- Lead Cromwell College through an exciting era of growth and opportunity - a school on the rise
- Lead with purpose - strong values and a close-knit, welcoming and increasingly diverse school community
- Cromwell, Central Otago based — lakes and mountains on your doorstep
Cromwell College is a state secondary school for students in Years 7–13, drawing from Cromwell and the surrounding areas of Bannockburn, Lowburn, Tarras and Ripponvale. The current roll of 691 students is growing towards 1,000.
Located in the stunning Central Otago region, the school offers a broad, holistic education of academic and vocational study, specialist senior programmes, and outdoor education as part of ODENZ, alongside a wide range of sporting, snow sports, music, arts and other extracurricular opportunities. Around 19% of students identify as Māori or Pasifika, alongside a small but growing multicultural community, including students from Fiji, South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Philippines, India and the UK.
About The Role:
As Principal / Tumuaki, you will provide strategic, educational and operational leadership across the College, working in partnership with the Board to shape the school's direction and ensure effective stewardship of its people, resources and finances. You will lead a high-performing, inclusive learning community that lifts student engagement, achievement and wellbeing, while strengthening culturally responsive practice across the school.
Cromwell College is in an exciting growth phase, and you will lead the planning that comes with it - staffing, timetabling, subject lines, pastoral structures and use of space - and make the case for the funding and facilities this growth requires. This is a rare opportunity to shape a growing school's future at scale, enhancing the structures, systems and senior leadership team that will carry Cromwell College through its next chapter. Full details on the role's responsibilities are available in the Position Description within the Candidate Briefing Information.
Skills & Experience:
The Board is seeking a Principal/Tumuaki who is:
- An experienced senior leader in a secondary or composite school, ideally having led an organisation through sustained growth
- Able to lead at scale building the structure, systems and delegation that let a school thrive beyond your own personal reach
- Strong in financial, property and capital leadership, with experience securing funding to match growth
- Clear in setting expectations, and consistent in holding yourself and your team to account, fairly and with follow-through
- Visible, approachable and warm, with the presence and integrity to build trust across students, staff and community
- A strategic thinker, able to set a compelling direction for the years ahead and bring people with you
- Committed to academic, vocational and trades pathways being valued and resourced equally
- Genuinely engaged with Te Ao Māori and te reo Māori, and able to connect authentically with a growing multicultural community
- A registered teacher holding a current New Zealand Teaching Council practising certificate.
Cromwell College's motto is Whāia te taumata, An Outstanding Education - pursue the highest peaks - guiding the school's approach to learning. The school's aim is to provide an environment where Manaaki - respect and kindness, Māia - courage, and Rawe — personal excellence underpin all interactions, with respect at the centre of an environment in which everyone can learn and succeed. These values, shaped by input from staff and students, form the Cromwell College Kawa. The school wants every student to be proud of themselves, their achievements and this place.
The school's growth is felt as a genuinely exciting chapter, bringing new energy, opportunity and diversity to a close-knit community that already knows and looks out for one another.
Benefits: A school house is available for short term rental while you establish yourself in the district.