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Would you like to come and work in Mauritius for a year? Not the trickiest question I’ve faced during my 25 years in education.

Specifically, the role would be serving as interim head of school at Northfields International School while the new owners sought a permanent appointment.

Now, as my role winds to an end, I’ve reflected on why such a role can be so rewarding, if also highly challenging.

1. Making a positive impact

An interim headship, by its very nature, means you are inheriting a significant challenge.

My challenge was to reassure the parent body that the changes involved in moving from local ownership to international group ownership were necessary and would quickly start to bear fruit. Additionally, IGCSE and International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme results had declined in recent years, and so decisive action was necessary to reverse this trend.

While there is the perception that interim leaders carry less authority due to their transient status, I didn’t find this to be the case.

Most parents and staff appreciated my willingness to step into the breach and, perhaps as a result, gave me more leeway than I’d expect as a permanent appointment. Perhaps key to this is emphasising a commitment to retaining existing strengths, even while making the necessary changes in other areas.

Also, time is not on your side in an interim role; urgent action is a necessity. Maths IGCSE outcomes were identified as a priority, so we organised additional sessions before school started and brought in an experienced freelance maths teacher to work with small groups of students.

Normally, I’d eschew such a “gun for hire” strategy, but it proved highly effective in this context - or at least it seemed to, we’ll find out on results day!

While I certainly made mistakes along the way, I feel I leave the school on a surer footing than when I arrived, and there is great satisfaction in that.

2. Engage in networks

Even though an interim role can be brief, it should still be approached with the same commitment as a role without a set end date.

A key part of this is quickly getting to know the staff at the school. But there is also the opportunity to build relationships with the regional team (if you are part of a group) and engage with regional membership associations.

The school is a member of the Association of International Schools in Africa, and by reaching out early to the director, I was able to expand my own professional support network while also identifying opportunities for students and staff at the school.

Building these relationships will also mean I can help the new head get up to speed by providing handover introductions, too.

3. Broaden your professional experiences

For some, an interim headship might feel like treading water, but the reality is that any new experience can be formative in helping you consider new ways of working, leading and growing as a head.

Especially internationally, there is always a realisation that when you go somewhere new, you have been conditioned to ways of thinking and doing that are not universal. The Mauritian approach to employee leave has been a particularly steep learning curve!

Even on a more practical level, interim roles offer the chance to work with new software (never a bad thing for whatever your next school uses), learn new terminology and see new formats of assessment and reporting.

All advantageous wherever your career takes you next.

4. Long hours, but the rewards are worth it

Finally, while the nature of interim headship is intense - probably more than half of my weeks here have involved working 60-plus hours - it also offers the chance for new experiences and adventures.

There have been some fabulous personal memories; the High School graduation was, as is so often the case, a wonderful occasion. The students, teachers and many parents were also hugely welcoming and keen to ensure I had experienced island life in the most possible way.

Even the day-to-day can provide lifetime memories - a stretch of my drive to work with the captivating Moka mountain range as my vista is etched into my memory.

Indeed, I was often very aware I was being paid to spend time on an island most people pay large sums of money to visit.

So, if you are lucky enough to be offered the chance of an interim leadership role in an international setting, I’d encourage you to seize the opportunity.

Jonathan Taylor is interim head of school at Northfields International School in Mauritius

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