Chief Financial Officer
About the Employer
Overview
Charlotte Country Day School enters its 85th year as one of the region’s most established and forward-looking independent schools, with a history of pairing enduring traditions with a willingness to evolve. Across its JK-12 program, Country Day combines educational excellence with strong relationships, a deep commitment to community and service, and a distinctive culture of innovation. The next Chief Financial and Operations Officer will join a school that is financially healthy, operationally sound, and led by a strong and collaborative team. The opportunities below reflect the natural next steps for an already high-functioning office as Country Day continues to grow and evolve.
Mission
Through excellence in education, Charlotte Country Day School develops the potential of each student by fostering intellectual curiosity, principled character, ethical leadership, and a responsibility to serve.
Affirmation of Community
Charlotte Country Day School is committed to living as an authentic, inclusive community. Our pursuit of this commitment to community recognizes and affirms the richness brought by difference and discovered through commonality.
At a Glance
Established: 1941 Enrollment: 1,746 Total Faculty and Staff: 357 Campuses – 2 Weddington Farm – 330 acres Total Buildings – 28
Additional Stats
Financial Aid Budget: $9.4m Endowment – $86m Operating Budget – $70m Annual Giving – $3.1m Most Recent Capital Campaign – $92.5m
Opportunities and Challenges
The next Chief Financial and Operations Officer will join a school that is financially healthy, operationally sound, and led by a strong and collaborative team.
• Partner in a period of thoughtful growth and planning: Country Day is entering an exciting chapter of institutional planning and investment.
• Bring strategic financial leadership to a strong foundation: Disciplined financial stewardship, healthy reserves, and prudent resource management have long defined Country Day.
• Lead and empower a talented team: The CFOO will inherit a deeply experienced, collaborative, and mutually supportive team.
• Advance systems and operational efficiency: The school is actively upgrading its systems and processes, including moving toward more digital, integrated, and streamlined workflows across the business office and other operational functions.
• Serve as an organizational connector and trusted partner: Operating within a leadership culture that Dr. Kinsey has built around candor, trust, and distributed decision-making, the CFOO will be an accessible, proactive, and communicative partner.
Qualifications and Personal Attributes
The next Chief Financial and Operations Officer will bring strong financial acumen paired with genuine operational range, and the judgment to lead both functions in service of the school’s mission. The most competitive candidates will offer most or all of the following qualifications and qualities: Professional Qualifications Personal Attributes
• Significant experience overseeing both finance and operations within a complex organization, ideally an independent school or comparable mission-driven institution;
• Strategic financial leadership, including long-range planning, budgeting, and the ability to align resources with institutional priorities;
• Experience managing institutional debt, including lender relationships, covenant compliance, and refinancing or new financings, ideally in connection with capital projects;
• Demonstrated ability to lead across the operational dimensions of a multi-campus institution, including facilities, human resources, risk and security, and vendor relationships;
• Direct experience overseeing significant new construction and renovation projects, from planning and financing through design, contractor management, and completion, as well as long-term campus and land-use planning;
• Proven experience leading organizational changes, including guiding teams through new systems, evolving structures, and shifting priorities while sustaining morale, continuity, and trust;
• Strong use of data to inform clear, collaborative decision-making; and
• A demonstrated commitment to equity and belonging, with an awareness of how financial and operational decisions, policies, practices, and the allocation of resources affect different members of the school community.
• A collaborative, team-oriented leader who empowers colleagues and takes joy in shared success;
• An accessible, personable, and humble presence who builds trust across the community;
• A strong, proactive, and visible communicator who anticipates what colleagues and governance leaders need to know, shares information early and appropriately, and is comfortable engaging faculty, staff, board members, and external audiences;
• The judgment to distinguish between what is financially optimal and what is institutionally optimal, and the wisdom to help leadership navigate the space between them;
• The ability to say “not yet” thoughtfully, balancing fiscal responsibility with appropriate flexibility, always through the lens of the school’s core purpose;
• A disciplined and detail-oriented steward who can translate ambitious ideas into practical plans, surface financial and operational implications early, and maintain appropriate accountability around budgets and spending;
• Dexterity and flexibility to move between a leadership team meeting and a construction site with genuine understanding of each;
• Patience, curiosity, and humility to listen, learn, and understand the rhythms, relationships, and culture of an independent school before shaping its next chapter; and
• Unquestioned integrity and a deep respect for the people and culture of the school.
Application Instructions
Interested and qualified candidates are invited to contact the consultants listed below in confidence. Candidates will ultimately need to submit the following materials as separate PDF documents: Sara Shulman Practice Leader – Development and Finance/Senior Consultant sara.shulman@carneysandoe.com Jamie Estes Consultant jamie.estes@carneysandoe.com Applicant must apply to: Current Retained Leadership Search Opportunities - Carney Sandoe Search Group