Consulting

Our Consulting Services Division is staffed with a team of Senior Consultants, all of whom have been successful school heads across the globe. They bring expertise in a range of international school operations, including board governance, strategic planning, curriculum development, business & finance operations, marketing, and much more! This combination of practical knowledge, a global perspective and personalized attention that our Consultants provide sets us apart from any other recruiting firm.

For information about Business & Finance, HR, Admissions & Advancement and Marketing services, please contact Rajiv Bhat, Senior Consultant.

BUSINESS & FINANCE: Implement Best Practices to help you achieve your mission.

• Financial modeling and budgeting.
• Divisional profitability and tuition analysis.
• Procurement (purchasing) best practices.
• Finance office staffing, policies, manuals, audit and compliance.
• Enrollment analysis, class size, campus capacity.
• Benchmarks and key ratios relevant for international schools.
• Opportunities for income diversification.
• Co/Extra – Curricular efficiency in fees and funding.
• Balance sheet and loan portfolio optimization.
• Webinars and online workshops on key business and finance processes.

ADMISSIONS: Build your school's applications, enrolment and retention

HUMAN RESOURCES: Attract the best talent to your school.

• Assessment of the school’s overall value proposition for employees.
• Improved recruitment, onboarding, and retention practices.
• Compensation benchmarking.
• HR policies and procedures including staff handbook and other materials.
• Developing the optimal mix of overseas and host country national employees.
• HR department staffing and budgeting.
• Designing a new employee mentorship program.
• Performance evaluation systems and procedures.
• Review and recommendations of school policies on DEI and child protection.

ADvancement: DEVELOPMENT, FUNDRAISING AND ALUMNI RELATIONS

• Optimize department structure, roles, and skillsets to support Advancement initiatives. 
• Create a vision and strategic plan for fundraising to grow income, engagement and alumni relations. 
• Build a compelling narrative to support school capital projects, scholarships and teaching and learning needs. 
• Create a 5-year roadmap with campaigns, programs and income targets.  
• Develop compelling materials and engaging programs and events for parents, alumni and other donors. 
• Optimize Fundraising and Alumni CRM platforms. Establish best practice Fundraising and donor policies. 
  

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS: Enhance your school’s brand presence.

• A marketing & communications strategic plan that creates a powerful narrative and story about your school.
  
• Guidance on overall school branding and brand identity.
• An improved communications toolbox, including website, social media and email marketing.
• Marketing strategy to effectively compete in your market.
• Managing communications for fundraising campaigns, school events, sports meets, student artistic events, school Annual Reports etc.
• Developing an affordable marketing and communications budget.
• Webinars and workshops on best practices in school branding.

For information about our other services listed below, please contact George Entwistle, Director of Consulting Services.

GOVERNANCE

• Developing Good Governance: Includes roles and responsibilities, effective practices, and implementation methods.
• Board Structure and Composition: Provides ways to move to a more "hybrid" or self-perpetuating board by reviewing and revising constitutions and by-laws.
• Policy and Procedure Reviews: Includes “slimming” policy manuals to shift procedures to operational handbooks. Also includes aligning policies and practices, evaluating and recommending policies.
• Board and Head Evaluation Methods:
• Transition Planning: Provides information designed for heads, boards, and board chairs.

PLANNING

• Strategic Planning: Includes school mission and vision, strategic goal-setting, action-planning, evaluating, and updating.
• Start-up School Planning and Assistance
• Feasibility Studies: Includes school expansion, additional programs (such as a high school program), etc. 
• Survey Design and Data Analysis: Provides professional support and advice in audience identification, survey design, data collection, and analysis. 

ADMINISTRATION / PERSONNEL

• School Institutional Assessments: Provides ideas from an external, objective, and professional perspective. 
• Staff Communication, Decision-Making, and Team-Building: Includes cross-cultural methods, effective and efficient meetings, etc.
• Community Involvement Strategies
• Compensation Reviews
• Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategies

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS & SERVICES

• Guidance Services: Includes student advising, development, and leadership in areas re­lated to secondary guidance, life-skills, and col­lege counseling programs.
• Curriculum Development: Includes introduction of IB, bilingual, experiential and service learning programs.  
• Host Culture and Cross-Cultural Studies: Provides ways to integrate your host country into your regular curriculum.