IB Diploma Programme Coordinator at SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College

SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College is a highly academic and very reputable International Senior Secondary boarding school for the top students from SOS Children’s Villages across Africa together with students from the host nation, Ghana. Its motto is Knowledge in the Service of Africa and its ethos is rooted in providing an excellent pre-university education while nurturing students to use their leadership skills and diverse talents to the benefit of their local communities and to Africa.

SOS-HGIC is thus a unique school, comprising the 4-years of pre-university education, and offering two years of the International Baccalaureate’s MYP programme, followed by 2 years
of the IB Diploma programme which the school was the first to pioneer in Ghana in 1993.

The school was founded in 1990 by SOS Kinderdorf International, which has over 500 SOS Children’s Villages worldwide, and primary, secondary and vocational schools all over the world. The College is its flagship pre-university institution and its students have graduated from such first class institutions in the US as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT and Vassar.

Additionally, in Europe and the United Kingdom, students have graduated from the Universities of Bremen, Jacobs, Oxford, Edinburgh, UCL and Richmond etc, and within Africa, from the University of Cape Town, Wits University, Ashesi, University of Ghana, Legon and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Job Title: IB Diploma Programme Coordinator

The Diploma Programme (DP) Coordinator is responsible for the coordination and development of the IB Diploma programme in SOS-HGIC. The DP Coordinator is involved in the whole school implementation of the IB programme and is the direct point of contact with the IBO in matters pertaining to the Diploma Programme.

The IB Diploma Programme Coordinator serves as the key advocate, advisor, and program director for the programme. The Diploma Program Coordinator is a member of the Curriculum Management Team who report to the Principal.

In order to facilitate the effective delivery of the IB program, the coordinator will take primary responsibility for the following tasks:

• Ensuring that the IB Diploma Programme is implemented and developed in line with the requirements of the IB Standards & Practices, the General Regulations for the Diploma Programme, and other IB-mandated guiding documentation.
• Leading the admission process for students entering the DP.
• Ensuring that accurate student records are maintained through ManageBac etc.
• Ensuring that teachers are kept up to date with the latest news, curriculum guides and other guiding documentation from the IB.
• Organising the mock and final examinations and the orals, taking overall responsibility for the running of the examinations, the safe-keeping of examination materials and the dispatch of all papers and examination documents to the IB through the required channels.
• Ensuring a focus on student learning and best practice in teaching, and on achieving the aims as outlined in the School Mission and Vision.
• Liaising with the Principal to develop an annual IB Diploma budget.
• Liaising with the Principal to develop, follow, and update a DP Action Plan as a guide to the ongoing development of the IB DP at SOS-HGIC

General Administration

As DP Coordinator, you are responsible for:

• Establishing a clear timeline of events, together with the MYP Coordinator, which leads students, teachers and parents into and through the Diploma Programme.
• Overseeing curriculum review and facilitate curriculum development and documentation.
• Developing and using assessment results to inform curriculum review and development.
• Supporting teachers in the development of assessment tools in line with the school’s assessment policy.
• Ensuring that DP students have a well-organized curriculum that is articulated with and builds on the MYP programme, enabling concurrency of learning
• Supporting and advising teaching staff regarding the administration of the DP and ensuring that all data required by IB is collected by stipulated deadlines
• Administering the Extended Essay (EE) through the EE Coordinator, ensuring that teachers and students are properly informed about the
• requirements, guidelines and assessment criteria.
• Overseeing the administration of the CAS programme, through the CAS Coordinator.

Pedagogical Leadership

• The DP Coordinator is the pedagogical leader of the DP programme of study, responsible for ensuring that teaching and learning are in line with IB expectations, internationally recognized standards, and research-based best practice.

As DP Coordinator you are responsible for:

• Ensuring that teaching and learning promotes the IB Learner Profile, and the values of the IB Mission Statement.
• Mentoring teachers and model good inquiry practice in the classroom
• Ensuring that teaching and learning enable students to develop lifelong learning skills and to be well-prepared for the appropriate IBDP examinations.
• Ensuring that the planning and teaching of Approaches to Learning Skills build on skills from the MYP and develop them further throughout the DP
• Overseeing the teaching of TOK and its embedding into teaching and learning throughout the programme
• Facilitating, promoting, and leading collaborative planning.
• Ensuring that teachers regularly visit the MY IB platform in order to remain current with DP developments

Professional Development

As DP Coordinator you are responsible for:

• Chairing regular Diploma Programme team meetings at various levels across the school.
• Delivering and helping develop DP information workshops for all staff.
• Identifying DP professional development needs and opportunities on and off campus.
• Providing orientation sessions for all new staff, as necessary.
• Assessing the professional development needs of Diploma Programme teachers and coordinate their participation in appropriate workshops.

Communication

The DP Coordinator acts as spokesperson for the DP programme, ensuring that it has a clear voice and presence within the community at large.

As DP Coordinator you are responsible for

• Engaging with all stakeholders (students, teachers, parents) in working to support DP students.
• Preparing documentation for authorization/evaluation as and when required.
• Acting as the liaison between the school and the IB.
• Providing outreach to the wider IB DP community through MY IB discussion forums, e-mail and school visits.
• Establishing and maintaining links with other IBDP schools in the region.
• Providing content for SOS-HGIC blogs, newsletters, webpages and other publications.
• Preparing an annual report for the Principal and Senior Leadership Team following each assessment session.
• Ensuring that examination transcripts/Diplomas/Certificates are distributed to candidates upon receipt from the IB.
• Provide advice and support to all the DP staff regarding delivery of the DP
• Mentor newly appointed DP staff
• Collaborate with all the DP staff to ensure that the programme is delivered according to IB Programme Standards and Practices
• Promote a positive climate of collegiality and collaboration
• Establish relationships with other coordinators to facilitate sharing

Student Support

As DP Coordinator you are responsible for:

• Ensuring that candidates meet programme and examination requirements and fulfill IB Diploma regulations.
• Supporting academically at-risk students through regular communication between home and school.
• Working with the Emotional Counseling Department to ensure that teachers are aware of students specific learning needs, and ensuring that these needs are being met through the use of appropriate teaching and learning strategies
• Applying to the IB for special assessment conditions for those students who would benefit from such accommodations.
• Providing information to students and parents on the most appropriate pathways from MYP into the DP, as well as graduation requirements.

Qualification Required & Experience

• Master’s degree preferred and teaching qualification/appropriate certification
• Previous IB Diploma Programme teaching and leadership experience (preferably at an international school) with demonstrated strong organizational, administrative and interpersonal skills
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• A positive, caring, community-minded team player with a passion for teaching
• Possesses training and experience as an IBDP teacher
• Has prior experience as a DP coordinator or other comparable relevant experience

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