More than a search firm
A Thought Partner From Start to Finish
A leadership search done well does more than fill a role. It strengthens the school.
We have led head of school and senior leadership searches for over three decades and across every region of the world.
We start with your school. The search follows. We bring structure, deep experience, and steady judgment to the work. And we bring a partnership that lasts long after the appointment is made.
800+
head of school searches completed
95%
retention of leaders placed
200+
years of combined school leadership experience
35+
years of trusted service
What We Search For
Most often, schools come to us to find their next head of school. We also lead searches for senior leadership roles across academic and operational areas, including division principals, deputy heads, directors of teaching and learning, and senior administrators in finance and operations. Whatever the role, the work is the same: an active, attentive search that brings the right leader to your school.
The Reach Behind the Search
A search is only as strong as the people behind it.
We market every leadership posting actively and globally, tap into a database of more than 10,000 leaders and senior administrators, and personally reach out to candidates across international schools, US independent schools, and education systems around the world.
Our Senior Consultants are former heads of schools and senior international school leaders themselves. They are the people other heads pick up the phone for, which means we can reach candidates who are not actively looking but are exactly right for your school.
How a Search Unfolds
Below are the moments that matter most. The work between them is detailed, hands-on, and led by an experienced senior consultant who stays with you from start to finish.
Understanding Your School
Every search starts with listening. We sit with your board or search committee to align on roles, timeline, and communications, then gather input from the people closest to the work through stakeholder meetings with your board, administrators, teachers, parents, and students, in the way that fits your school. Together with your committee, we build the job posting and the leadership competencies that will guide every decision ahead.
Guiding the Selection
We walk through candidates with you, sharing interview notes, references, and our honest read of how each one maps to the role. We support your committee through semifinalist and finalist rounds with interview templates, structured feedback frameworks, and guidance on equitable selection practices. The decision is yours. We make sure your committee has what it needs to make it well.
Building the Candidate Pool
This is where the reach behind the search shows up. We market the role globally through our website, the Leaders job blast, and LinkedIn. We also tap into our global network across international and US independent schools, and personally reach out to the right leaders for your school. We work hard to build a diverse, qualified pool that gives your committee a real choice. Every applicant is reviewed against the competencies we set together before any materials reach you.
Supporting the Transition
The search does not end at the offer. We help craft the offer, plan the announcement, and support the new leader's transition into the role. For the year that follows, we remain a phone call away for your school and for the leader we placed. Through our partnership with the Academy for International School Heads (AISH), schools can extend that support with executive transition coaching during the leader's first months on the job.
A Guarantee, Plainly Stated
For our member schools, we stand behind our searches. If the leader we placed leaves the role or ends the contract early without cause, we conduct a second search at no additional fee. This guarantee does not apply to departures due to extraordinary circumstances, such as health or family reasons, or should the school end the contract early. We mention this not as a marketing claim, but because schools deserve to know what they are committing to and what we are committing to in return.
The people behind the work make all the difference
Our Senior Consultants have spent careers inside international schools. They know the work from the inside, and that is what they bring to your school.
Have a Question or Specific Need?
Reach out to our Director of Leadership Recruitment and Global Partnerships.