (Cambridge International A Level & IGCSE) teaching through the medium of English to mainly Chinese students preparing for prestigious overseas universities.

We are slowly expanding our provision with the introduction of an AP stream, hence there are opportunities for teachers interested in some AP teaching in various AP subjects.

The mission of the College is to educate Students in a Challenging, International Environment, leading to academic achievement at the highest level, and to develop Social responsibility, Creativity, Independence and Enthusiasm, providing each student with the best preparation for future opportunities.

• Highly selective – English and Mathematics admissions tests
• Medium of instruction & communication – AS/AL English, with students functioning at first language level, mostly studying AS/AL English language or literature in A1/A2
• 1800+ students, High school only – UK Key Stages 4 & 5
• Accreditation – Fully accredited by both CIS (Council of International Schools) & WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges in US) and regional members of FOBISIA & EARCOS
• Examinations – AS/AL, IGCSE (Cambridge International and OxfordAQA), and AP (College Board)
• Day & boarding school – teachers are not involved in boarding facility, nor do they have evening or night duties

Subject Department Introduction:

In recent years, the English Department has evolved to now replicate a standard British High School structure. The Department consists of 26 full-time teachers. Our 2025/26 intake, (UK Year 10), will prepare for IGCSE Language and Literature over two years. Our senior students prepare for Oxford International AQA in Language and Literature. Other options are AP Language and AP Literature. For non-specialist A-level English students, the department offers non-examined English courses with internal assessment programmes. English teachers at SCIE also have opportunities to utilize and extend their special interests beyond the mainstream curriculum. Student-enrichment groups and English-related clubs are features of the College.

Over the last two years, SCIE English students have achieved CAIE ‘Top of China’ and High Achievement’ awards in AS and AL Literature and Language. We are looking for strong English teachers with lower and upper Secondary experience with an aim to build on these successes.

Students：

• Highly selected and highly motivated academic students
• Students complete IGCSE exams at end of G2 (UK Year 11), and then go on to 5/6 subjects at AS, and 4/5 at AL (including English)
• Our AP curriculum was introduced for the 2025-2026 academic year. A small number of students take up the opportunity to enter the AP curriculum after completing IGCSE exams in G2
• Average international exam results across the school are always A/A*
• 35 Oxbridge offers and over 92% students applying to UK achieve offers from top 10 universities in 2026 cohort
• US university offers including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins, Duke, Columbia, Cornell, Swarthmore College, Claremont McKenna College, Wellesley College, Carleton College
• Students achieve success across range of subjects including Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences, Languages, Science and Mathematics
• Class size maximum 26 at IGCSE and 24 at AS/A Level
• Huge range of ECAs with over 200 clubs, both staff led and student led

Schedule：

• Working week: Monday – Friday, 07:50am – 16:40pm (with 07:30am start Mondays and early finish 15:00pm Fridays)
• Teacher contact time – 24 x 40-minute periods per week (approx. 50% timetable)
• Extra-Curricular Activity – 1 hour per week ECA after school (16:30pm – 17:30pm)
• CPD – large range of professional development available both online and face-to-face.
• Holidays – 1 week for October China National Day holiday, 2 weeks Christmas holiday, 3 weeks Chinese New Year holiday, Chinese public holidays, mid-June to early August Summer holiday.

Pastoral：

• Pastoral care is at the heart of what we do at SCIE. All classroom teachers have a role to play in taking care of the whole student promoting their safety, sense of belonging and their wellbeing during their time at the college.
• Form tutor role – most classroom teachers will be required take on a form group of approximately 20 students. The role includes having regular individual mentoring meetings as part of the timetable, having regular form time with the group as well as teaching a weekly PSHE lesson. As the main point of contact for students, form tutors are responsible for getting to know their tutees beyond the classroom. The form tutor role attracts an additional allowance.
• Teachers without a form tutor role may be required to take on additional pastoral duties as required.
• Pastoral professional development – in addition to annual safeguarding training there are additional opportunities to develop your practice in this area and contribute to whole school pastoral development.

Benefits:

• Published fixed salary scale (reviewed annually) based on years of teaching experience and annual progression at SCIE
• School provided accommodation (Expat apartments adjacent to campus)
• Full international medical cover (self + 1 dependent)
• Annual flight allowance (self + 1 dependent)
• Dedicated staff gym in campus

Safeguarding :

• Shenzhen College of International Education (SCIE) is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all students. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
• This post is subject to safer recruitment practices, including child protection screening appropriate to the role (e.g., criminal record checks, identity verification, and professional reference checks).
• The successful applicant will be required to comply with SCIE’s Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy and the Staff Code of Conduct, and to report any safeguarding concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) in line with SCIE Safe Practices Handbook, CIS accreditation standards and PRC law.

Application Process:

To apply, please send your CV and cover letter to jobs@scie.com.cn

We undertake a straightforward and involved selection process. Applicants can expect to have 2 rounds of interviews, 1st round interview with the Department Heads (Head of Faculty and Head of Subject), and the 2nd round interview with the Principal Team.

SCIE is committed to creating a safe environment for students. All applicants are required to comply with our child protection guidelines for application. References will be taken up including direct contact with your current, or most recent employer for a safeguarding reference check and to confirm clearance from contract commitment. Please note that no offer will be made until the background check is complete.

Please find more information for our school on the official website：

https://www.scie.com.cn