Nordic School Director

Role overview

A pre-school in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania serving children from one year old through the final year before primary school is looking for a Nordic School Director. The role provides senior leadership across school operations, compliance, finance, administration, and stakeholder relations, while working closely with the Head of Education to sustain strong Nordic-aligned pedagogy and child development outcomes.

The Director carries overall accountability for the school’s leadership and long-term sustainability in line with the school’s constitution, pedagogical framework, and the decisions of the General Assembly and Board. Day-to-day responsibilities are delegated where appropriate, but final accountability remains with the Director.

Strategic leadership and direction

The Director is expected to steer the school’s strategic planning and ensure that the vision, values, and mission are translated into practical priorities and measurable results. The role also includes guiding the school through growth, restructuring, and other periods of change while keeping the organisation aligned with its educational purpose and operational capacity.

Governance and compliance

This position serves as the main point of contact between the Board and the Trustees. The Director must ensure adherence to all relevant legal, regulatory, safeguarding, registration, tax, and reporting obligations, and must oversee the creation and maintenance of internal policies and procedures across areas such as HR, procurement, and child protection.

The role also involves tracking audit findings and governance issues, assigning corrective actions, reporting progress, and following issues through until they are fully resolved.

Finance and budget oversight

The Director holds full accountability for income, spending, and budget execution as approved by the General Assembly. This includes maintaining strong financial controls, clear approval workflows, proper documentation for procurement, and separation of duties between staff involved in requesting, reviewing, approving, and releasing payments.

The role further requires verification of supplier documentation and received goods or services before payments are authorised, as well as periodic review of expenditure samples and supporting records. Additional finance duties include preparing the annual financial and operational report for the AGM, developing and monitoring the annual budget, and ensuring the external audit is completed within three months after the fiscal year ends.

Human resources leadership

The Director is responsible for staffing structure, recruitment processes, performance management, professional development, and labour-law compliance. The role includes consultation with Board members and, where teaching staff are involved, the Head of Education, during recruitment, appointment, and termination decisions.

The position also requires oversight of expatriate teacher hiring procedures, including compliance with Tanzanian law and support for work permit processing where needed.

Administration and school operations

The Director attends Board meetings, reports on school management, and ensures Board decisions are carried out. The role includes overseeing efficient administrative systems, acting as the school’s external representative for matters outside the Head of Education’s remit, and handling correspondence addressed to the school.

Other duties include preparing the annual school calendar with the Head of Education, overseeing admissions according to Board-approved rules, maintaining student registers and enrolment lists for invoicing and reporting, applying for any eligible Swedish education grants for supplementary Swedish classes, and ensuring the Nordic School sports club, the Nordic House, and related activities run effectively.

Safety, security, and working environment

The Director must maintain a secure and child-safe environment for students and staff. This includes establishing and implementing safety routines, ensuring relevant emergency procedures are documented, and arranging staff training in fire safety, first aid, and emergency response. First aid and fire safety training must be organised once every school year for all staff.

Facilities and maintenance

The role includes monitoring the condition of the school buildings and educational equipment, planning maintenance with the Board, and following up on larger facility projects, especially during school holidays.

Public relations and reputation management

The Director represents the school externally and helps plan open days, school tours, and promotional activities together with the Head of Education. The role also includes oversight of the school website and social media presence to ensure information remains current and accurate, along with protecting and strengthening the school’s public reputation.

Qualifications

Applicants should hold either a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Elementary Education, or a related field, together with at least five years of teaching experience and five years in school management; or a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Finance, or a related discipline, together with at least ten years’ experience in an education organisation.

Candidates must be registered, or eligible for registration, with Tanzania’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. Familiarity with Nordic pedagogy, EYFS, IB PYP, or Montessori approaches is also required.

Ideal professional profile

The preferred candidate will be comfortable preparing detailed board and trustee reports, handling school regulatory matters with government authorities, overseeing finance and fee collection processes, and ensuring compliance with tax and statutory obligations such as TRA requirements, EFD management, and deductions.

Experience with labour-law compliance, immigration-related paperwork for expatriate staff, and administration of statutory contributions such as WCF, NSSF/PSSSF, as well as OSHA and fire-safety requirements, will be valuable.

Compensation and application process

The role offers a monthly basic salary of up to TZS 6.5 million. Interested candidates should send a CV only with the subject line “NORDIC SCHOOL DIRECTOR” by 30 June 2026. Applications will be reviewed as they arrive, and shortlisted candidates may be contacted for interview before the closing date.

Additional information

The position is with a pre-school based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the school caters to children from age one up to the final year before primary school.