Chief Instructional Officer
BASIS International & Bilingual Schools China is seeking qualified candidates for a Chief Instructional Officer (CIO) starting now or for the 2026-27 school year.
About Our Network
BASIS International & Bilingual Schools is a distinguished network of schools in China educating students at the highest global standards. Since opening our first campus in 2015, we have evolved into a thriving learning community encompassing eleven schools in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu, and Wuhan, with plans for new schools in coming years. We are united in our mission to prepare our graduates to be leaders with broad intellectual and international perspectives, critical thinking capabilities, and creative problem-solving skills. We achieve this through exceptional teaching and faculty mentoring, and the cutting-edge BASIS Curriculum.
BASIS International & Bilingual Schools students are some of the world’s most talented and driven students. Our graduates are accepted at prestigious colleges and universities, including MIT, Harvard, Oxford, Princeton, University of Toronto, Imperial College London, and many more, with an impressive overall acceptance rate of nearly 100% at Top 50 U.S. universities. Our students accomplish great things because they are taught by educators who deeply care about teaching excellence. Working at BASIS International & Bilingual Schools means joining a community of bright, passionate minds who see every day as an opportunity to challenge themselves to elevate student learning.
About the Position
As the Chief Instructional Officer (CIO), you ensure all schools in the BASIS International & Bilingual Schools China network uphold high teaching standards and achieve our mission. You support the Chief Executive Head of Schools (CEHOS) Office in managing the schools by conducting campus visits, observing classes, and providing detailed first-hand reports that inform hiring, promotions, improvement plans, and professional development. In this role, you act as an external consultant, assessing instructional practices, school performance, and campus communities while recommending enhancements for individual schools and the network as a whole. Extensive travel to our campuses throughout China is required.
You will also:
- Support schools in observing and coaching new and returning teachers.
- Offer coaching feedback and reflective insights to school leaders.
- Identify and assess risks associated with teaching quality.
- Interpret school performance data trends to inform classroom and program refinement.
- Implement network-wide improvements for instructional practice, including teaching strategies, faculty assessment, and sharing best practices.
- Align processes and policies across the network to promote consistent and effective teaching methods.
- Plan and lead network-wide professional learning programs, including the Summer Institute training for new teachers and managers.
To Apply
- Interested and qualified candidates should submit the following materials:
- Cover letter expressing your interest in and fit for the position
- Résumé
- One-page statement of educational or leadership philosophy and practice
- Five professional references with name, phone number, and email address of each. We will not contact your references until or unless a serious mutual interest is established, and not without the candidate’s permission.
Work Experience
- An experienced educational leader with a demonstrated ability to observe and assess instructional quality.
- A community builder with a visible, approachable, and engaged presence who can inspire and mentor teachers and school leaders.
- Excellent communication skills, including listening, speaking, and writing.
- Experience using data to interpret trends and guide decisions.
- Experience in supporting and developing mission-aligned faculty.
- A team builder who encourages and supports collaboration across the network in pursuit of a shared mission.
- Leadership experience that reflects the ability to manage change and problem-solve flexibly.
Benefits
Our benefits package and teacher support are nearly unrivaled in schools in China. Expatriate teachers with BASIS International & Bilingual Schools China receive:
- Competitive salary (dependent upon education and experience)
- Global health coverage (including U.S. for American citizens)
- Provided accommodation or housing allowance
- Annual retirement benefit
- Paid travel to and from China at start and end of contract
- Annual travel allowance
- Moving allowance
- Free school meals
- Assistance in obtaining your visa
- Ability to transfer within our network at the end of your contract
We also offer extensive HR support beginning when you accept a position with us. Our HR and Operations teams will provide tremendous guidance and assistance in obtaining your visa, travel arrangements, housing, residence permit, and more.
Beyond this though, our promise to you is you will be a better educator when you leave BASIS International Schools. Through intentional and continued professional development and coaching, we nurture teaching excellence and innovation not just for the betterment of our students, but our teachers as well. This development can mean career acceleration over the years, whether you desire to become a teacher mentor or a school administrator.
