Deputy Head, Pastoral at Peponi House Preparatory School

Job overview

• If you know how to run pastoral care in a boarding environment, grab this opportunity to join one of the world's top British overseas schools.
• Kenyan education is recognised as generally excellent; about a dozen UK-style schools are at the forefront of Kenyan education, and Peponi is at the forefront of those schools. As an HMC member school, it enjoys an outstanding reputation and educates nearly 400 students aged 13-18 to the highest academic and pastoral standards. Boarding is an important feature of the school, with about 160 boarders spread across four Houses.
• Our truly excellent Deputy Head - Pastoral is retiring and returning to the UK, and we are seeking an equally caring and capable successor who can lead all aspects of pastoral care and wellbeing. This is an exciting and very broad role which reports directly to the Head, Mark Durston, working closely with him and with the Deputy Head, Academic.
• Peponi embodies the very best features and attitudes of a medium-sized British senior boarding school, in a massively spacious countryside location just outside the bustling city of Nairobi. Premises and facilities are modern and at or above the level one would find in the UK.
• The school blends traditional values with a forward-thinking vision, making the most of its location in East Africa whilst looking beyond that to the worldwide opportunities that exist for its pupils. The atmosphere is warm, friendly, happy but purposeful, and if you come to the school you will immediately pick up a feel for the excellent interpersonal relationships that exist at every level.
• As Deputy Head - Pastoral, your challenge will be to maintain, manage and constantly seek to enhance these relationships, as well as ensuring that practices and processes are as good as they possibly can be. You will relish the chance to develop your experience as a champion of the school's heart and soul.
• We are looking for someone who knows what all this means and is highly capable as well as forward thinking and imaginative. You MUST have solid experience in quality day and boarding environments, and you MUST be able to combine day-to-day leadership with strategic appreciation. You'll be adaptable, resilient and reliable, happy to be a role model to pupils and colleagues alike, and happy to go the extra mile if needed, and then another one.
• In return you will enjoy excellent working conditions including quality on-site accommodation, a generous and comprehensive reward package, and significant amounts of personal and professional development. There is a great team spirit in our Common Room and you will be warmly welcomed. If you join us you will achieve great job satisfaction and excellent experience, and you will enjoy a first-class quality of life in a wonderful location. Kenya is a fabulous country, with friendly smiling people, a comfortable year-round climate, amazing countryside and wildlife, and some of the best beaches in the world at Mombasa.
• If you’re excited by the sound of all this, please download the briefing brochure and the application form. We’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have and completed forms should be emailed direct to our Headmaster, Mark Durston, at applicants@peponischool.or
• Please apply as soon as possible and in any event before the final deadline of Monday, February 17th. Interviews will be arranged online or face to face on dates that are mutually convenient and, for UK-based candidates, Mark Durston will be in London during week commencing 24th February.
• Peponi School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants will be subject to child protection screening, including checks with past employers, the UK Disclosure and Barring Service and/or authorities in other countries.