MAT CEO Recruitment

Appointing a Chief Executive is the single most consequential decision a trust board makes. It shapes the next strategic cycle and sets the standard your executive team and headteachers will be held to for years. 

Propelo runs MAT CEO searches for multi-academy trusts and LA maintained schools across England. We work to hire permanently and on interim cover where searches we run are sector-native to our consultants. Our candidate relationships and our Propelo Associate Network all sit inside the state education system.

Choosing permanent search and interim cover for MAT CEO

Most trusts approach us for one of the two routes, but a meaningful proportion need both including interim cover first, then a permanent search running alongside.

Permanent MAT CEO search is the right route when you have six to ten weeks for a proper campaign and you're looking for a Chief Executive who will shape the organisation over multiple school improvement cycles. Most trusts we work with appoint within this window, with around 87% of the permanent executive searches we ran last year resulting in a first-time appointment.

Interim CEO cover is the right call when the trust needs experienced leadership in post within two to three weeks, after an unplanned resignation, an Ofsted outcome, a DfE concern notice, or a specific transformation programme. Interim CEO placements deploy from the Propelo Associate Network, which includes former MAT CEOs, Executive Headteachers and system leaders available at short notice, all IR35 compliant and contracted through Propelo.

Running both together is common for founding CEO successions and post-intervention scenarios, where the trust needs stability now and a substantive appointment once the ground has settled. We manage continuity across both so the incoming permanent CEO inherits a stable executive position rather than a crisis.

Recruiting your MAT CEO: Our process

• Introduction brief. 

CEO scoping is different from any other executive appointment because it involves the whole board, not just the Chair. We'll typically run the initial scoping conversation with the Chair plus two or three trustees, and we'll come prepared with a view on what the trust's DfE trust quality descriptions indicate about the profile you need, the central services maturity your next CEO will inherit, and the succession context including where the founding CEO's departure needs to be managed confidentially.

• Building your campaign. 

CEO role specifications vary significantly by trust scale and growth stage. A 6-school trust consolidating is looking for a different profile than a 15-school MAT accelerating central services. We will build the ideal campaign and find a great fit for your situation. 

• Taking your role to market. 

MAT CEO candidates come from the sector - serving Chief Executives in adjacent trusts, Executive Headteachers ready for the step up, Deputy CEOs and Regional Directors ready for their first substantive executive role, and system leaders moving back from DfE or sector body roles. Our search is direct and confidential; the right CEO candidates rarely respond to public advertising, which is why we rely on active outreach supported by a professionally designed recruitment pack.

• Supporting you through to appointment. 

CEO assessment is more rigorous than other executive roles because the accountability exposure is higher and the CEO is the accounting officer under the Academies Financial Handbook, carries statutory accountability to the DfE, and leads the executive relationship with Ofsted. We support board interview design, stakeholder panel facilitation where helpful and safeguarding-informed competency interviews. References and safeguarding checks are completed before any offer is made.

Why trusts choose Propelo for MAT CEO recruitment

• Experience across trust scale and context. 
• Confidentiality handled properly. 
• Both permanent and interim, with continuity between them. 
• Honest advice when the brief needs adjusting.