Description
SUMMARY
Ensworth is an outstanding, nationally acclaimed, large, K–12 independent school in Nashville, Tennessee. Its two distinct campuses reflect the multidimensionality and ever-growing landscape of Nashville. The historic Red Gables Campus, situated in a mature residential neighborhood, offers an idyllic setting for approximately 750 students in the lower- and middle- school divisions. Fifteen minutes away, the Frist Campus, which opened about 20 years ago when Ensworth added a high school, serves approximately 500 students with outstanding arts and athletic facilities and state-of-the-art academic learning spaces that are undergoing some refreshes to even better serve interdisciplinary and innovation programs, particularly in technology, engineering, and design.
Ensworth is excited to welcome a new role to the school: chief technology officer (CTO). Reporting to the CFOO, the CTO will manage a team of approximately 5–6 IT/IS professionals that for the last two years have been working in two completely separate functional units, one for each campus. This new, unified team will include full-time support roles on both campuses and centralized services roles in network, systems, and database management. The CTO will be an important partner to the instructional technology team, which reports up to other academic administrators, and the CTO will have an important voice on all-school instructional technology strategy. While contributing to instructional technology vision is important, the primary focal points for the CTO for the first one or two years will be to ensure that the IT/IS team is cohesively and comprehensively serving both campuses, and that technology operations are as seamless as possible for end users across the school.
Ensworth seeks a dynamic, skilled technology leader with experience in large educational institutions, as well as a warm, high-EQ communicator who will build relationships and ensure the delivery of outstanding technology service and support to the nearly 2,000 individuals on its two campuses each day. Ensworth looks forward to welcoming the CTO to begin July 1, 2026, or earlier by mutual agreement.
12M & Ed Tech Recruiting is running the search on behalf of Ensworth. Applications received by February 27 will receive priority review. For application instructions and the full job opportunity statement, please visit:
www.EdTechTecruiting.com/jobs/Ensworth/CTO
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Priority Deadline: February 27, 2026
Initial Client Review: Early to mid-March
Semifinal Round: Week of March 23
On-site Final Round: Week of April 6
Decision Announced: April 17, 2026
Start Date: July 1, 2026 (or earlier)
Reports To: Chief Finance & Operations Officer
Classification: Full-time, Exempt
SPECIFIC DUTIES
Technology Vision & Leadership
- Lead the unification of core technology operations across two large campuses in support of a seamless delivery of IT/IS services in an enterprise, K-12 educational environment.
- Build departmental connections with academic, administrative, and operational constituents throughout the school.
- Serve in a project management and consultative capacity for large-scale technology initiatives, both within the department and across the entire school.
- Collaborate with senior leadership and key stakeholders to align technology initiatives, policies, and services to the needs of each campus and various all-school departments.
- Establish and maintain local, regional, and national partnerships to support the strategic goals of the school’s technology program.
IT/IS Operations
- Oversee IT/IS operations, planning, policies, and procedures within a management framework that serves a two-campus school.
- Oversee and evaluate the deployment of all hardware, software, systems, back-end infrastructure, and services from various perspectives, including cost-effectiveness, customer satisfaction, compliance, asset management, quality of service, and performance.
- Ensure that the department responds to end-user needs, provides a reliable IT backbone, designs and delivers excellent end-user training, and aligns procedures to all-school needs.
- Ensure IT data security, risk management, disaster recovery, and planning processes are in place and receive regular review for currency and adequacy.
- Collaborate with specialized or emerging service units supporting complex A/V needs across the school.
Departmental Administration
- Lead and directly supervise the newly created all-school technology department, which will include a team of 5-6 professionals in helpdesk services, network, systems, and database management.
- Evaluate departmental structures and staffing to ensure that technology operations are well-supported across both campuses, and leverage external vendors as needed for departmental support.
- In partnership with the CFOO, oversee the allocation and management of the technology budget, ensuring effective use of resources.
- Report directly to the CFOO and perform other duties as assigned.
Requirements
QUALIFICATIONS
Professional Qualifications
- Possession of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, with advanced coursework in information systems or a related field desirable
- 7+ years of experience leading technology departments and supervising technology employees
- Prior experience managing and administering major components of an IT/IS program in an enterprise organization, preferably in an educational or nonprofit setting including: security, networking, backup, disaster and recovery planning, risk management, A/V, and hardware deployment
- Experience leading organizational change and implementing staff development initiatives in alignment with a strategic vision
Leadership and Personal Qualities
- A multitasking approach to planning and overseeing concurrent technology-related programs and projects, combined with outstanding motivational skills to ensure completion and success
- Excellent leadership and communication skills, with the ability to manage and inspire a diverse team of technology professionals that works on two large, separate campuses
- A collaborative, cooperative, empathetic, collegial, innovative, and patient mindset
- A thoughtful but determined approach to departmental objectives and individual staff growth while remaining attuned to the school’s mission, values, and goals
- An understanding of the diverse technology needs and organizational complexities of a multidivisional, multicampus independent school
- A willingness to participate in the daily operations of an independent school, which can include evening and weekend work
- A commitment to the ideals expressed in Ensworth’s Mission Statement, Vision Statement, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement
TO APPLY
For more information please visit the following link, which contains the job opportunity statement and complete application instructions.
