Head of Secondary Years, Diploma Programme

Job type: Fulltime, Permanent 

Location: IB (International Baccalaureate) Global Centre, The Hague (NL), Cardiff (UK), Singapore (SG) or Washington DC (US)

Salary negotiable depending on experience:

NL (HG18): EUR annually
UK (HG18): GBP annually
US (HG18): USD annually
SG (HG18): SGD annually

A relocation package and work permit sponsoring will only be offered by relocation to The Netherlands

The Head of Secondary Years, Diploma Programme will be responsible for the design of IB's academic upper-secondary offering, focusing on creating multiple ways for schools and school systems to engage with university preparation, including modular offers designs, recognition-informed options, and models for under-resourced, public, or system-aligned schools. This role ensures that university pathways reflect global diversity, supports inclusive access to post-secondary success, and advances IB's commitment to human and planetary flourishing.​ The role is also responsible for leading the strategy and execution of (at least) one functional area of strategic importance for the Education Office. The service promise of this leader and their team is to act as a catalyst for school and school system success in implementing education reforms by providing expert guidance for and leading in the design of appropriate education solutions. 

This highly experienced educational leader will lead the Secondary years university pathways. They will be responsible for aligning learning, teaching and assessment coherently with the other pathways for impactful learning and teaching in IB schools and school systems. The post holder must possess the ability to think about different kinds of schools and how they can engage with the IB.

The post holder develops and executes school systems strategies, policies and processes to ensure that they reflect the IB educational philosophy, ongoing relevance and competitiveness within the IB's framework for international education. 

Reporting to the Director of School Systems Design, the role contributes to the overall strategic direction of the Education Office and supports the implementation of office initiatives. This includes writing management reports and papers on both thought leadership and school systems initiatives or activities and representing the IB at external events and meetings. 
 

The post holder also provides leadership and guidance to the team on the strategic level. This includes oversight of projects related to the educational offer, building, guiding and inspiring project teams to execute strategic plans. In addition, the Head represents, communicates and collaborates with colleagues in the Education Office leadership teams and in different offices / departments across the organization as well as with external stakeholders to further growth. The role also has financial accountability for the educational offer budgets.

1. Lead the school systems design for Secondary Years- Diploma Programme (DP)
2. Design school authorization and evaluation requirements for secondary years schools, university pathway (DP).
3. Reviewing existing offerings and reimagining the Secondary Pathways in collaboration with the Student Learning design and Community & Partnerships Office.
4. Lead the redesign of IB's secondary years pathways to support:
   1. Adaptive formats that expand participation without compromising quality.
   2. Recognition across diverse national systems and national qualification frameworks
   3. Pathways that are responsive to both elite and under-resourced contexts
5. Co-create requirements, tools and supports for schools (public, private, low-resourced, hybrid, online, emerging alternative models, etc) to adopt IB education in localized and scalable ways.
6. Take feedback from local team of the Community & Partnerships office to inform redesign and adaptability.
7. Ensure the pathways integrate disciplinary and interdisciplinary learning, competency development, core learning experiences (e.g., inquiry, research, service), SEL, intercultural understanding, that are aligned with university readiness standards globally, while allowing local adaptation.
8. Use school data and student outcomes to iterate and improve.
9. Collaborate with Student Design on Secondary Years frameworks (cognition, well-being).
10. Embed inclusive design feature that support diverse learners.
11. Prototype and Pilot innovative approaches in collaboration with Community & Partnerships Office
12. Line manage the secondary years university pathways team
     

• Master's degree, preferably in Education related discipline  
• Significant years' experience working in the Diploma Programme
• A proven track record of demonstrating a high level of leadership, organizational management and interpersonal skills 
• Minimum 10 years of teaching and administration/ leadership experience, preferably in an international context  P
• Proficiency to analyze data and present insights to deepen understanding of school needs and translate into action 
• Excellent communication skills with a high level of spoken and written competence in English and preferable at least one other language ideally French or Spanish) 
• Lead change and innovation in a dynamic multicultural cross-functional environment 
• Strategy mindset and able to translate this into actions
• Project management 
• Budget management 

Applications will be accepted until 23 December 11.55pm CET 2025. 

We are committed to building a working environment that values respect, diversity, and compassion. The International Baccalaureate is proud to be an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified applicants.