Gospel Choir Leader

Harris Academy Wimbledon is seeking to appoint an enthusiastic and talented Gospel Choir Leader to lead our after-school choir. This is an exciting opportunity to inspire students through music and help develop a vibrant choral culture within our school community. At Harris Academy Wimbledon, we are committed to providing a rich and diverse extracurricular programme. This role offers the chance to make a meaningful impact on students' creative experiences in a supportive school environment. If this sounds like the right fit for you, please submit your CV along with a cover letter. We'd love to hear from you! Main Areas of Responsibility Your responsibilities will include:

• Planning and leading engaging weekly gospel choir rehearsals
• Developing students' vocal skills, confidence and performance ability
• Selecting and arranging appropriate gospel repertoire for a school setting
• Preparing students for performances and school events where appropriate
• Creating an inclusive, positive, and energetic rehearsal environment
  
  We would welcome your application if you:
• Have experience leading choirs, ideally with a focus on gospel music
• Are a confident vocalist and musician
• Have the ability to engage and motivate young people of varying abilities
• Can demonstrate strong communication and organisational skills
• Are reliable, enthusiastic, and committed to supporting students' musical development
  
  We are an 'Outstanding' (Ofsted 2023) secondary academy, established in 2018 to provide an excellent education for children in Wimbledon.
Two years after opening, we moved into our brand-new building which is modern, bright and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities in every area of the curriculum. We are oversubscribed and fortunate to have an amazing level of support from the community with waiting lists for entry into every year group of our academy. Our academy is an exceptional place to learn, providing an ambitious but happy and inclusive environment. We have high expectations of our students of all starting points and abilities. We know that our students will leave us academically successful, but we also want them to be well-rounded individuals with a highly developed social conscience, ready to lead in their communities and beyond. Our motto is 'make a difference' and our students and staff give nothing except their very best in pursuit of making a difference to their lives and the lives of others around them. Three words are crucial to how we guide students to be able to 'make a difference': independence, integrity and resilience. Independence means we support students to develop their skills and attributes, so they have everything they need to succeed. We set challenging targets and raise aspirations so every single one of our students reaches their potential. Integrity means staff and students must be fair and truthful and have the courage to take the right action in every situation, even when no-one is looking. Resilience means we give students the tools to recover from difficulties. We show students how taking risks and making mistakes is all part of the learning journey. We also show students how hard work brings success, and support them to persevere with all challenges. There is a great deal of collaborative working and sharing of good ideas about what works within secondary academies at Harris. The successful candidate will be joining a friendly and outward looking group where professional development and progression opportunities are second to none.

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level. In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance for teachers on MPS/UPS, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website. Safeguarding Notice The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed. Equal Opportunities The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates. We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.