The School District enrols approximately 4500 students, including approximately 750 students who self-identify as having Indigenous ancestry. School District No.8 (Kootenay Lake) is in the southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada and serves the Lower Kootenay Band and the communities of Kaslo, Meadow Creek, Crawford Bay, Creston, Wynndel, Nelson, Salmo, South Slocan, Winlaw, Slocan, and the surrounding rural areas. There are 22 school sites with 13 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 4 secondary schools, 3 K–10/12 schools, 2 alternate education schools, and an online learning school. Our visionary, creative team of approximately 800 staff focuses on providing the best opportunities for students and their families. Our mission is to inspire and support each learner to thrive in a caring learning environment.
The Opportunity
Under the direct supervision of the Superintendent of Schools, the Assistant Superintendent provides district-level leadership, directly supports K–12 Family of Schools, and leads key system priorities in alignment with the Board of Education’s Strategic Plan.
This position calls for a compassionate and equity-focused leader who will lead with understanding, compassion, initiative, and innovation. The successful candidate will build leadership capacity in others, advancing alignment across schools and departments with the district’s mission, vision and values; and ensuring that every student has access to high-quality, inclusive, and culturally responsive learning opportunities.
This position is based in Nelson, British Columbia. The annual salary range for this position is $186,606 - $202, 833, plus a competitive benefits package. Applicants must be certified in British Columbia with a Professional Teaching Certificate or be eligible for certification by the start date of the assignment.
Student Equity, Inclusion, and Child Care Portfolio
A central responsibility of this position is providing system leadership for the Inclusive Education, Food Equity, and Child Care portfolios. The Assistant Superintendent will lead and advance district-wide efforts that promote equitable access, inclusive practices, and excellence in learning for every student, with particular attention to students with disabilities or diverse abilities and children and youth in care. This portfolio includes strengthening inclusive education practices, supporting responsive school and district teams, advancing diversity and human rights initiatives, and ensuring that systems, structures, and professional learning are aligned to improve outcomes for students. This position acts as the Safe Schools Coordinator.
The successful candidate will bring experience and leadership capacity to empower others to maximize their areas of strength in the service of children and youth in partnership with school leaders, students, staff, families, Indigenous communities, and community agencies.
Candidate Profile
The Assistant Superintendent is a high performing leader who can clearly demonstrate the leadership capacity to:
-
Lead and support K–12 families of schools, including alternate schools, by fostering strong relationships with principals, vice-principals, and school communities, while guiding school leaders to strengthen their instructional leadership capacity.
-
Supervise and support school leaders in ways that deepen a culture of high expectations, belonging, continuous improvement, and excellence in leadership, teaching and learning.
-
Champion the district’s strategic plan by advancing system alignment and a shared responsibility for continuous improvement throughout the district.
-
Advance equity, diversity, and inclusion by ensuring that all students, particularly Indigenous learners, children and youth in care, and students with disabilities or diverse abilities, have equitable access to high-quality learning opportunities and responsive supports.
-
Lead and support integrated, collaborative approaches that strengthen school-based and district-based teams in service of student success.
-
Promote innovative approaches to pedagogy, instruction, assessment, and student engagement that respond to diverse learner needs and support the development of curricular and core competencies.
-
Develop and advance comprehensive professional learning structures that are evidence-informed and responsive to needs-based, data-informed approaches that align with the district’s strategic plan and the school learning plans.
-
Monitor, report, and communicate progress on key priorities and outcomes to the Superintendent of Schools using evidence-based measures and available data
The ideal candidate will:
-
Have experience working at the district-level in inclusive education, leading initiatives that ensure learners with disability and diverse learning abilities experience equity and inclusion;
-
Have a strong record of instructional leadership and school and district improvement.
-
Have significant experience supporting and supervising school leaders in ways that improve teaching, learning, and inclusive school culture.
-
Demonstrate a strong commitment to educational equity, truth and reconciliation, anti-racism, inclusive education, and culturally sustaining leadership practices.
-
Exhibit exceptional relational, communication, and facilitation skills, with the ability to lead with empathy, clarity, and credibility.
-
Be an adaptive and strategic system leader who uses evidence to inform decisions, remove barriers, and create conditions for innovation and improvement.
-
Demonstrate success in leading collaborative structures and teams that build coherence, collective efficacy, and organizational learning.
-
Possess highly developed knowledge and skills in learning technologies that support effective pedagogy, professional practice, accessibility and student learning.
-
Demonstrate the capacity to lead transparently, establish clarity in roles and responsibilities, and foster cultures of trust, accountability, and continuous improvement.
-
Work collaboratively across all grade levels, K–12 and fulfill other specific duties as assigned.
-
Demonstrate excellent organizational and communication skills.
-
Demonstrate excellence in leveraging digital tools and online learning to enhance student learning opportunities.
Required Qualifications
We are seeking applicants who can clearly demonstrate the following qualifications and can provide three (3) professional supervisory references:
-
Hold valid BC Ministry of Education and Child Care Teacher Regulation Branch professional certification.
-
Possess a master’s degree in education or a related field from a recognized university.
-
Have a significant amount of experience as a school-based principal or vice-principal, with a minimum of 3 years as a school principal; experience as a director, assistant superintendent, or other district level leadership will be seen as an asset.
-
School or district leadership experience at both elementary and secondary levels;
-
Significant experience within a school-based setting in alternate education and/or inclusive education;
-
Experience leading and scaling district-wide initiatives that have positively impacted outcomes for continuous student learning;
-
Proven ability to work successfully in public education in a unionized environment; and
-
A valid BC driver’s license.
To Apply:
The applicant must include an overview that demonstrates clearly how they meet the required qualifications and a comprehensive résumé package including copies of supporting documentation by 12:00 p.m. Thursday, July 2 to be considered in the first review of applications. The career posting will remain is open until the position is filled. Applications must be submitted through the Make a Future careers website.
Only applications submitted online will be considered. While the District encourages all applications, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
The anticipated start date of this position is September 1, 2026, although other start dates will be considered based on the successful candidate’s obligations. The first review of applications will be on July 3, 2026
For more information, please contact Superintendent, Trish Smillie by email at
- If you are experiencing any technical issues with your application process to contact Make A Future's customer service line as HR cannot upload or assist with these types of issues. We also cannot accept documents via email such as cover letters/resumes/transcripts/teaching reports via email as they do need to be part of the employee's Make a Future profile.
