Director of SEN

Compass was established in 2006 to provide a premium British education to both expatriate and local Qatari families. We have three campuses; Al Themaid and Madinat Khalifa educate students from Early Years through to Secondary whereas Gharaffa is a stand-alone Primary campus for children aged 3-11. All campuses offer a bespoke British curriculum. Secondary students can select from a wide range of IGSEs, AS and A levels. Additionally, we offer the prestigious IB Diploma Programme in Years 12 and 13. All three sites offer a warm, friendly learning environment with our students at the heart of everything we do. We are proud of our outstanding teachers and our community feel. As for Qatar, a sunny climate year-round and an airport with fantastic global connections ensures the continued popularity of this destination for expats.

Our school has Qatar National Schools Accreditation (QNSA) and is a member of the British Schools in the Middle East (BSME), COBIS and AoBSO.

About you

You are an outstanding team leader with the track record for developing a vision for inclusion, excellence and continual improvement. You excel in leading and managing people by creating a culture where colleagues are both supported and challenged to deliver the best possible learning experience for students. You can develop a highly motivated team by nurturing positive working relationships built on respect, trust, support and recognition.

You lead improvement through rigorous self-evaluation of department performance and use quality assurance feedback to identify improvement priorities moving forward. You demonstrate excellent management skills such as resource management, emotional intelligence, data analysis, performance tracking, task delegation, organisation of meetings and creating timetables.

You lead a learning culture where students, staff and parents are supported, challenged and inspired to be the best they can be - students with special educational needs will believe there are no limits to what can be achieved. Your excellent motivation and communication skills enable you to create a safe and student-focused culture within the school.

Receptive to feedback and ready to embrace change, you will be keen to share best practice with colleagues and peers. You will keep up to date with new initiatives, strategies and academic reading to build on the school’s inclusive ethos. As a strong ambassador for inclusion in the school, you will be able to develop new ways to engage students and parents across both our school and the wider Nord Anglia Education communities. Your strong motivation and communication skills will also enable you to create a feeling of energy, excitement and personal investment within the classroom.

You will have the following:

• university degree in your specialist subject
• teaching qualification
• a recognised qualification for working with students with additional needs – preferably a SENco diploma/degree

You will also be able to meet visa-related restrictions for Qatar, including possession of a Bachelor’s degree and a teaching qualification from a face-to-face (non-online) course.

About the role

Join our dynamic international education environment, where you will support parents and staff with the delivery of a fit-for-purpose curriculum, built on the English National Curriculum and preparing students for external examinations at IGSCE/AS-A levels. You will lead the development of a culture in which students are challenged to be ambitious learners and teachers are required to be innovative to enhance the student experience and outcomes. You will understand the diverse international language environment within our school community to manage effective curriculum programmes to not only teach English subject content, but also continue to support English language development for students across all areas of the school curriculum.

Your educational philosophy will equip you to meet the needs of all learners and be able to teach students with a range of prior achievements, knowledge and skills. Your expertise and planning adaptability will allow you to map out pathways for all students to progress, creating opportunities for all learners to achieve success based on individualised targets. You will contribute to good practice by demonstrating a collegiate approach to departmental development and sharing strategies with colleagues.

As the whole school Director of SEN, you will be involved in the following areas:

• Directly lead a team of SEN staff, including an SEN teacher and facilitators.
• Regular meetings with parents and staff.
• The reviewing, writing and distribution of IEPS.
• Offer training and resources to all stakeholders.
• Manage the SEN register and ensure all documents are up to date.
• Liaise with external support providers.
• The role will include working with individual or groups of students.

Please refer to the job description of the role for the following information:

• Job purpose
• Reporting to
• Key relationships
• Key results areas
• Performance measurement

Benefits

Nord Anglia Education is the world’s leading premium schools organisation. We are a fast-paced and growing family of 87 international schools in China, Europe, the Middle East, South-East Asia and The Americas, providing outstanding education to over 90,000 students from preschool to 18 years of age. Our schools are united by one philosophy—we are ambitious for our students, our people, our community and family of schools. This means that we want every student to achieve more in our schools, than in any other schools in the world. We ensure this through personalised learning enhanced with bespoke global opportunities such as Juilliard, MIT, IMG, and UNICEF. We learn from the best and with the best.

We offer you unsurpassed opportunities to innovate and develop best practice across our family, to access extensive professional development, and to gain exceptional experience and career development in our schools. At Nord Anglia, you will have opportunities to progress more, learn more, and collaborate more.

We offer a professional working environment and an attractive remuneration & benefits package.

Alongside great training and a competitive package, you’ll enjoy the chance to live and work in a rapidly growing country which is perhaps best known for successfully hosting the World Cup in 2022. Qatar is a great place to be based for travel and enjoys a lovely climate most of the year.

Essential

• A university degree and a teaching qualification
• At least 5 years of teaching experience within the British curriculum
• A proven record of successful leadership at a senior level

Desirable

• A master’s degree in the field of education or an NPQH qualification
• Previous international experience

PERSONAL QUALITIES SOUGHT

• Fluent English speaker
• Values-led approach; integrity and honesty are paramount
• Reliability, loyalty and commitment
• Personal confidence and presence
• Energetic and positive with a ‘can-do’ approach
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Effective communication skills, both orally and in writing
• Approachable to all; able to show respect and display cultural sensitivity
• Sense of humour and grace under pressure
• Ability to understand complex issues and solve problems
• Able to manage own time and prioritise; organized
• Flexible and adaptable; able to handle uncertainty
• Able to delegate effectively

To apply

Please apply for this vacancy using our recruitment portal.

Online applications should contain a CV, a two-page letter of application, and the details of three professional references, one of which should be your current Head Teacher/Principal.

Start date: 01 August 2026

Closing date for applications is Wednesday, 14th January 2026.

Selection process

First stage interviews will be conducted face to face or via Teams, and final interviews will take place in January 2026 in both London and in Doha.

Candidates are encouraged to apply early, as the school reserves the right to appoint before the closing date.

At Nord Anglia Education we are committed to providing a world class, safe, happy environment in which children and young people are able to thrive and learn. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our pupils irrespective of race, ability, religion, gender or culture.

All post holders in regulated activity (having regular unsupervised contact with children) are subject to appropriate national and international vetting procedures including satisfactory criminal record checks from both Country of residence/birth and any Country of residence within the last 10 years.