Director of Admissions

Position Summary

The Director of Admissions leads student recruitment, admissions, and enrollment across three campuses. The Director develops the Admissions team, sets enrollment goals, analyzes funnel performance, and improves results while ensuring an ethical, responsive, student-focused experience from inquiry through enrollment and start.

In partnership with campus and institutional leaders, the Director aligns recruitment with program capacity, workforce demand, student needs, and institutional priorities. The role balances enrollment growth, compliance, student experience, and responsible stewardship in support of the nonprofit mission of Transforming Lives and Empowering Futures.

Leadership and Team Development

- Lead, recruit, hire, onboard, train, and develop the Admissions team across all campuses; establish clear individual and team expectations.

- Conduct coaching, team meetings, pipeline reviews, performance evaluations, improvement plans, and corrective action as appropriate; maintain accountability for results.

- Provide ongoing training in communication, relationship-building, program knowledge, admissions processes, compliance, technology, and prospective-student engagement.

- Manage staffing, scheduling, campus coverage, and resources based on enrollment needs and lead volume; develop future leaders and succession capacity.

Enrollment Strategy and Performance

- Develop and execute recruitment strategies aligned with enrollment goals, program capacity, budgets, and institutional priorities; set measurable campus, program, team, and individual goals.

- Oversee the inquiry-to-start funnel; establish and analyze KPIs by campus, program, lead source, and team member, and address performance gaps promptly.

- Prepare enrollment forecasts and report progress, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions to the President and institutional leadership.

- Evaluate processes, staffing, technology, and departmental structure; recommend improvements informed by market conditions, workforce trends, and competitive programs.

Prospective Student Experience and Operations

- Ensure timely, accurate, professional communication and consistent standards for lead response, follow-up, appointments, applications, enrollment, and start preparation.

- Ensure accurate communication of program requirements, schedules, outcomes, services, career opportunities, costs, and required disclosures; guide students based on goals, readiness, and program fit, including when a program is unsuitable.

- Oversee inquiries, applications, enrollments, re-entries, campus tours, recruitment activities, and prospective-student events.

- Standardize processes, documentation, CRM and student information system use, and service expectations; improve the student journey and remove unnecessary enrollment barriers.

Compliance and Ethical Recruitment

- Ensure compliance with institutional policies, accreditation requirements, state and federal regulations, and ethical recruitment standards through training, quality reviews, and appropriate documentation.

- Prevent misleading statements or guarantees about employment, compensation, financial aid, credit transferability, and program or student outcomes; ensure complete, accurate information.

- Maintain readiness for accreditation, regulatory, and internal reviews; partner with Compliance, Financial Aid, Registrar, and Academic Leadership to resolve concerns.

Collaboration and Community Partnerships

- Partner with Marketing on lead generation and quality, campaigns, messaging, market opportunities, and conversion; align enrollment with campus and academic capacity, schedules, staffing, and priorities.

- Coordinate with Financial Aid, Registrar, Career Services, and other departments to support students from inquiry through enrollment and start.

- Build relationships with workforce agencies, tribal organizations, Vocational Rehabilitation, veteran-serving organizations, employers, high schools, and community referral partners; develop recruitment channels, partnerships, programs, and populations that expand access and support enrollment.

- Represent the institution at recruitment events, career fairs, community events, and presentations.

Institutional Leadership

- Model CARES values—Collaborative, Adaptable, Resilient, Empowered, and Student-focused—and a collaborative, accountable culture that connects enrollment growth, responsible recruitment, student success, and resource stewardship to the mission.

- Contribute to leadership planning and problem-solving; participate in institutional events, graduations, and professional development; perform other duties as assigned.

Key Performance Expectations

Evaluation may include enrollment goals; funnel conversion; response and follow-up; forecasting; team productivity and development; CRM use and data integrity; compliance and quality; student experience; collaboration; and effective recruitment and referral partnerships.

Qualifications

Education and Experience

- Bachelor’s degree in business, education, marketing, management, communications, or a related field preferred; equivalent education and relevant experience may be considered.

- Three to five years of progressive experience in admissions, enrollment, recruitment, sales leadership, staffing, workforce development, or a comparable performance-driven setting preferred; three years of supervisory or team leadership experience strongly preferred.

- Demonstrated success setting expectations, coaching, analyzing performance, and achieving measurable goals. Career education, higher education, workforce development, nonprofit, and multi-location recruitment or enrollment experience preferred.

- across multiple locations preferred

Required Skills and Abilities

- Ability to lead, coach, train, and hold teams accountable; understand admissions, enrollment, recruitment, sales, staffing, or a comparable relationship-based conversion environment; analyze data and turn findings into action.

- Strong judgment balancing enrollment, student needs, compliance, and institutional priorities; excellent communication, presentation, interpersonal, organizational, and problem-solving skills; ability to manage multiple campuses and deadlines with professionalism, discretion, accountability, and integrity.

- Proficiency with CRM and student information systems, Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, and related technology; ability to travel regularly and work occasional evenings or weekends as needed.

Physical Requirements

- Prolonged periods of sitting and working at a computer.

- Ability to move throughout campus facilities and participate in recruitment and institutional events.

- Ability to lift up to 20 pounds occasionally.

- Ability to travel between campuses and to off-site recruitment, community, and professional events.