Academic Dean

Program Overview

The Field School of Hvar is a family slow travel program on the Adriatic coast of Croatia. Our values are stewardship, enlightenment, and dignity. Our mission is to create a place where families can live well; to develop a community on Hvar that sequesters carbon, enhances biodiversity, and enriches the heritage of the island through its everyday activities; and to create a pedagogy centered on community that can inform other schools around the world. Read more about our mission and values here.

Field offers a summer program, which is more like camp, and an academic-year program, which has more robust learning goals in literacy, math, history, and science. In the 2026-27 year, our learning focus in the humanities will be the pre-historic and ancient world. Our focus in science will be biology, taxonomy, and anatomy. Hvar is a phenomenal classroom for both subject areas – with numerous active archaeological sites and easy access to diverse ecosystems. Read more about our summer program; read more about our academic-year program.

Location

The Field School of Hvar is based in the reception building of the Fontana Resort, which is located in the small seaside town of Jelsa on island Hvar. Families and teachers generally stay at the Fontana or in Jelsa, creating a village atmosphere. Our core school facilities for consist of:

• A 220sm learning center, which houses a simple makerspace, learning materials, and a large, unshaded terrace. There is a bathroom here and cubbies.

• Walking access to a variety of beaches, which range from busy and exposed to secluded and shady.

• A private garden with 3 raised beds. There is a bathroom here, a covered terrace, and a climate-controlled interior in case a child is unwell or needs to rest. This is a pleasant one-hour walk with children or a 5-minute drive.

Learners also spend a great deal of time in public spaces which are within walking distance of the Learning Center, such as fields, villages, museums, and parks.

Dates

This is a permanent role beginning on Monday, August 31, 2026. Academic-year program dates are as follows:

• Fall 2026: September 7 - November 28

• Spring 2027: March 13 - June 5

Further dates are public on our website.

Faculty are expected to take annual leave during the winter break: in December, January, or February.

Hours

This is a full-time role. The Academic Dean may need to serve irregular hours in order to host or prepare for certain events. Total hours will not exceed 40 per week.

• Academic year hours are from 9am-5pm. The faculty hour is from 4pm-5pm.

• Summer hours are from 1pm-9pm. In summer, faculty hour is from 1pm-2pm.

Reports to

This role reports to the Executive Director.

Job Summary

The Academic Dean will provide oversight and support for a place-based enrichment program serving at most 56 children, ages 2 to 15. He or she will support faculty in tailoring existing curricula to the opportunities provided by our island and learning community. He or she will maintain safeguarding procedures and ensure compliance with all school policies with regard to behavior management, family communications, and community relations. Finally, the Academic Dean will foster an exceptional culture among parents and other adults enrolled in The Field School program, as well as excellent relations with the island community. This is a multi-faceted role requiring experience in school leadership, a high level of diplomacy, and a deep passion for place-based education.

Key Responsibilities

Learning Design and Assessment

The Field School of Hvar is a new program. Our overall sequencing and general philosophy is classical, and we use third-party curricula (detailed here), which are inquiry- and nature-based. It is the role of the Academic Dean to mentor faculty in implementing the provided curricula, to build parent understanding of our approach to learning, and to establish systems that will prepare our school to gradually form a proprietary curriculum that fully leverages the richness of our local context.

• Consolidate learning objectives. Oversee assessment scheme, including initial placement assessments and progress assessments to ensure the efficacy of our approach, both academically and holistically, in terms of learner character formation and school culture.

• Coach Guides in implementing curricula and overcoming challenges in their work. This may include helping source supplemental materials to round out a given curricula for the needs of a particular learner or topic.

• Maintain clear, usable records pertaining to the above, so that future faculty have a portfolio of benchmarks and resources to build on.

• Resource faculty according to the needs of our curriculum, which includes a substantial amount of emergent, learner-led projects. This includes keeping precise inventory of our classroom, ordering books, tools, and other materials strategically within budget.

Teaching

The Academic Dean will be the first choice to substitute for other Guides in case of temporary illness or similar circumstance. While teaching, the Academic Dean will:

• Ensure the safety and well-being of 6 or more children in indoor and outdoor environments.

• Implement a high-quality place-based curriculum that ties to international learning standards and reflects the Field School of Hvar’s educational mission.

• Guide children to articulate and uphold their own norms, use restorative justice strategies for managing conflict, and maintain clear and consistent communications on behavior management with colleagues and parents.

• Collaborate with fellow educators and staff, creating a wholesome, supportive and positive work environment.

• Communicate with parents and report medical or behavioral incidents in accordance with school policies.

• Offer a positive and informative presence to parents in informal settings, especially pick-up and drop-off.

• Administer first aid and outdoor rescue should the need arise.

School Culture

The Academic Dean is responsible for building a school culture that affirms our values of stewardship, enlightenment, and dignity. The Dean will:

• Be the primary “ambassador” for the school program and curriculum with parents, finding consistent opportunities to demonstrate the intention and value of our approach. This could be a weekly text-based seminar, weekly essays accompanying the school agenda, lunch-and-learns about the pedagogy and tools we draw on, or some other type of content.

• Design and prepare key school ceremonies: especially orientation, student showcases, birthdays, farewells, and holidays. It is important to note that Hvar has been a Catholic community for over 1,500 years. While The Field School of Hvar is a secular program, it will draw upon the traditions and iconography of indigenous Catholicism with sensitivity to the fact that most of our families are not religious.

• Design and host biweekly social gathering for parents, such as a service opportunity or a coffee.

• Design and host biweekly gathering for families, such as a nature walk or holiday-related workshop.

• Provide logistical support to parents who have volunteered to host a workshop or discussion.

• Organize chaperones and volunteers, providing clear guidance on best practices and safeguarding policies.

• Maintain parent tools and platforms, especially our WhatsApp community and calendar of events.

• Use daily faculty hour and weekly admin days to hear, support, and appreciate faculty, ensuring that their insights and improvements are implemented, and that a culture of integrity and mutual respect takes root.

School Administration

• Lead biweekly feedback and brainstorming sessions with parents alongside Director.

• Hold office hours for one-off or private feedback and brainstorming with parents.

• Lead restoration meetings alongside Director in the following instances:

  • a parent is concerned or dissatisfied

  • an individual has violated our community contract

  • a student needs additional support outside of the classroom in order to be able to participate in the school

  • a Guide or partner needs to alter behavior in order to remain in employment with the school

• Ensure firm adherence to safeguarding policies among faculty to minimize the risk of student injury and to eliminate the possibility of abuse. Work with faculty to maintain consistent, high quality records regarding medical or behavioral incidents.

• Work with Director and school attorney to understand and ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

• Manage petty cash and otherwise ensure responsible use of school resources in accordance with school policies.

Community Relations

Serving the community and landscape of island Hvar is a core aspect of the program’s mission. Guides have a day each week when instead of actively teaching, they host two workshops: one for children enrolled in local schools; another for adults, including both Field parents and local residents. Over time, the goal of these workshops is to build enduring assets and expertise around sustainable activities like wooden boatmaking, upcycling and repair, wild food preparation, and organic gardening within our local community. The Academic Dean is responsible for coaching Guides in delivering these workshops to these target audiences.

As much as possible, the Academic Dean is encouraged to engage in the local community and build partnerships with schools, museums, libraries, and other public institutions, as well as craftspeople, farmers, scientists, culture workers, and other individuals on the island. These institutions and people add tremendous depth to student learning by hosting visits, offering interviews, or providing mentorship on a particular student endeavor.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in elementary education, child development, or a related field required.

• Further certification in nature-based education, classical education, and other child-centered pedagogies is preferred.

• Formal training in topics related to nature, outdoor recreation, and artisanship is welcome.

• Lifeguard and child first aid training are preferred. If a successful applicant does not have this credential, he or she must obtain it before starting employment.

Experience

• Minimum of 3 years working in school leadership required.

• Minimum of 3 years of experience teaching in a progressive, outdoor, or craft education setting required.

• Deep familiarity with theory and practice of classical, service-, nature-, place-, and/or inquiry-based education.

• Familiarity with sustainability, circular design, and conservation topics, especially in an education setting.

Skills

• Exceptional passion for creating a learning environment centered on service and community in rural Europe or the Mediterranean.

• Exceptional insight into school culture, human dynamics, and practices that resolve conflict.

• Exceptional ability to listen openly to others, tolerate friction, communicate complex ideas, and build rapport with diverse personalities.

• Exceptional ability to quickly construct solutions based on feedback, data, and diverse constraints.

• Superb understanding of non-traditional learning dynamics.

• Physical resilience to work with children outdoors in hot or rainy weather is essential.

• Responsive Classroom, Conscious Discipline, or similar backgrounds.

• Croatian language skills or an eagerness to learn.

Salary and Benefits

• Salary is based on experience. Range is €3,000-6,000 gross (bruto).

• All benefits and protections in accordance with Croatian law, including health insurance and twenty days of annual leave.

• 20% tuition discount for children

• Life on a safe, family-oriented island with world-class nature and culture

Please note that The Field School of Hvar cannot consider candidates who do not have the legal right to work in the European Union.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Field School of Hvar is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment for all employees. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, including but not limited to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.