Director of Admission Operations

Director of Admission Operations
Whitman College

WHITMAN COLLEGE

Located in the historic community of Walla Walla, Whitman's beautiful tree-lined campus is home to an intellectually dynamic, diverse, and supportive community of some 500 staff and faculty and 1,500 students. With an endowment exceeding $500 million, fiercely loyal alumni, exceptional students, and accomplished faculty and staff, Whitman College continues to build on its national reputation for academic excellence ranking as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country.

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Director of Admission Operations is a senior leadership role in the admission office, partnering with the Director of Admission and reporting to the Vice President for Enrollment and Communications. The director is a member of the senior leadership team for the admission, communications and financial aid (ACF) team.

The director shares responsibility, with the Director of Admission, for the overall experience of prospective students and families as they navigate the college exploration and application process at Whitman, and should always have as a primary goal presenting Whitman in the best possible light and making students and families feel valued in the process.

The director leads a staff of eight who collectively coordinate the logistics of application processing, on-and-off campus admission events, campus visits, print and digital communications, and the physical admission office space. The director is responsible for day-to-day forecasting, tracking and reporting on the admission budget and plans the admission budget in collaboration with the director of admission. They oversee project management processes across admission, communications and financial aid. In partnership with the assistant director of admission analytics, they manage the integrity of the college's admission data system and ensure it meets the operational and strategic needs of the college.

PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES

• Oversee a team of eight staff members (Receptionist, Administrative Assistant, Travel Coordinator, Events Coordinator, Application Coordinator, Campus Visit Coordinator, Operations Coordinator, Project Management Coordinator).
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the physical admission office space, ensuring that it is both a welcoming environment for prospective students and families, and a productive work environment for admission staff.
• Oversee the logistics for processing admission applications and releasing admission decisions, ensuring that data is accurate, complete and remains private, and that admission decisions, financial aid awards, and all interim communications are released accurately and on schedule.
• Oversee scheduling and logistics for the campus visit program, ensuring a personalized experience for prospective students and families that presents the best possible version of Whitman College and caters to the needs and interests of students and families.
• Oversee the logistics and promotion for both on- and off-campus recruitment events.
• Oversee the operational flow of print and digital communications between the college and prospective students and families, including managing emails and texts from the Slate CRM and overseeing inventory for print materials.
• With the Assistant Director of Admission Analytics, develop processes and procedures for operational data management in Slate, the college's admission CRM.
• Oversee travel support for admission officers.
• Responsible for development and maintenance of project management processes and tools across admission, communications and financial aid. Solves project management challenges on a daily basis to keep projects on time, on budget, and within scope.
• In accordance with Whitman's strategic priorities around diversity, equity and inclusion, and in line with Whitman's work to be an anti-racist organization, work to make all prospective students and families feel included and welcome at Whitman College, and adopt practices and policies that build a welcoming and inclusive work environment.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Exceptional staff management and collaboration skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Strong problem solving skills
• Systems and process oriented
• Excellent project management skills, including a strong understanding of professional project management software and practices. Knowledge of Wrike or a similar project management tool is strongly preferred.
• Expert user of a CRM or similar data system. Knowledge of Technolutions Slate preferred.
• Comfort with and ability to quickly adopt new technologies and systems
• Proven ability to analyze and use data to solve challenges and answer questions
• Proven ability to transition seamlessly between planning/organizing and executing the work
• Proven ability to manage a budget of more than $1 million.
• Proven ability to model a customer-service approach and build a customer service culture among staff
• Proven ability to manage relationships with outsourced vendors and other partners
• Ability to work with and effectively meet the needs of diverse populations and create practices and policies that promote inclusive environments

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree
• Five or more years of related work experience
• Three or more years of management experience with multiple direct reports

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Master's degree or equivalent experience
• Higher education and admission experience is preferred but candidates with strong skills will be considered regardless of industry background.

APPLICATION REVIEW

Application review will begin Nov. 27 and will continue until the position is filled.

START DATE

January 4, 2021

For full application instructions and position description, visit https://whitman.bamboohr.com/jobs/view.php?id=33




jeid-6c9ec8b1f722204389af373d46ed8f0c