Appointing a Head of Campus, Junior School for an Independent School in Victoria

The Brief

Future Leadership™ was engaged by a leading independent school in metropolitan Melbourne to appoint a Head of Campus, Junior School, at a pivotal point in the school’s leadership cycle. The appointment formed part of a broader focus on strengthening campus leadership, supporting enrolment sustainability and ensuring continuity of educational excellence across Early Learning and Junior School settings. 

The school operated within a dynamic and competitive education environment, with increasing expectations from families around learning quality, wellbeing, communication and community connection. Internally, the campus required stable and values aligned leadership capable of uniting staff, students and families during a period of transition, while maintaining strong alignment with whole of school strategic priorities. 

The role demanded a highly experienced educational leader with deep expertise across Early Learning to Year 6, a strong understanding of contemporary pedagogy, and the capacity to lead people through change. In addition to educational leadership, the Head of Campus was required to demonstrate sound operational capability, including staff leadership, enrolment oversight, governance awareness and risk management. 

Future Leadership™ was selected for its depth of experience in executive search within the independent education sector, its rigorous assessment methodology, and its ability to identify leaders with the capability, cultural alignment and readiness to lead complex school communities. 

The Process

Future Leadership™ undertook a comprehensive executive search process tailored to the school’s strategic, cultural and operational requirements. 

Key steps included: 

Briefing and Strategy Development
Engagement with the Principal, senior leaders and Board representatives to understand the campus context, leadership challenges and future direction for Early Learning and Junior School education. 

Targeted Candidate Search
A national search across Australia and New Zealand, supported by a targeted advertising campaign, direct market research and proactive approaches to high performing leaders within independent schools. 

Candidate Assessment
Shortlisted candidates progressed through structured interviews and psychometric assessment aligned to the Future Leadership Capability Framework, assessing leadership impact, values alignment and readiness to lead through change. 

Final Evaluation
Final candidates participated in multi round panel interviews with senior leadership and Board representation, with a focus on strategic vision, community leadership and educational outcomes. 

The Outcome

The process resulted in the appointment of an experienced and values driven educational leader with more than twenty years’ experience across independent schools. The appointed candidate brought extensive senior leadership experience across Early Learning to Year 6, with a strong track record in curriculum leadership, wellbeing, staff development and operational management. Their background included executive and deputy head roles within a large independent K–12 school, leading strategic initiatives across curriculum, assessment, wellbeing and daily operations. 

The successful candidate demonstrated deep expertise in inquiry led learning aligned to the IB Primary Years Programme, contemporary assessment and reporting practices, and the development of inclusive, high performing learning communities. Proven capability in leading staff through change, strengthening enrolments, and building trust based relationships with families supported confidence in their ability to lead the campus through its next phase of growth. 

This appointment provided the school with a leader well positioned to strengthen educational outcomes, support staff and families, and contribute to whole of school alignment and sustainability.