Finding the right leader is the most consequential decision an institution makes. Get it right, and you set the organization up for years of momentum. Get it wrong — or rush through the process without the right structure — and you spend the next several years managing the consequences.
At Stevens Strategy, we’ve guided institutions through executive searches at every level — from presidential transitions to vice presidential and cabinet appointments — and we know that a great search is as much about process discipline as it is about candidate quality.
For institutions with a solid internal search team but seeking expert guidance, we help develop a process, organize your committee, and avoid the common pitfalls that can impede even the best intentions. This is search support without the full engagement cost.
For those requiring more direct support without a full engagement, our augmented search service includes refining position descriptions, proactively sourcing candidates through targeted outreach and advertising, evaluating applications, screening candidates, and providing structured guidance to enhance your existing process.
For institutions prepared for a comprehensive executive search, we oversee the entire process from beginning to end. This starts before the position is advertised — with conversations with direct reports, peers, and key stakeholders to fully understand what the role actually requires. We conduct a market review of comparable positions and compensation, craft a detailed position description, assemble and guide a search committee, create a scoring matrix, handle all candidate communication and documentation, and proactively reach out to potential candidates who may not be actively seeking new roles but are ideal for the position.
The search proceeds through three structured phases: an initial confidential review, semi-finalist screening, and finalist campus visits — all managed and facilitated by Stevens Strategy. We conduct thorough background and reference checks on finalists and remain involved through offer negotiations and the appointment process.
A structured, professionally managed search process calibrated to your institution’s culture, timeline, and budget — with a qualified, vetted candidate at the end of it. At every tier, you receive our honest counsel, our active involvement, and our full institutional knowledge brought to bear on one of the most important decisions you’ll make.
A title gets filled either way. What a great search process delivers is confidence — that the person in that seat is genuinely the right one, chosen through a rigorous and fair process, and set up to lead from day one.
Jim Collins’s insight that you must first get the right people in the right seats before figuring out where to drive the organization lives at the heart of everything we do in executive search.
