President

Job Description

PRESIDENT SEARCH
ST. AGNES ACADEMY-ST. DOMINIC SCHOOL
Memphis, Tennessee
saa-sds.org
Start Date: July 2026
Mission Statement
St. Agnes Academy-St. Dominic School is a Catholic independent school, ecumenical by charter, and sponsored by Dominican Veritas Ministries. The school was founded to educate young people in a principle-based program designed to prepare them for advanced formal and personal studies while deepening their faith and relationship with God.
In the Dominican tradition, the School actively encourages academic excellence and promotes spiritual and moral growth, social and ecological responsibility, leadership skills, multicultural awareness, emotional maturity, artistic expression, and physical fitness.
Vision
The graduate of St. Agnes Academy-St. Dominic School is spiritually and morally nourished and challenged academically with the desire to pursue excellence and life-long learning in order to provide the leadership necessary to make the world a better place.
Overview
The oldest continuously operating Dominican school in the United States, St. Agnes Academy - St. Dominic School has announced its plans to hire its new President who will begin July 1, 2026. The Dominican Sisters of St. Catharine, Kentucky founded the all-girls St. Agnes Academy in downtown Memphis in 1851. Through challenges of fires, yellow fever epidemics, and the Civil War, the school never closed its doors and has remained steadfastly committed to the four pillars of the Dominican charism: Study, Prayer, Community, and Service. In 1951, the school moved to its present location in east Memphis, and St. Dominic School for Boys was founded in 1956. Today, St. Agnes Academy - St. Dominic School operates on a stunning 22-acre campus and educates approximately 800 PK - 8 boys and PK - 12 girls.
The Board of Trustees, consisting of parents, local leaders, and representatives of its sponsor, Dominican Veritas Ministries, currently governs the school. The President is the Chief Executive Officer and serves on the Board as an ex-officio member. Other members of the Leadership Team include the Deans of St. Dominic School, St. Agnes Academy Lower School and St. Agnes Academy Upper School; the Director of the Early Childhood Center; the CFO; the Vice-President of Advancement; the Vice President of Campus Services; the Director of Dominican-Catholic Identity and the Director of Athletics. The President works closely with the 21 members of the Board to chart a vision for the future while faithfully stewarding the mission and legacy of the community. This includes setting and implementing the strategic plan, overseeing a $16.1M budget, and ensuring financial sustainability for the future through building relationships with all members of the SAA-SDS and greater Memphis communities. St. Agnes Academy - St. Dominic School is truly a joyful and loving school community. It celebrates a long-standing independent, Dominican and Catholic legacy with a growing enrollment. The next President will inherit a school in a strong financial position with a healthy endowment and will be expected to cherish the traditions and heritage that characterize this amazing school.
Opportunities and Challenges
The next President of St. Agnes Academy-St. Dominic School (SAA-SDS) will have the opportunity to lead the oldest continuous operating Dominican school in the country. The School has an excellent relationship with the Bishop, while maintaining its status as an independently sponsored, Catholic School. Governed by a highly supportive, passionate and professional Board of Trustees, the School is positioned well from both an enrollment and financial standpoint. With 100% of the Board and faculty and staff contributing to the Annual Fund each year, the School has a healthy endowment and is in a good position for structural growth on its Pre-K through 12th grade campus, located in the heart of East Memphis.
Specific opportunities and challenges include:
• Driving positive transformation while honoring the legacy and traditions of SAA-SDS;
• Building on the well-established and strong partnership with Christian Brothers High School (CBHS), with a commitment to making SDS the best feeder school for CBHS in the city;
• Collaborating with other Catholic School Presidents who are part of the newly established DVM (Dominican Veritas Ministries) governance model;
• Building and improving current facilities, including a fieldhouse and other athletic facilities;
• Continuing to grow the enrollment, which has been increasing for the past 3+ years;
• Continuing to elevate the culture and value proposition of SAA-SDS in the broader Memphis community;
• Cultivating strong and healthy partnerships with parents, alumnae/i and grandparents and others in order to inculcate a culture of philanthropy for the future.
Qualities and Personal Attributes
St. Agnes Academy-St. Dominic School is seeking a Catholic, mission-driven servant-leader who is open to promoting the Dominican charism. This person is a visionary, dynamic, and entrepreneurial leader who deeply understands and believes in the value of a high quality college-preparatory faithbased education for young men and women and who creates a culture of excellence, collaboration, and inclusivity for faculty, staff, students, families, alumnae/i and the greater community.
The next President will approach his/her work with visible enthusiasm and passion, and will lead with fortitude, wisdom, and compassion when facing the inevitable challenges of school or organizational
leadership. An intuitive problem-solver, the next President will lead the School with creativity, resilience, and a commitment to his/her own Catholic faith.
The school is seeking candidates who have the experience, skills, and competencies that include all or most of the following:
• Knowledgeable and practicing Catholic with a thorough understanding of the philosophy of Catholic education and Catholic school operations, committed to modeling the values of Catholic educational leadership and embracing a role, when called upon, as a spiritual leader;
• A commitment and ability to balance tradition with innovation to ensure long-term success;
• Proven visionary leadership and management experience, with the ability to address immediate organizational needs while pursuing long-term goals, empowering teams, and holding them accountable for performance;
• Strong business acumen, including expertise in financial management, strategic and annual planning, and operational oversight;
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to inspire and engage diverse stakeholders, including administration, faculty, parents, students, community members, alumnae/i, and the Board of Trustees;
• Demonstrated success in philanthropy and fundraising, with the ability to cultivate donor relationships, secure major gifts, and generate revenue to support the school's mission;
• Skilled in school marketing, building strong community relationships, and fostering alumnae/i engagement to enhance philanthropic support;
• Ability to establish creative and mutually beneficial partnerships with philanthropic organizations, corporate sponsors, and nonprofit entities.
Professional Experience
The next President will bring proven wisdom, experience and accomplishments, including:
• Leadership of Non-Profit School or Organization-Successfully led a non-profit school or similar organization with confirmed experience in supervision, management, and coaching personnel, short- and long-term strategic planning and implementation, used data and metrics for informed decision making, collaborated effectively with a board or similar governing body, and served as a positive and enthusiastic community representative promoting organization's mission.
Communication-Developed and managed impactful and effective oral and written communications for diverse purposes, audiences, and platforms, ensuring appropriate, timely, professional, and mission-aligned messaging.
• School Operational Leadership-Led or demonstrated a deep understanding of school operational systems while prioritizing student needs and outcomes in a college preparatory program of instruction and learning.
Leadership Competencies
• Effectively represents the school with integrity and alignment to their mission and values.
• Understands, creates, and sustains a high-trust environment across diverse stakeholder groups through transparent and respectful engagement.
• Demonstrates enthusiastic, positive and effective interpersonal skills while embodying the principles of servant-leadership.
• Serves as community ambassador locally and regionally.
• Utilizes the power of collaborative and inclusive input into decision-making processes and clearly communicates the structures and responsibilities involved.
• Builds, coaches, and empowers high-performing teams while ensuring accountability for outcomes and adherence to goals.
Education
Masters Degree in Educational Leadership, Business Management, or a related field.
To Apply
Interested and qualified candidates are invited to contact the consultants in confidence. Candidates will ultimately need to submit the following materials as separate PDF documents:
A cover letter expressing their interest in this particular position;
A current resume;
A completed Candidate Questionnaire (to be provided by the consultants);
A list of five professional references with name, relationship, phone number, and email address of each (references will not be contacted without the candidate's permission)
Barbara Daush
Senior Consultant and Catholic Schools Practice Leader
barbara.daush@carneysandoe.com
Jess Roberson
Senior Associate
jess.roberson@carneysandoe.com

About the Employer

At Carney, Sandoe & Associates, we believe there is nothing more important than helping schools recruit and retain exceptional faculty and leaders.

Since our inception in 1977, we have worked successfully with over 1,800 independent, private, boarding, and charter schools in 48 states and 32 countries to provide exceptional faculty recruitment, Head of School search, and strategic consulting services.

We take the time to learn the unique culture of each school, and we invest heavily in forming long-lasting relationships with our hiring contacts. Our recruitment process is a deeply personal one; we often visit our clients on campus to learn as much as we can about the inner workings of the organization.