Academic Director

EF International Language Campuses | Full-Time | Director Level | Teaching

Reports to: School Director, Director of Academic Management and Vice President- Academic Affairs

Minimum Requirements for an EF Academic Director: BA required, MA in TESOL or related degree/experience and a minimum of three years of teaching experience preferred; ESL supervisory experience strongly preferred. Final selection is made by the school director, regional director and the senior vice president of academic affairs.

About Us

EF Education First is a global education company focusing on language, academic, cultural exchange, and educational travel programs. We are 46,500 staff, faculty and teachers, working in over 580 offices and schools across 52 countries, and having a global presence in over one hundred countries. While we continue to grow, we strive to stay small so as to ensure agility, smart thinking and a fun place to work. For the past 56 years, EF has grown to include a range of programs that give students of all ages the freedom and confidence to explore the world through language, travel and education.

In San Diego, we dance at orientations, we aren't afraid to express ourselves in our promotional videos, and just like a family, we attend and enjoy student and staff events, and we celebrate our progress and our successes. Our ideal candidate is responsible for academic programs in a large, dynamic English language school, including hiring and managing teachers, coordinating scheduling and classes and supervising academic components of the school budget. The academic director tests all students upon arrival to ensure appropriate level placement, provides academic orientation and creates schedules for all students, customizes special academic programs as requested, counsels individual students regarding academic performance and coordinates student questionnaires and academic reports. The ideal candidate is someone who is driven, and is a proven leader with an ability to collaborate and grow his/her staff. This person is someone who is able to problem solve, does not subscribe to a "that's not my job" attitude, is social media-savvy, and has ambitions to grow both personally and professionally while reaching new targets at a heavily customer service focused school. This person will be able to set realistic goals, and work closely with their staff to achieve these goals. We are an innovative environment where you have the license to be entrepreneurial and create programs that will benefit both the school and the community we have in San Diego as a whole.

Duties

• Coordinates curriculum and teaching staff
• Responsible for teacher screening and recruitment
• Conducts orientation and training for new teachers and provides academic support for teachers, including a half day orientation for all new teachers and an introduction to the EF Teacher's Handbook
• Schedules classes and secures rooms at the EF facility
• Organizes placement testing and places students in appropriate levels
• Counsels individual students regarding academic performance
• Tracks students with excessive absences and initiates academic warning letters
• Coordinates professional development of the teaching staff
• observes teachers and conducts follow-up meetings
• provides written, formal evaluations of observations
• Organizes student academic reports (where necessary)
• Coordinates departure evaluation questionnaires and departure testing (where not completed online)
• Supervises book inventory taking and book ordering
• Conducts monthly inventory and maintains library of class sets in teachers room
• Maintains all student computer files with up-to-date academic information
• Assigns administrative duties to teaching staff as required
• Works with production supervisors to control academic components of the budget, including class size averages and hour banks for salaried teachers.

EF is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. References will be followed up and will ask specifically whether there is any reason that the applicant should not be engaged in situations where they have responsibility for, or substantial access to, persons under 18. Upon interview all gaps in CVs must be explained satisfactorily and proof of identity and, where applicable, qualifications will be required. Appropriate suitability checks will be required prior to confirmation of appointment.

About EF Education First

At EF we believe that the world is better when people try to understand one another. Since 1965, we have helped millions of people see new places, experience new cultures, and learn new things about the world and about themselves. Our culturally immersive education programs-focused on language, travel, cultural exchange, and academics-turn dreams into international opportunities.

When you join EF, you join a multicultural and diverse community working across more than 600 schools and offices in 50 countries, all with one shared mission of opening the world through education. Whoever you are, whatever you are passionate about-we welcome you and want you to bring that to work every day. EF is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and we are committed to inclusion and belonging across race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, caste, parental status, identity, experience and everything else that makes you unique.

Founded in Sweden in 1965, EF has school and offices around the world, including hubs in Boston, London, Mexico City, São Paulo, Shanghai, Stockholm, Z•rich, and more. Learn more at https://ef.com.

The heart of what we do: short and long-term teaching & academic administration roles across the world; online or in the classroom.

What our people say

I wanted a career I could really put my personality into. From the moment the plane touched down, EF helped me every step of the way. EF has made me into a better teacher and encouraged me to put my own stamp on each class. Everyone here has been incredible. You really feel like you're learning something new all the time.

Christopher Alexander Teacher

Language learning is better and faster than ever before. We know much more about how people are learning - with digital technology we're unleashing the creativity of teachers and students to allow them to make progress faster.

Christopher McCormick Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Head of EF Research Unit at the University of Cambridge

Through teaching online to students from all over the world, I know that someone out there learned something that will be beneficial in their lives - and I love that.