Director, Center Environment & Humanity; CEH

Head of Center for Environment & Humanity (CEH)

Kodaikanal International School is a 124-year-old dynamic international school with a rich history of holistic education, offering the IB continuum of the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the Diploma Programme (DP) to our learners. Our beautiful school and community are nestled in the Palani Hills of Tamil Nadu, South India.

At KIS, we empower our students to navigate through life’s challenges to achieve their true potential. We follow an inquiry-based approach that promotes critical thinking, learner agency and a dedication to serving others. We recognize the importance of a meaningful, relevant and engaging curriculum that connects students to real-world contexts for their learning. We are keenly aware of the need to adapt our teaching and learning model to respond to the needs of our students in a world of fast-paced change.

This position bears overall responsibility for Leading the Center for Environment and Humanity's vision, strategy, and day-to-day execution, ensuring the Center delivers measurable environmental education programs and impact in the Palani Hills and beyond. The Head is accountable for strategy, programs, partnerships, fundraising, team leadership, operations, and reporting. The work spans climate resilience, waste management, biodiversity conservation, regenerative agriculture, and environmental education within the KIS community and with external partners.

Motto: A School the World Needs

KIS Vision Statement: We strive to be a school the world needs:
Our graduates will be transformative leaders, caring humans and thoughtful ambassadors for a just, sustainable and peaceful world.

KIS Mission Statement
:
Kodaikanal International School (KIS) is committed to empowering young people from diverse backgrounds with vision, knowledge, compassion and cross-cultural understanding. We are a community that welcomes everyone and seeks our purpose in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

KIS Values: Accountability, Appreciation, Concern for Others, Consistency, Context, Cooperation, Integrity, Openness, Performance, and Reverence.

We are seeking colleagues who are driven by:

• a strong belief in KIS’s guiding statements;
• the IB philosophy;
• ideas about how to bring these into actualization;
• opportunities to contribute to creating a more peaceful world;
• a focus on trust, relationships, and community.

KIS is committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people in our care. We support the rights of the child and will act without hesitation to ensure a child-safe environment. We also support the rights and wellbeing of our staff and volunteers and encourage their active participation in building and maintaining a secure environment for all participants.

Teachers at KIS must follow the guidelines of the school’s protective behavior policies and protocols, including reporting any situation that might constitute a health and/or safety hazard to students or school employees.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in environmental education and experiential, place-based learning.
• Experience leading community-based conservation or waste management projects.
• Successful grant writing with external funding secured.
• Knowledge of ecosystem restoration and sustainable land management.
• Tamil language skills and familiarity with South Indian culture.

Preferred Skills and Dispositions:

• Competency in use of computers: MS word / excel / power-point, database management programs and related software experiences
• Excellent command over the English language, demonstrate high level skills in verbal and written communication
• Capacity to identify strongly and unambiguously with the mission, goals and objectives of KIS
• Pleasant, polite, friendly and hospitable person
• Well-dressed in a manner appropriate for an office
• Able to work as a team member
• Commitment to multiculturalism and cultural diversity
• Capacity to support the goals and mission of KIS through his/her personal philosophy.

Personal attributes:

• Collaborative and outcomes-oriented.
• Resourceful,…