Curriculum developer / writer

• Location: London or Manchester, hybrid working pattern
• Reports to: Programme Manager, Development Division
• Salary: Competitive, based on skills and experience

About Safar Publications

Safar Publications is a subsidiary of Safar Academy Trust. We equip learners, teachers and institutions with resources that make Islamic learning meaningful, engaging and effective in today's world. We provide educators with comprehensive, holistic teaching materials supported by innovative digital tools, high-quality training and ongoing development. Our strengths are in-depth research, accuracy, authenticity, child-centred design and contemporary relevance.

Our range of products and services includes:

• Teaching resources and teacher tools (teacher guides, classroom resources and assessments).
• A digital ecosystem which includes a digital learning platform and digital applications.

About This Recruitment

We are recruiting two Curriculum Developer / Writer roles simultaneously. While the responsibilities, day-to-day work and team culture are the same, we are looking for candidates who bring different, complementary strengths. Both roles are open to the same application process; you do not need to specify which profile you are applying for.

Both profiles require a grounding in Islamic Studies and familiarity with Arabic. This is a baseline for all candidates. Profile A brings scholarly depth; Profile B brings classroom expertise. The two hires are designed to bring complementary strengths to the wider development team.

Profile A: Islamic Studies and Arabic Specialist

• Primary background
  Islamic studies qualification (ʿAlimiyyah, BA Islamic Studies or equivalent)
• Key strength
  Theological accuracy, Arabic-source text engagement, fiqh awareness
• Brings to the team
  Scholarly credibility and authentic grounding for content across all curriculum areas
• Primary background
  Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) with 2+ years classroom teaching experience
• Subject focus
  Islamic Studies grounding (as per all-candidates baseline) plus wider curriculum education: humanities, RE, PSHE or related subjects
• Brings to the team
  Educational best practice and a learner/teacher-facing perspective

Job Summary

As a Curriculum Developer / Writer, you will create engaging, accurate and pedagogically sound Muslim educational content for a range of age groups. You will contribute to textbooks, workbooks, teacher guides, assessments, digital resources and training materials, helping Safar produce high-quality learning materials rooted in Islamic tradition and relevant to today's learners.

This role suits someone who delivers strong written work in a dynamic environment and approaches curriculum development with clarity, structure and purpose. You will apply your subject knowledge and educational insight to produce content that is both meaningful and practical for teachers and students.

You must be able to manage your workload independently, conduct focused research and writing tasks, and meet deadlines reliably. While maintaining close attention to detail, you will also appreciate how your work fits into Safar's broader vision and the needs of Muslim learners, schools and communities. The role requires developing a broad understanding of the context in which our products are used, recognising how political, economic, social, technological, legal and community factors influence and shape the curriculum we design.

Core Responsibilities

• Researching, planning and developing curriculum content (digital and print) across Islamic Studies, Tarbiyah, Qur'an, Arabic and related strands, covering all of Safar's learning series.
• Producing high-quality student-facing and teacher-facing materials, including textbooks, workbooks, lesson plans and teacher guides, ensuring all content is accurate, grounded in Islamic sources, accessible to learners and compliant with Safar's guidelines and house style.
• Simplifying complex concepts into clear, meaningful learning experiences, applying child-centred pedagogy when designing explanations, activities and learning outcomes.
• Knowing when and how to draw on PSHE, SMSC, RE and other educational frameworks alongside Safar's own learning domains and Tarbiyah framework, applying them where they genuinely serve the content and the learner.
• Collaborating effectively internally and externally: with editors, designers, subject-matter specialists and customer insight leads throughout the development process.
• Managing your own workload across concurrent projects, meeting agreed deadlines, flagging risks early and reporting progress clearly to the Programme Manager.
• Implementing and supporting quality standards and assurance processes for both new and existing products.
• Staying informed about sector trends, innovations and developments to help ensure Safar's products remain current, competitive and relevant.

What You Will Get From the Role

Safar's resources are used by tens of thousands of Muslim learners across the UK and beyond. The work you produce here will shape how young people understand their faith, their identity and their place in the world, and it will do so for years after you write it.

You will work at the intersection of Islamic scholarship and contemporary education, engaging with subject specialists, educators and researchers as a genuine collaborator. Producing content that is both deeply rooted and genuinely relevant requires hard thinking, something Safar takes seriously.

You will develop specialist expertise that is rare: in curriculum writing, in Islamic educational publishing and in the particular craft of making complex ideas clear for young people and wider users.

Person Specification

Essential Criteria — All Candidates

• A grounding in Islamic Studies and familiarity with Arabic sufficient to engage confidently with the content being written.
• Excellent written English, with close attention to detail.
• Ability to write clearly for multiple age groups.
• Experience producing teacher-facing and student-facing content.
• Proven skill in simplifying complex concepts for young people.
• Strong organisational and communication skills.
• Experience working in a project delivery environment where priorities can shift and fast-paced delivery is required.
• Formal Islamic studies qualification (e.g. ʿAlimiyyah, BA in Islamic Studies or equivalent).
• Ability to reference Arabic sources and engage with classical and contemporary scholarship.
• Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or equivalent teaching qualification.
• Minimum two years of classroom teaching experience in a school setting.
• Demonstrable understanding of lesson planning, learning objectives and curriculum sequencing for ages 5–16.
• Subject matter familiarity with Islamic Studies content, sufficient to write accurately and engage critically with source material, even where scholarly depth is provided by colleagues.
• Working familiarity with Arabic: able to read and engage with transliterated or Arabic-script terms and references within an Islamic Studies curriculum context.
• Experience in curriculum design or educational publishing.
• Understanding of industry educational frameworks (e.g. UK National Curriculum, PSHE, SMSC, RE).
• Familiarity with educational research or evidence-based pedagogy.
• Bachelor's degree in arts, humanities or education.
• Experience producing creative or multimedia resources.

Core Strengths and Behaviours

• A team player: Works well with others, supports colleagues and contributes positively to shared goals. Open to feedback and committed to improving both self and team. Finds time and is enthusiastic about collaborative projects within Safar.
• A motivated self-starter: Takes initiative, works independently and delivers high-quality work without close supervision. Manages time well and maintains strong personal accountability.
• Curious and a lateral thinker: Asks thoughtful questions, thinks beyond the obvious and makes connections across ideas. Able to follow specifications carefully while also offering creative and well-reasoned improvements.
• Resilient and adaptable: Copes well with change, shifting priorities and fast-paced environments. Stays calm, focused and willing to learn in the face of uncertainty.
• Aligned with Safar's ethos: Brings a spirit of iḥsān to their work: committed to accuracy, authenticity and child-centred design, and to producing content that is both Islamically grounded and genuinely relevant to young Muslims today.
• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• Leave: if you work full-time at Safar, you are entitled to 33 days of leave (including eight bank holidays and two days for Eid).
• The opportunity to contribute to high-quality Islamic education that will benefit learners for generations.
• A supportive, values-led working environment focused on purpose, quality and professional growth.
• The chance to develop specialist expertise in curriculum and textbook writing within a growing educational organisation.
• Access to research resources and relevant books located at Safar's London office to support high-quality curriculum and textbook writing.