There are two children, a boy and a girl. Both children attend a small, international, private school near their home where they are taught in English. They follow a curriculum that will culminate in the Baccalaureate at age 18. This is quite a new school, and currently has just 170 students from K-14. The school is expanding rapidly and will be moving to larger premises next year.

The children have different interests and personalities, and both are tri-lingual in English, Greek and French. They are doing well at school but there are some specific subjects that could benefit from some additional support at this stage in their education.

The boy is 10 years old (11 in January) and will be going into year 6 this September. He is very sporty, an accomplished skier and wind surfer. However, he does not always realise his own strength and can be a bit uncoordinated, and this has occasionally been a problem with his peers. He also plays electric guitar and likes acting. He is a typical young boy who has recently become ‘one of the crowd,’ and as a result is easily distracted from his schoolwork. The boy’s popularity is such that last year he was elected to represent his class on the school council. He is relatively introverted until he gets to know people, and then he opens up into a charming young man. He has recently started to notice girls. His main interests apart from sports are in architecture and buildings.

The boy could do with some additional support in Maths and French. In Maths, he lacks confidence, especially in mental maths, and this consequently affects other aspects of his studies. His French is quite good; unfortunately, when he was much younger, his father told him that French is not a worthwhile language and since then it has been hard to persuade him that it is worth investing much effort.

His younger sister is 9 and will be starting year 5 this September. She is more academically focused than her brother, and last year the school wanted to promote her a grade. Her mother decided not to follow this advice because of the effect that being in the same year as her older brother might have on his self-esteem. She is curious about everything, and a delightfully open, bright and polite girl who displays insight and behaviour beyond her years. The school regularly gives her extra or demanding tasks, and it is hoped that a really good Tutor will be able to extend her range and progress significantly.

The girl’s current fascination is with insects and arachnids of all varieties — the more alarming the better. She has no problem handling her finds, and this has sometimes been a cause of contention in social settings. It would be an advantage if the Tutor is equally, if not more, adventurous than her in this regard, someone who could help her to explore the anatomy of insects, spiders and other scurrying animals in more detail, including their dissection. She has also been interested in ancient Egypt for the last four years, not only at a historical and factual level, but also from an engineering perspective. She is learning hieroglyphics. It is essential that the Tutor share at least one if not both of her passions. In addition, she is interested in geography and perhaps most of all in all types of arts and crafts, especially painting and sculpture. Although she is not as sporty as her brother and intensely dislikes skiing, she enjoys playing football (soccer) with her brother, is a keen swimmer, and likes many water sports. Like her brother, she is popular at school and was also her class representative last year.

Both siblings like teachers who are not strict and who are able to make learning fun and enjoyable. They have both found that they learn best when teachers are patient, organised, prepared, and thereby earn the children’s respect. They like teachers who explain subjects in detail without being boring or overcomplicated. They both find experiential learning the most productive. The boy’s favourite subject is Science, while his sister enjoys Science, Maths and Art.

Although the children are encouraged to use computers for educational purposes, access to the Internet at home is strictly controlled. The children do not have computers in their bedrooms, are not allowed to use social networking or play online games, and while educational games are permitted, this is only at weekends. Their friends’ parents share this attitude. Instead of screen-based entertainment, the boy plays football and the girl enjoys arts and crafts. The children get on well with one another and enjoy reading and playing together.

While in Switzerland, the Tutor will work after school with the children, firstly making sure that their homework is correct and complete and that anything they do not understand is explained and secured. Then the Tutor’s role is to enhance and supplement their education: to practice the skills that need more development and that fit with their interests.

Once the Tutor is in place, the family hope to travel more, and for longer periods during term, perhaps up to six weeks a time. When travelling during term, the Tutor will need to liaise with the school to make sure that the requisite learning objectives are covered and that any essential assignments are completed. In addition to this, the Tutor should incorporate the environment, wherever it may be, into the curricular and extra-curricular program.

During some periods of travel the children’s nanny may not accompany the family. When this happens, the Tutor’s role will extend to one of babysitting as well as tutoring.

The successful candidate will have English as her mother tongue and be fluent in French and at least one of Italian, Spanish or Chinese. The Tutor should have an interest in entomology and arachnology, as well as marine life. Further interests in arts and crafts and Egyptology would be ideal, as would an interest in classics and ancient Greek. The successful candidate should be upbeat, energetic, fit and sporty, a strong swimmer, flexible, resourceful, and possess a broad knowledge across all subjects and a thirst for the acquisition of new skills and continuous learning. An ability to play a musical instrument — especially guitar — would be helpful. The position would suit someone who is good at busying themselves in their own free time; someone who enjoys reading, drawing and writing; someone who is highly organised, well prepared, and always ready at short notice with interesting and fun activities for the children.

The right person will be wholly accepted into the family and will be expected to join them in all locations, whether at home in Switzerland, at their holiday homes, on their boat, at the beach etc. The Tutor will therefore need to build excellent relationships with both of the children, their mother and her partner, and to fit seamlessly with the family.

The Tutor should be a non-smoker.

In general, the Tutor will not be expected to work more than an average of 35 hours a week and will be entitled to an average of two consecutive days off per week on average as their ‘weekend’. These ‘weekend’ days may not occur during the standard weekends, and the hours may be light one week and more intensive the next, as fits with the family’s location and plans. The Tutor will need to be easygoing and flexible in this regard, able to accommodate the Client’s plans and able to adjust her teaching plans accordingly.

The Tutor will be entitled to a minimum of nine weeks vacation per annum at times mutually agreed between Client and Tutor. Untaken vacation or weekends will be compensated as payment in lieu at the end of each contract term.

As has been described above, there will be a good deal of travel with this position, and predominantly to Corsica, Switzerland and Cyprus. The Tutor is expected to accompany the family to all these destinations and on all excursions. The Tutor will be expected to incorporate these locations into her tuition plan, for example, through exploring marine life, variations in ecology, and so forth, in addition to enhancing and continuing the study of the core school subjects.

The client will provide full board and lodging within their homes.

In Switzerland this will be in a small, self-contained guesthouse on the family’s property. During the winter, when the family stay in Megève, the accommodation is a guestroom in the family’s home. When in Cyprus, the Tutor will stay in a hotel and will share a suite with the children — where possible the Tutor will have her own bedroom and bathroom, but the Tutor should expect that this will not always be the case and she may need to share with the children for short periods. Aboard the boat, the Tutor will have her own cabin in the family quarters.

A car or suitable access to transport will be provided to the Tutor in all locations. The Tutor will have access to this transport on her days off.

The Tutor should be aware that the family has strong personal security measures in place and employs staff to assist them in every location. The Tutor will need to exercise caution and good judgment with respect to security at all times. The Client will be completing background screening in addition to Tutors International’s vetting procedure.

The family has several animals. Currently, this includes dogs, a hamster, guinea pigs and a lizard. The collection is set to increase and so the Tutor will need to be comfortable around a range of domestic and perhaps more exotic pets.

The family represent a number of religions and backgrounds and lead a multi-cultural lifestyle, respectful of others’ opinions and practices without necessarily adhering to one or another. The Tutor will need to be comfortable in such a household, where holidays and festivals from many religions are celebrated.

For exceptional candidates, the Client will consider applications from a couple, either as a job-share or with a stay-at-home partner.