Chief Financial and Operations Officer

Required 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:

A cover letter tailored to express interest in this position

A current and comprehensive résumé

Sara Shulman

Practice Leader Development and Finance/Senior

Consultant

Jamie Estes

Consultant

Applicant must apply to:Current Retained Leadership Search Opportunities Carney Sandoe Search Group

Overview



Charlotte Country Day School enters its 85th year as one of the regions most established and forward-looking independent schools with a history of pairing enduring traditions with a willingness to evolve. Across its JK12 program Country Day combines educational excellence with strong relationships a deep commitment to community and service and a distinctive culture of innovation. Today the School stands on an exceptionally strong institutional foundation while looking purposefully ahead. With a newly approved strategic plan significant resources and the extraordinary possibilities presented by its 330-acre Weddington Farm Country Day is preparing for a consequential period of growth and evolutionone that will require thoughtful stewardship of its people resources facilities and operations in service to the Schools mission.

A strategic plan approved in 2025 sets an ambitious course for the years ahead and Country Day enters this search from a position of genuine financial strength. The School operates on an annual budget of approximately $70 million oversees an endowment of $86 million and raises approximately $3.1 million in annual giving resources built in part through a recently completed $92.5 million capital campaign. With the retirement of David Mancos a steady and deeply respected steward of the Schools finances and operations Country Day seeks to build on his legacy of strength compassion and commitment while envisioning the next chapter of financial and operational leadership. The School is entering a period of thoughtful planning and investment in its people programs and campuses and the next Chief Financial and Operations Officer will help carry this momentum forward as a strategic partner in Country Days continued success.

Reporting to Head of School Dr. Tara Christie Kinsey who joined the community in July 2025 the Chief Financial and Operations Officer will serve as a senior member of the Schools collaborative leadership team and will oversee both Country Days financial and robust operational functions. The CFOO will lead a talented team and partner closely with colleagues across the School on institutional strategy ensuring that resources align with the mission and that day-to-day operations run smoothly and efficiently.

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.

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: 1746

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. The opportunities below reflect the natural next steps for an already high-functioning office as Country Day continues to grow and evolve.

Partner in a period of thoughtful growth and planning

Country Day is entering an exciting chapter of institutional planning and investment. School leadership will soon update its campus master plan and continue to think strategically about how best to steward its two campuses and its 330-acre Weddington Farm as long-term assets. This work will include both planning for future expansion and ensuring the long-term care of the Schools existing physical assets through disciplined capital maintenance and lifecycle planning. The CFOO will be a key thought partner in this work helping translate the Schools aspirations into sound sustainable financial and operational plans.

Bring strategic financial leadership to a strong foundation

Disciplined financial stewardship healthy reserves and prudent resource management have long defined Country Day. The next CFOO will build on this foundation bringing a strategic lens to long-range financial planning and capital structure and helping the School continue to align its resources with its highest priorities. The CFOO will manage the Schools existing debt portfolio cultivate strong relationships with financial partners and evaluate future financing opportunities in support of the Schools long-term plans. The CFOO will understand that the most financially efficient choice is not always the one that best serves the School and will weigh financial considerations alongside mission culture and the experience of the community to help leadership reach decisions that are sound on both fronts. The CFOO will sustain a rigorous and collaborative budgeting process working closely with budget leaders across the School and maintaining clear proactive communication with the Finance and Audit Committee Investment Committee Property and Grounds Committee and the full Board of Trustees.

Lead and empower a talented team

The CFOO will inherit a deeply experienced collaborative and mutually supportive team many of whom have served the School for years. There is a welcome opportunity to continue investing in the teams professional growth clarify roles and responsibilities as the organization evolves and ensure that work is delegated to the appropriate level. The next CFOO will be expected to learn from and place meaningful trust in experienced leaders while creating the structures and accountability that allow them to operate with appropriate autonomy. As the Schools systems structures and priorities evolve the CFOO will guide the team through change with transparency and care.

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. The next CFOO will help guide these continuing efforts in close partnership with colleagues in information technology human resources advancement and across the divisions. As systems evolve the CFOO will also have an opportunity to assess how work is organized and responsibilities are distributed creating greater capacity for experienced leaders to focus on analysis planning service and strategic priorities. Throughout this work the CFOO will keep in mind that faculty staff students and families experience these functions every day and will ensure that systems and processes are designed with their needs in mind.

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. Sitting at the intersection of finance and operations the CFOO will connect colleagues and priorities across a complex organization anticipate what others need to know and communicate early and clearly with School and Board leadership. The CFOO will help colleagues understand the reasoning behind financial and operational decisions while empowering experienced leaders to lead their areas effectively.

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 Schools mission. The most competitive candidates will offer most or all of the following qualifications and qualities.

Professional Qualifications

• 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.

Personal Attributes

• 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 Schools 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.

Required Experience:

Chief