SME- Chemistry - Grades 9 to 12

Position : Subject Matter Expert – Chemistry | Grades 9–12 Role Summary : The Chemistry Subject Matter Expert will provide academic and disciplinary leadership in the design, development, review, and continuous refinement of the Chemistry curriculum for Grades 9–12. The role requires deep subject expertise and a sophisticated understanding of how students progressively develop chemical reasoning, conceptual understanding, quantitative skills, experimental competence, and scientific thinking. The SME will ensure that curriculum, pedagogy, resources, practical work, and assessment collectively uphold high academic standards, conceptual coherence, scientific rigour, and alignment with the CBSE framework. Curriculum Architecture : Lead the development and review of Chemistry curriculum frameworks, learning outcomes, scope and sequence, and progression across Grades 9–12. Establish a coherent progression from foundational concepts to the greater abstraction, mathematical demand, and disciplinary depth expected at the senior secondary level. Identify essential concepts, disciplinary knowledge, skills, and threshold ideas that students must develop at each stage. Ensure strong conceptual continuity across physical, inorganic, and organic Chemistry. Align curriculum with CBSE expectations, competencies, practical requirements, and assessment frameworks. Academic & Disciplinary Rigor : Ensure chemical accuracy, conceptual precision, quantitative rigour, and appropriate academic depth across all curriculum materials. Develop students' ability to interpret chemical phenomena through models, representations, equations, structures, mechanisms, data, and evidence. Build deep understanding of fundamental ideas including atomic structure, bonding, stoichiometry, thermodynamics, equilibrium, kinetics, electrochemistry, periodicity, organic reactions, and chemical systems. Identify and address common misconceptions and conceptual barriers in Chemistry. Connect theoretical Chemistry with real-world applications, materials, environmental systems, medicine, energy, industry, and contemporary scientific developments. Pedagogy & Learning Design: Design intellectually demanding learning experiences that promote inquiry, reasoning, modelling, experimentation, interpretation, and problem-solving. Move students beyond memorisation towards conceptual understanding, application, analysis, synthesis, and transfer. Develop students' ability to move fluently between macroscopic observations, microscopic explanations, and symbolic representations. Integrate quantitative reasoning, chemical calculations, data interpretation, visual representations, and molecular models into learning. Design approaches that make abstract and complex chemical concepts accessible without compromising disciplinary rigour. Laboratory & Experimental Chemistry : Strengthen the role of experimental investigation as an integral component of Chemistry learning. Develop and review practical investigations involving observation, measurement, experimental design, data analysis, inference, and evaluation. Ensure meaningful connections between laboratory evidence and theoretical chemical principles. Promote safe, methodical, and scientifically rigorous laboratory practices. Develop students' ability to interpret experimental results, recognise limitations, and construct evidence-based conclusions. Assessment & Academic Standards : Design and review competency-based assessments, question banks, examinations, practical assessments, investigative tasks, rubrics, and marking schemes. Ensure assessments evaluate conceptual understanding, chemical reasoning, quantitative application, interpretation, experimentation, and higher-order thinking. Establish appropriate cognitive demand and academic progression from Grade 9 through Grade 12. Review assessment quality for validity, scientific accuracy, conceptual depth, mathematical rigour, and alignment with learning outcomes. Analyse assessment evidence to identify misconceptions, learning gaps, and opportunities for curriculum refinement. Content & Resource Development : Develop and academically review student resources, teacher guides, problem sets, practical manuals, laboratory investigations, simulations, enrichment materials, and assessment resources. Ensure content is scientifically accurate, conceptually coherent, age-appropriate, and aligned with CBSE requirements. Curate and develop challenging problems and extension opportunities that encourage deeper chemical reasoning. Build appropriate enrichment pathways for students progressing towards advanced STEM study and competitive examinations, where relevant. Teacher Academic Development : Provide subject-specific academic leadership to Chemistry teachers across Grades 9–12. Develop professional learning focused on conceptual pedagogy, misconceptions, laboratory practice, quantitative Chemistry, assessment, and CBSE expectations. Support teachers in translating curriculum intent into rigorous, inquiry-rich classroom experiences. Develop academic exemplars, teaching frameworks, and subject-specific guidance to strengthen consistency and quality of implementation. Academic Benchmarking & Innovation : Stay abreast of CBSE curriculum developments, Chemistry education research, assessment reforms, and emerging practices in science education. Benchmark curriculum against academically rigorous national and international programmes. Identify opportunities to strengthen scientific literacy, interdisciplinary learning, computational and quantitative thinking, and authentic scientific inquiry. Incorporate relevant developments in contemporary Chemistry and its applications into curriculum enrichment. Candidate Qualifications : Master’s or Doctoral degree in Chemistry, Applied Chemistry, or a closely related discipline. Strong academic command of Chemistry across the secondary and senior secondary levels. Demonstrated experience in curriculum development, academic content development, teaching, assessment, research, or subject leadership. Strong familiarity with the CBSE Chemistry curriculum and assessment expectations for Grades 9–12. Desired Candidate Profile : Deep Disciplinary Expertise: Exceptional conceptual and quantitative command of Chemistry across physical, inorganic, and organic domains. Curriculum Architect: Able to construct coherent, progressive, and academically ambitious learning pathways across Grades 9–12. CBSE Acumen: Strong understanding of CBSE curriculum expectations, competencies, practical work, and assessment structures. Pedagogical Sophistication: Understands how students develop complex chemical concepts and where misconceptions and cognitive barriers arise. Assessment Expertise: Able to design rigorous assessments that meaningfully distinguish recall from conceptual understanding, reasoning, and application. Academic Rigour: Maintains uncompromising standards of scientific accuracy, conceptual clarity, evidence, and intellectual depth. Analytical Mindset: Critically evaluates curriculum, content, pedagogy, and assessment using evidence and disciplinary reasoning. Academic Leadership: Capable of mentoring teachers, shaping subject direction, and establishing high academic standards. Research-Oriented: Demonstrates intellectual curiosity and engagement with Chemistry, science education, and contemporary developments in the discipline. Articulate & Collaborative: Able to communicate complex chemical and pedagogical ideas with precision and collaborate effectively with curriculum designers, academic leaders, and educators.