THINK Global School (TGS) is looking for its next on-site Principal to travel with and lead our global community.
TGS's mission is to reveal the innate potential of every learner through the intertwining journey of self-discovery and global exploration, challenging students to think critically and create boldly; contributing and caring for the world as actively as they move through it.
Built upon our three core pillars: Global Immersion, Personal Pathways, and Wholebeing Development, TGS ensures learning and community life are Real, Relevant, and Deeply Relational. As a project-based and place-based school, we are actively deepening our adoption and practices in competency-based learning and assessment, prioritizing authentic personal growth and mastery.
The Principal is a values driven, "boots-on-the-ground" educational and operational leader who travels with the school and drives the day-to-day life, safety, and culture of the onsite school community. As Principal, you serve on the Executive Leadership Team alongside the Director of Operations, acting as the central leader within the onsite school community. This is not a figurehead, fundraising, or external promotion role; rather, it demands deep, daily immersion in school operations, academic design, student life, staff support and mentorship.
The Principal is directly responsible for creating and maintaining the operational container in which TGS’s vision can flourish. You actively guide, support, and grow the collective community into that vision through hands-on leadership, rigorous programmatic execution, proactive student behavior management, and intentional culture-building. These responsibilities are managed collaboratively with the Onsite Leadership Team; and with the support and supervision of the Chief Vision Officer and TGS Board of Directors.
Creating a safe, enriching, and stable environment for the onsite school community as we travel the world, is essential to this role, as is the understanding that kindness, compassion and joy are fundamental to human potential.
Key Responsibilities
- Onsite Operational Leadership & Daily Management
- Implementation of Mission: Establish and maintain the social, emotional, and operational framework ("container") that empowers students and staff to grow into TGS's mission.
- Day-to-Day Operations: Directly manage daily scheduling and oversee academic routines, host city logistics, and residential boarding life across rotating host countries, and communicate expectations and changes to staff in a clear and concise manner.
- Wholebeing Development & Mental Health: Oversee pastoral care and advisory program in coordination with the onsite counselor and onsite leadership, ensuring a healthy balance between academic challenge and personal care.
- Behavior Management & Pastoral Care: Directly manage student behavior and conflict resolution using restorative, connection-first practices rooted in relational intelligence and wholebeing development.
- Staff Mentorship & Collaborative Culture: Directly manage, mentor, observe, and evaluate onsite faculty and pastoral staff in conjunction with Onsite Leadership to foster a supportive, collaborative, and compassionate work environment.
- Faculty Management & Supervision: Provide clear guidance, resources and oversight through timely and actionable feedback to the Director of Futures and educators, holding them accountable to the expected delivery of the student learning experience at TGS.
- Budget & Resource Management: Develop and monitor onsite operational and educational budgets in coordination with the Director of Operations.
- Admissions : Partner with the Director of Operations and Admissions team on interviews, student intake, orientation and peer-to-peer mentorship.
- Staff Growth & Professional Learning: Design and organize ongoing adult learning programs, TGS mentorship, peer feedback, and continuous PD opportunities that foster staff growth and align with institutional priorities.
- Regulatory Compliance: Oversee contract reviews, self-study, preparation for site visits, and reporting to the Board Members.
- Relational Culture Building & Community
- Culture of Care & Collaboration: Foster a culture of care and collaboration, placing humans at the center of the work, empowering staff and students to take risks and explore projects that support the growth of the individual and the community at large.
- Student Agency & Voice: Empower student leadership and agency, fostering a culture where students actively co-create community norms, drive project-based initiatives, and participate meaningfully in decision-making processes.
- Relational Intelligence, Joy, & Play: Intentionally weave joy, play, and shared adventure into community life as tools of relational intelligence, breaking down barriers, building deep trust, promoting a culture of belonging and inclusiveness that feels safe and supportive in a multi-cultural community.
- Restorative Leadership & Conflict Mediation: Cultivating a community-wide culture of restorative practices, active listening, and constructive conflict resolution to address behavioral challenges and interpersonal friction.
- Parent & Family Partnerships: Maintaining transparent, proactive communication and strong relational bridges with parents and families as vital partners in student wellbeing and community life.
- Programmatic Design & Personal Pathways
- Real & Relevant Pedagogy: Drive the execution of TGS’s bespoke curriculum, ensuring academic rigor while making learning authentic, experiential, and deeply tied to each host country, focusing on continual improvement of student-centered learning to best support the benefit mindset, whereby the community sees and believes in the potential of all.
- Personal Pathways & Project-Based Learning: Collaborate with the Director of Futures to guide staff in supporting individualized student goals, student-led projects, and place-based modules during global immersions.
- Teaching & Advising: Maintain the core skills of a TGS Educator/Advisor; step into teaching, advising, or co-leading community initiatives whenever needed.
- Competency-Based Education Integration: Oversee the strategic implementation of a competency-based framework and alignment of the TGS curriculum, ensuring assessment practices prioritize skill mastery and authentic personal growth over traditional grading.
- Mastery & Personal Projects Quality Assurance: Partner with the Director of Futures to ensure robust mentoring, milestone tracking, and quality assurance for student-led Personal Pathway projects, Capstone/Mastery Projects, and Presentations of Learning.
- Post-Secondary Pathways: Collaborate with the Director of Futures to develop and implement post-secondary pathways that support international individualized routes.
- Strategic Co-Leadership & Stakeholder Collaboration
- Executive Leadership Team (ELT): Co-leads alongside the Director of Operations and Chief Vision Officer to align onsite operations with organizational strategy and cross-departmental needs, maintaining alignment through structured team meetings, regular 1:1 check-ins, and clear asynchronous updates.
- Local Community Engagement: Build and sustain respectful, culturally sensitive relationships with host country partners, indigenous communities, local organizations, and emergency contacts; guiding students to engage ethically, culturally and meaningfully with their surrounding environments
- Board Communication & Governance Oversight: Partnering with the Chief Vision Officer and Director of Operations to provide regular strategic reports, institutional data, and performance updates to the Board.
- Change Management & Stakeholder Engagement: Encourage and manage change effectively, with all stakeholders feeling properly informed and included in a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
- Executive Leadership & Accountability: Holds the day-to-day operations and takes responsibility for school performance and leadership decisions, fostering a culture of accountability, prohibiting blaming or shaming when mistakes or oversights occur.
- Safeguarding, Safety & Global Immersion Risk Management
- Child Safeguarding & Protection: Serve as the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) onsite; strictly enforce the TGS Child Protection Policy, reporting protocols, and international compliance standards with the support of the Director of Operations.
- Country Risk Ownership: Oversee operational implementation of country risk assessments upon handover from remote logistics teams; ensure staff and students maintain vigilance and active risk management across all global environments.
- Emergency Action Team & Onsite Incident Command: Act as the primary onsite operational lead during crises, directing local emergency response, risk assessments, and real-time communications in coordination with executive leadership.
- Safety & Duty Rotations: Share on-duty responsibilities with the Onsite Leadership Team, maintaining fit-for-purpose emergency action plans in every host country.
- Medical & Health Protocol Oversight: Coordinate with the Onsite Medical Lead/DIrector of Wholebeing to oversee daily health systems, emergency medical preparedness, and incident documentation.
Physical Requirements & Environmental Expectations
As TGS operates as an experiential, traveling global boarding school, the Principal must actively participate in community life across dynamic and physically challenging environments:
- High stamina and adaptability required for continuous international relocation across rotating host countries and time zones.
- Emotional and physical resilience needed to maintain personal wellbeing, live in shared communal spaces, and navigate varying multi-national infrastructures.
- Capacity to thrive in varying degrees of accommodation that are reflective of local host-country standards while maintaining an intentionally immersive and communal living experience for self, staff and students.
- Must be physically fit and capable of fully participating in outdoor, all-weather activities alongside staff and students, including hiking, camping, water sports, games, and extended expeditions.
- Ability to navigate terrain independently, carry gear, swim and move comfortably in open-water environments, and adapt to high-altitude settings.
- Willingness to embrace non-traditional hours, including evening/weekend duty rotations and community bonding events during term time.
- Capacity to maintain relevant safety certifications and actively support field emergency protocols.
Qualifications & Competencies
Essential
- Master’s degree in Education, Educational Leadership, International Education, Curriculum & Instruction (PBL focus), and/or Student Wellbeing/Counseling.
- Proven leadership track record in a secondary, boarding, or experiential learning environment (e.g., Principal, Assistant Principal, or Program Director). Demonstrated ability to manage and lead dynamic, high-performing teams while taking direct ownership of day-to-day school operations, scheduling, and communal living dynamics.
- High emotional and relational intelligence with the ability to build trust, navigate conflict, and establish an operational "container" where staff and students thrive. Demonstrated skill in using warmth, humor, and exceptional communication skills as intentional tools for community cohesion and restorative behavior management.
- Deep alignment with project-based, place-based, and student-driven learning models. Demonstrated experience in competency-based assessment and mastery-based evaluation systems that prioritize student growth over conventional grading metrics.
- Direct experience overseeing student safety, child protection (as DSL or equivalent), crisis response, and country risk management in complex or international environments. Ability to make swift, grounded decisions as a key leader during emergency response scenarios.
- Expertise leading within diverse, international cohorts and varied host-country contexts. Proven ability to build culturally responsive partnerships with local representatives, community partners, and local safety networks.
- Exceptional organization, executive function, and delegation skills to manage schedules, budgets, and operational logistics across complex, rotating global locations. Highly effective at prioritizing competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
- Exceptional written and oral communication skills across diverse stakeholders. Trained or highly experienced in mediation, active listening, and conflict resolution.
- Demonstrated capability and genuine enthusiasm for living and working alongside students and staff in a communal setting that serves as both a professional workplace and a residential home.
- High adaptability, emotional maturity, and the physical/mental stamina required to travel frequently, live in communal environments, and thrive within an evolving, mobile school structure.
- Active commitment to personal and professional growth, staying current with best practices in global education, progressive pedagogy, and school climate development.
Desirable
- A passionate commitment to educational innovation, intercultural understanding, and advocating for non-traditional, progressive learning models globally.
- Extremely tech-savvy with a quick ability to master new systems, and collaborate using technology, e.g., Google Suite, Slack, Headrush, HubSpot, and digital record-keeping tools. Proficient in modern AI platforms essential for mobile coordination, operational efficiency and innovative learning support.
- Deep understanding of adolescent development, mental health, and holistic wellness, with a strong commitment to connection-first, restorative practices in student behavior management.
- Expertise in designing and delivering impactful professional development for educators, with special emphasis on PBL facilitation, place-based curriculum integration, assessment design, and faculty coaching/evaluation.
- Experience cultivating external alliances such as universities, cultural organizations, and educational networks to expand opportunities for student projects, internships, and global learning.
- Ability to represent THINK Global School across professional networks, educational conferences, and public platforms.