By James Palmieri

For many independent school chief financial officers, retirement has traditionally marked the culmination of a long and successful career. After decades spent developing budgets, advising boards, overseeing operations, navigating enrollment cycles, managing risk, and helping schools advance their missions through sound financial stewardship, stepping away from a full-time role can feel both well-earned and bittersweet.

Yet for many business officers, retirement is not necessarily about slowing down - it is about creating more flexibility, pursuing different opportunities, and deciding how and when to continue contributing. The reality is that the skills developed over a career in independent school finance and operations remain highly valuable long after a CFO leaves a permanent position. Schools continue to need experienced leaders who understand the unique complexities of independent school governance, culture, enrollment-driven business models, and mission-driven decision-making.

At the same time, leadership transitions remain an inevitable part of school life. A retirement, unexpected resignation, medical leave, or extended search process can create an immediate need for experienced financial leadership. Schools cannot pause budgeting, financial reporting, audits, enrollment forecasting, board communication, or strategic planning while they search for a permanent successor. Interim CFOs play a critical role in helping schools maintain continuity, stability, and momentum during these transitions while allowing schools the time necessary to conduct a thoughtful search for the right long-term leader. NBOA has long recognized the value interim CFOs provide by ensuring business operations continue smoothly and helping schools navigate leadership transitions without disruption.

For experienced business officers, interim leadership offers more than an opportunity to fill a temporary vacancy. It presents a chance to remain engaged in meaningful work, leverage decades of expertise, enjoy greater professional flexibility, and continue contributing to the profession that has shaped their careers.

Continue Making a Difference

Independent school CFOs often view their work as more than a profession - it is a commitment to supporting educational missions and helping schools thrive. After spending years helping schools navigate challenges and seize opportunities, many leaders discover they still have a desire to contribute, mentor, and solve problems.

Serving as an interim CFO allows experienced business officers to continue supporting students, faculty, and school communities without assuming the long-term responsibilities of another permanent position. The opportunity to help a school through a pivotal transition can be every bit as rewarding as leading one over the long term.

Put Decades of Experience to Immediate Use

Veteran business officers bring a depth of knowledge that cannot easily be replicated. Having guided schools through enrollment shifts, economic uncertainty, audits, capital projects, strategic planning processes, and board-level decision making, they often possess exactly the expertise schools need during times of transition.

Unlike leaders who may require months to learn the nuances of independent school operations, experienced interim CFOs can quickly assess priorities, identify risks, maintain momentum, and provide trusted counsel to heads of school and boards. Their value extends well beyond managing day-to-day operations; they bring perspective, confidence, and stability at a moment when schools need it most. Interim CFOs are often particularly effective when focused on a small number of mission-critical priorities that help a school move forward while preparing for its next permanent leader.

Enjoy Greater Professional Flexibility

One of the most appealing aspects of interim leadership is that there is no single model for engagement.

Some business officers may welcome the opportunity to relocate temporarily and immerse themselves in a new school community for six months or a year. For individuals who enjoy travel, adventure, and the chance to experience different regions of the country, interim assignments can become a fulfilling second career in their own right.

Others may prefer opportunities that allow them to remain closer to home. Increasingly, schools are open to hybrid arrangements that combine strategic on-campus engagement with remote leadership. In many successful engagements, an interim CFO spends significant time on campus at the outset, building relationships, learning systems, and understanding the school's culture. Once those foundations are established, the work may shift to a primarily remote model supported by regular visits tied to budget development, strategic planning, audits, board meetings, and other key milestones.

This flexibility creates opportunities that simply did not exist for previous generations of business officers and allows experienced leaders to design a next chapter that aligns with both personal priorities and professional interests.

Give Back to the Profession

Beyond the benefits to individual schools and leaders, interim service offers an opportunity to strengthen the independent school profession itself.

Independent schools are experiencing a significant period of leadership transition as many long-serving business officers approach retirement. As these leaders leave full-time roles, schools risk losing decades of institutional knowledge and professional expertise.

When experienced CFOs remain engaged through interim assignments, they help preserve and transfer that knowledge. They serve as mentors to emerging leaders, advisors to heads of school, and stabilizing forces for business office teams. Their continued involvement helps ensure that hard-earned lessons remain within the independent school community rather than being lost when a career concludes.

In many respects, interim leadership becomes a form of professional stewardship - an opportunity to support not only individual schools, but also the future generation of business officers who will follow.

A Meaningful Next Chapter

For many independent school CFOs, the end of a full-time position does not have to mark the end of their professional impact. Interim leadership offers a meaningful way to remain engaged, support schools during critical transitions, and continue sharing hard-earned expertise while enjoying greater flexibility and balance.

Whether you are recently retired, approaching retirement, or simply considering what the next stage of your career might look like, interim service offers a compelling opportunity to continue advancing the missions you care about while working in a way that fits your life today.

Your next chapter may not be another permanent position. It may be helping several schools successfully navigate theirs.

Join Our Talent Pool