Executive Director

Buffkin / Baker • Santa Rosa Beach, FL

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

THE SEASIDE SCHOOL™ is Florida’s oldest continuously operating public charter school and a nationally recognized model for innovative, student-centered education. Serving approximately 600 students in grades 5–12, the School operates across two campuses: Seaside Neighborhood School™ (grades 5– 8) and Seacoast Collegiate High School (grades 9–12). The School is a high performing, college-preparatory institution where students may earn up to 60 college credit hours prior to graduation. The Seacoast Collegiate High School campus is a state-of-the-art facility reflecting a powerful K–12 and higher education partnership with Northwest Florida College. Seaside has earned an “A” rating for more than 20 consecutive years and ranks among the top 1% of public schools statewide in math and science. The School is committed to educating the whole child, preparing students to succeed in college, careers, and life. The curriculum is developmentally responsive, integrative, and exploratory, teaching to Florida state standards. Technology is a bedrock of the school’s approach, utilizing Google Applications for Education and Chromebooks, with a focus on creation over consumption. College and career counseling is a student-centered process of exploration and guidance. The athletic program strives to assist each student in reaching their athletic potential. The Executive Director serves as the chief executive officer, providing strategic and operational leadership for this dual-campus public charter school. Reporting to a nine to eleven member Board of Directors, the Executive Director is accountable for the academic, operational, financial, and legal performance of the organization, ensuring strong outcomes and long-term sustainability. This leader sets the strategic direction of the School, aligning vision, mission, and execution while maintaining a strong focus on academic excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement. The Executive Director ensures compliance with Florida statutes and the School’s charter contract, while fostering a collaborative, high performing culture across approximately 55 faculty and staff. The School is at a pivotal moment in its evolution, and the Executive Director will build on this foundation to strengthen the School’s unique two-campus structure, deepen strategic partnerships, and expand access and opportunities for students across Walton County. The ideal candidate will bring a balance of visionary leadership and operational discipline, with the ability to navigate complexity, build trust among diverse stakeholders and community leaders, and position THE SEASIDE SCHOOL™ for continued success.

Requirements

• Successful experience as a Principal and or successful experience in an executive school leadership role (e.g., Superintendent, Head of School, Executive Director, Chief Academic Officer, or similar senior supervisory role).
• Charter school leadership experience strongly preferred.
• Understanding of, or the ability to quickly gain an understanding of, the charter school context, including the unique and nuanced strategic, financial, and operational elements of leading an independently operated public school.
• Experience with enrollment strategy and retention (e.g., recruitment, communications, and data-informed planning) in an enrollment-driven funding environment.
• Mission alignment with Seaside’s history and tradition.
• Ability to set and advance a clear vision, translate strategy into priorities, and drive disciplined execution across a complex, multi-campus environment.
• Adaptable with the capacity to lead through growth and change while maintaining mission fidelity and a strong student-centered focus.
• Creative and innovative; willing to entertain and try new ideas that might advance the mission and operation of the School.
• Visible, relationship-first leadership style that builds trust with students, families, faculty/staff, and community partners; a unifier who leads with compassion and humility.
• Strong judgment and listening skills; able to discern and navigate competing viewpoints, make timely decisions, and communicate these decisions with clarity and care.
• Ability to unify teams and campuses around shared expectations while honoring Seaside’s culture, traditions, and the uniqueness of both schools.
• Proven ability to attract, mentor/develop/coach, and retain a high-performing leadership team and strong educators; create accountability while supporting professional development and let talent flourish.
• Ability to establish role clarity, communicate clear expectations, make decisions, and support competent distributed leadership (with accountability).
• Commitment to academic outcomes and continuous improvement, with an ability to support effective instructional leadership and program quality.
• Understanding of dual enrollment/collegiate models or the ability to quickly gain an understanding of the same; willingness to strengthen partnerships, advising systems, and student supports that enable varied pathways to success.
• Strong operational leader who strengthens systems, processes, and follow-through, including prioritization, project management, and cross-functional coordination across both schools.
• Ability to standardize core practices and expectations across campuses to improve consistency, service, and stakeholder confidence.
• Comfort addressing practical campus needs (e.g., safety, access control, etc.) through appropriate channels and with urgency and pragmatism.
• Ability to build and manage complex and nuanced budgets, establish internal controls, oversee audits, and use data to guide decisions.
• Experience navigating enrollment-driven funding and multi-year planning to maintain stability while investing in growth.
• Ability to pursue and steward diversified resources (e.g., grants, philanthropy, sponsorships, public funding opportunities) aligned with charter school realities.
• Experience supporting fundraising and resource development (e.g., grants, philanthropy, sponsorships), including donor stewardship and partnership-building.
• Fluency with charter-school governance and compliance expectations; disciplined approach to risk management, reporting, and accountability.
• Strong, constructive board partnership—clarifies roles, supports effective oversight, and maintains appropriate governance boundaries.
• Ethical leadership marked by transparency, credibility, and sound judgment.
• Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and listening skills; provide steady, transparent, and clear messaging and represent Seaside with warmth and professionalism.
• Serve as Seaside’s ambassador with donors, legislators, authorizers, higher-ed partners, and civic/business leaders; be the ambassador for the School and its brand.
• Ability to strengthen partnerships, i.e., function as a collaborative partner, that expands student opportunities (e.g., dual enrollment, internships, community-based programming) while advocating effectively for Seaside’s priorities.

Nice To Haves

• Successful experience in an executive school leadership role (e.g., Superintendent, Head of School, Executive Director, Chief Academic Officer, or similar senior supervisory role)
• Charter school leadership experience

Responsibilities

• Scale enrollment and programming to serve more students without negative effects on the School’s culture; preserve tradition while leading necessary changes during growth and campus expansion.
• Direct intentional growth (enrollment, programs, and facilities) through a clear long-term plan.
• Complete high school expansion to broaden offerings and increase impact for students and families.
• Leverage the school’s location and new facilities to expand student opportunities.
• Forge local business partnerships to create internships and workforce-connected learning.
• Elevate community impact by strengthening the school’s contribution to local culture, economic development, and quality of life.
• Translate vision into reasonable executable plans supported by funding from all sources, including practical growth and fundraising that seeks out governmental, community, foundation, and private partnerships.
• Address facilities needs at Seaside and finalize Seacoast campus improvements to support on-campus community and school events.
• Strengthen the middle-school-to-high-school enrollment pipeline to support sustained high school growth.
• Strengthen strategic partnerships with external constituents (e.g., NWFSC, SCDC, WCSD, and the broader community) and unify campuses around shared goals.
• Build donor confidence through strong stewardship, transparent communication, and demonstrated impact.
• Help strengthen board governance and stability by clarifying roles, improving continuity, and leading the Board to maintain focus on strategy and oversight.
• Execute the mission, strategic plan, and board policies; report regularly on progress, risks, and outcomes.
• Elevate compliance as an organizational standard through clear ownership, systems, and follow-through.
• Prepare for accreditation renewal (2027) and charter renewal (2029).
• Assist in aligning School Board–Foundation Board decision boundaries and collaboration to improve coordination, trust, and execution.
• Establish a multi-year financial sustainability plan that accounts for debt, deficits, and growth realities.
• Build trust with key external partners (e.g., district and higher-ed partners) through steady leadership and collaboration.
• Build leadership capacity and an executive team structure to support scale and consistent execution.
• Champion forward-looking educational opportunities that expand higher-education access in Walton County.
• Foster the continued growth of strong academic achievement and outcomes.
• Ensure the curriculum meets the mission of the School and in keeping with the collaborative philosophy of Seaside, prepares all students to be successful in the dual enrollment setting.
• Expand programming, academic support, and exposure to differentiated learning experiences.
• Prepare students for college and workforce pathways, developing independent, productive learners while shaping engaged members of society.
• Expand electives to reflect competitive and varied student interests and pathways.
• Lead the charge for innovative teaching practices that develop student leaders.
• Modernize academic offerings and strengthen competitive academic opportunities.
• Differentiate SCHS (promote the brand) to strengthen its value proposition relative to South Walton.
• Drive an environment that balances academic rigor with student readiness to support sustainable success for all students.
• Cultivate a cohesive, mission-aligned culture that strengthens student experience, identity, and traditions; strengthen community, school spirit, parent involvement, and pride.
• Continue to grow traditional school experiences and broaden extracurricular options; expand clubs and sports to support well-rounded development and college competitiveness.
• Build a strong athletic department through aligned leadership, investment, and program direction to help develop school pride and retain students into high school.
• Expand enrichment offerings, e.g., opportunities in the arts, a student leadership development program, etc., to broaden student engagement and pathways.
• Strengthen alumni engagement to build long-term connections and future giving.
• Empower and develop exceptional educators through strong partnership, support, and clear expectations.
• Position the school as a “destination workplace” for high-quality educators.
• Establish clear teacher development pathways; strengthen leadership pipelines and succession planning; elevate morale, recognition, and support systems.
• Recruit and retain proven school leaders with the experience to advance a collegiate high school model and a high performing middle school.
• Lead decisively and implement necessary/appropriate changes (including staffing decisions) to improve stability and execution.
• Support, motivate, and lead staff; set clear expectations and hold individuals accountable.
• Maintain a visible, engaged leadership presence across campuses to build trust and alignment.
• Align internal systems to support scale, consistency, and efficiency; standardize expectations and discipline across campuses to ensure rules are applied uniformly.
• Strengthen budgeting, staffing, communication, and execution to create consistency and reduce friction for staff and families.
• Enhance campus safety and access control through appropriate procedures and improved school-zone traffic safety.
• Align leadership, community, and operations to operate as one coherent system.

Benefits

• Equal opportunity for all qualified persons without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status, or genetic information. This applies to all employment practices including, but not limited to hiring, promotion, training, transfers, job assignments, terminations, recalls, wage and salary administration, and application of all School policies, procedures, and benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive
• Education Level: No Education Listed