Hiring a Head - TIC’s MD writes chapter for new international school ‘how to’ book just published

TIC’s Managing Director, Andrew Wigford, is one of the guest contributors to the just-published book, Establishing an International School – Getting it Right from the Start. The book has brought together insights and expertise from international school thought-leaders from around the world.

Andrew’s chapter: ‘Hiring a Head for your new international school,’ considers the changing face of the international school market and the challenges which international schools now face when recruiting principals. He offers advice to schools regarding the different processes involved when hiring a new leader for a new school.

In the article, Andrew discusses how the developing international schools’ market is affecting recruitment: “Expansion of the international schools market has raised the bar in every way. As a result, the need for skilled and high-quality leaders as well as teachers has never been greater. Yet the pool of potential quality candidates is limited,” he writes.

He considers the factors which can influence a schools’ hiring process: “Every international location has its own unique challenges and opportunities…This can include government legislation on staffing, country-related impact on salaries, benefits, security and accessibility, and cultural implications for expatriates ... It’s a specialist market and you need specialist support to ensure you do not waste time and money, nor make mistakes that can jeopardise the reputation of your brand.”

He talks about the need for access to a healthy pool of high calibre candidates when searching for senior leaders and uses the behind-the-scenes preparation at TIC as an example: “Our work begins well before a school even approaches us for recruitment support,” he explains. “For many years we have been educating British middle and senior leaders about the opportunities within the international schools market. We have a database of senior leaders and teachers who are actively considering jobs in international schools. Our candidate pool also includes many teachers and leaders who are already working in international schools. Many of those seeking senior leadership and Headship positions will advise us two years in advance of their planned move, which means we have valuable insight of a breadth of candidates. We identify their aspirations for their coming move. In this way, we have several targeted lists of leaders; some actively seeking new school openings, others looking for their first Headship, or a move to a specific region or school type.”

You can read Andrew’s full article from the book ‘Establishing an International School’ here

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