Conducting an executive search for a Deputy Principal to drive innovation, wellbeing, and strategic growth in a leading independent girls’ school.
The Brief
Future Leadership™ was engaged by this leading girls’ school in Sydney to appoint a new Deputy Principal, a pivotal executive role designed to advance the school’s tradition of academic excellence and holistic student development. This independent, non-denominational Christian school is dedicated to empowering girls and young women for purposeful, fulfilling lives and seeks to create in its students a commitment to courage, hard work and excellence.
The Deputy Principal reports directly to the Principal and works within the School’s Executive Leadership Team. The role is responsible for the day-to-day management, strategic direction, and continual development of the school and deputising for the Principal when required. A key priority for the position was to review and reignite the school’s Learning Framework, ensuring it is future-focused, evidence-based, and aligned with contemporary educational best practices.
The ideal candidate is a visionary and experienced educational leader, deeply committed to academic excellence, student wellbeing, and strategic school development. This is a whole-school leadership role requiring a dynamic individual capable of driving innovation while respecting Queenwood’s strong traditions and values. The successful candidate will have senior leadership experience, a track record in curriculum, wellbeing, and staff development, and demonstrated success in leading school-wide change, particularly in revitalising or transforming educational frameworks.
Candidate net Promote Score
Future Leadership combines truly personalised relationships with innovative technology solutions to ensure an approachable and efficient process for all our Net Promoter Score across clients, successful candidates and unsuccessful candidates is well above industry standard.
Candidates supported every year
We maintain genuine relationships with past candidates and continue to support them with leadership solutions long term, after they land their role.
Senior Women Appointed since 2002
Over half of the executive search assignments undertaken by our team have resulted in the appointment of outstanding female or LGBTQI+ leaders to high profile roles.
Candidate Retention Rate for 12 months since 2002
Our thorough briefing process and ability to engage passive candidates mean that we go to great lengths to find the right person for the role – long term!
The Process
Future Leadership™ undertook a highly confidential national executive search, supported by targeted online advertising on SEEK, LinkedIn, and the Future Leadership™ website. The search focused on high-calibre candidates with relevant experience in schools, education, and related sectors, including known candidates from Future Leadership™ networks and those referred by trusted contacts.
- Briefing and Strategy Development:
Ongoing discussions were held with the Principal and key stakeholders to define the strategic context, expectations, and capability framework for the role. The Selection Committee included senior leaders from the school and Future Leadership™. - Candidate Attraction:
The targeted sourcing process and advertising highlighted the opportunity for visionary leadership in educational excellence, along with the chance to drive a contemporary learning framework, and the importance of fostering student wellbeing and engagement. - Assessment and Shortlisting:
Candidates were assessed against the Future Leadership™ Capability Framework, focusing on Strategy and Purpose, Organisational Capability, Emotional Awareness, Communication and Influence, Adaptability and Resilience, and Governance and Compliance. - Panel Interviews and Referencing:
Shortlisted candidates underwent initial behavioural interviews with a Future Leadership Consultant. This information, combined with the outcomes of psychometric assessment, were presented to the selection panel prior to panel interviews being completed. Future Leadership managed the documentation and logistics requirements for multiple interviews, ensuring candidates remained engaged throughout the process.
The search process was designed to ensure cultural alignment, strategic capability, and readiness to lead through thoughtful evolution rather than radical transformation. Future Leadership™ provided ongoing support to both the school and candidates involved in the process, ensuring clear communication of requirements from briefing to confirmation of the successful candidate.
Emerging Capabilities
Strategy and Purpose
Leads transformational processes, motivates teams, and influences commitment to a shared purpose that individuals and the workforce will require to enable sustained organisational success. Builds and promotes a culture underpinning the vision, purpose and values the organisation aspires to achieve.
Organisational Capability
Understands the organisation's future requirements and identifies opportunities to build potential across the organisation. Seeks opportunities to develop other people and takes appropriate action to address skill gaps in others.
Emotional Awareness
Understands own emotions and drivers and how they impact self and others. Manages self in challenging or high stress situations. Adjusts behaviour to respond to difference in others to achieve effective outcomes.
Communication and Influence
Communicates with clarity and impact to facilitate individual and collective understanding, inspire action and enable information exchange. Leverages human-centric communication and storytelling to effectively influence stakeholders across the physical and virtual realms.
Adaptability and Resilience
Demonstrates positivity, curiosity, and the ability to pivot when confronted with change, pressure, adversity and disruption. Responsive to strategic environmental, social and corporate challenges and opportunities.
Governance and Compliance
Establishes, champions and measures the effectiveness of an organisation’s regulatory and reporting systems. Identifies and evaluates risks, develops strategies to mitigate risk.
The Outcome
Following the completion of 360 degree referencing checking, a highly capable, and inspiring leader was appointed as Deputy Principal, bringing a strong background in academic leadership, curriculum innovation, and student wellbeing. The appointee is a dynamic leader and educator with a distinguished career spanning school leadership, teaching, research, and sports officiating. During the appointee’s most recent Principalship the appointee drove enrolment growth, led major infrastructure projects, and fostered cultural transformation. In earlier roles the appointee demonstrated record academic outcomes and the ability to implement key structural reforms. Key skills identified through the selection process included strong strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, financial management, and mentoring. The successful candidate is recognised for their educational research contributions, community leadership, and commitment to staff and student wellbeing
The appointment was finalised with a comprehensive onboarding plan and transition support. The new Deputy Principal is expected to lead the school through a two-phase reform process, initial revitalisation followed by potential transformation while upholding the school’s high standards and guiding it into the future.
