Case study: Head of Primary Recruitment | Sardinia International School

Sardinia International School (SIS) is a new international school. Set up as a societal benefit organisation, it offers an all-through education for local and European families as well as international boarding students.

The school sits within a wider group of projects across Sardinia focused on education, agriculture, tourism and social mobility, with SIS acting as the central hub and the first to take shape.

The campus combines newly built facilities with repurposed buildings from a former sports resort. Careful attention has been given to creating a high-quality environment for pupils, staff and the wider community.

In its foundation year, Peridot partnered with SIS to appoint a founding Head of Primary, a role that would play a central part in setting the direction of the school.

Context.

As the only international school in the region, SIS did not yet have an established reputation to attract candidates. A core part of the search focused on raising awareness of the school and clearly communicating its vision to an international audience.

Peridot worked closely with the leadership team through a detailed briefing and discovery phase to build a strong understanding of the opportunity and its challenges. While some foundations were already in place, there remained real scope for the incoming Head to shape the school.

At the time, the campus was still under development. Visiting the site helped bring the project to life and provided a clearer view of its progress and potential.

SIS is designed to serve both local and international communities. The Head of Primary therefore needed to be comfortable engaging across a broad and diverse audience. Familiarity with the Italian system was helpful, though not essential.

Brief.

The Head of Primary would lead the school through its early growth, guiding its culture, educational approach and position in the market. This required a leader who could build with intent while navigating the realities of a startup environment.

A clear and honest narrative about both the opportunity and the challenges was central to the search. Pre-application conversations were used to explore how candidates would approach this stage of development.

The search itself was global, targeting candidates across Europe, Asia and the Americas. The aim was to find someone with strong international experience who could also connect with the local context, whether through prior work in multilingual settings or a blend of Italian and international experience.

Outcome.

The search attracted a strong and relevant international field. Candidates included experienced school leaders from across Europe and Asia, with a range of backgrounds in bilingual and international education.

Following initial interviews, shortlisted candidates were invited to the school for final assessment. Peridot designed a multi-stage process that enabled a clear, evidence-based comparison of leadership approach and experience.

The successful candidate brings both international and Italian school leadership experience, strengthening the school’s ability to connect locally while building its international profile.

The final shortlist reflected different but complementary strengths, including leadership experience in bilingual schools, expertise in European education systems and strong grounding in the Italian context.