Selecting the right head of school is one of a board’s most critical functions. The right search firm helps make this possible. ST Search has an exceptional track record of success with head searches and offers distinctive services and processes that may make us the right firm for your school.
We offer two different approaches. The Retained Search is the highest level of service available, while the Commissioned Head Search is a highly effective, but more affordable option.
With a retained search, our head of school search team guides and supports your committee through every phase of the process. We share full responsibility with you to bring the search to a successful conclusion.
• We help you clearly articulate the goals for the next head of school and then identify the skills required for this individual to be successful in light of the school’s distinctive culture and mission.
• We advertise broadly and network extensively to generate a compelling array of candidates, and then not only interview and check references on them, we also deploy the most sophisticated corporate personality-assessment tools available to confirm perceptions and assumptions about each candidate.
• We structure the entire search process into an integrated, efficient whole using a method honed over more than 100 head of school searches. Simultaneously, our extensive personal experience helps us recognize when your unique search requires a different path to achieve success.
With a retained searches, you take advantage of our full array of talents, and we are committed to the task until you are satisfied with the results.
For some schools, a retained search is more service than necessary or financially out of reach. Therefore, we have crafted a “commissioned” option for head of school search committees that want to run the search process themselves but desire our help in attracting and screening a much larger pool of candidates.
• An ST Search consultant speaks with the search committee to get a sense of school culture and the hiring goals and expectations.
• We provide you with a search template—carefully crafted over many years—to help you control the complex search process.
• ST Search then refers vetted candidates for your consideration and we remain available to offer guidance about candidates, answer questions, and provide information as needed.
• The school pays a small upfront fee to cover advertising and consultant travel. A placement fee becomes due only if the school hires an ST Search candidate.
This approach—a commissioned search—is only available through ST Search; no other recruitment firm offers it. We built this model because we recognize that one search model does not fit all independent schools, and we want to serve where others cannot.
The best predictor of future search success is an exceptional history of past success. ST is exceptional. But don’t take our word for it; please examine the SAIS Head of School Database. You’ll see that Jamie Estes, our director of searches, has led more head searches than any other practicing consultant. You’ll also find that the average tenure of heads placed by ST Search significantly exceeds the average tenure of heads placed by other firms.
Head searches are complex—and the results are exceptionally important for the school and its students. The single best way to manage the risks in this consequential process is to select the search consultants with the most experience. It’s that simple.
Next, ST administers the Hogan Assessment to the internal candidate and meticulously analyzes the results.
Our trained staff interprets the results within the context of the leadership framework established in the initial phase. The report provided to the head serves as a strategic guide for evaluating the candidate’s potential for success.
Furthermore, ST offers a comprehensive set of rigorously crafted questions designed for the internal interview process, informed by a deep understanding of the position and the unique strengths the candidate possesses.
As the oldest school recruiter in America, we have a strong network of connections. For every search, we enhance this network with targeted recruiting to attract a pool of candidates ready to take on the job's challenges and fit for the school's unique culture.
We use additional Hogan tools by having the finalists take a personality assessment. Our trained staff interprets the assessment results considering the school's specific requirements.
Experience matters. Our ability to recruit and screen candidates is top-notch.
To our knowledge, no other search firm offers this special service. In a retained search, Mike Waylett, our director of consulting, partners with the search team and extensively reviews the school’s finances. We share the resulting profile with the finalist candidates.
In a recent NAIS study, 43% of heads felt underprepared to manage school finances. Sharing this financial report with the finalists helps the search committee confirm that the candidates can meet their fundamental financial responsibilities.
With this critical information, the right candidates will be more confident that this is the right job they should accept.
Once again, ST Search is distinctively different . . . and is the right search firm for you.
We welcome conversations with search committees about the important task at hand. Please contact us to learn more about your options and our work, after which, we'd be happy to provide a fulsome proposal that provides references from our previous searches and information about costs.
Jamie Estes 434-473-7383
Carey Goodman 434-473-7385
ST Search was delighted to assist the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools in securing their next Director of Athletics, Juliana Zavala.
