Associate Director, Slate Communications

• Job Type: Officer of Administration
• Bargaining Unit:
• Regular/Temporary: Regular
• End Date if Temporary:
• Hours Per Week: 35
• Salary Range: $80,000 - $100,000

The salary of the finalist selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to departmental budgets, qualifications, experience, education, licenses, specialty, and training. The above hiring range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate of the range of possible compensation at the time of posting.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director of Admissions, the Associate Director, Slate Communications will participate in the recruitment and admission of the highest caliber students for the School of Professional Studies’ growing set of offerings.  These offerings currently include cross-disciplinary Master’s Degree Programs, Pre-Graduate and Graduate Certificate Programs, Structured and Unstructured Certifications of Professional Achievement, take-a-class options for bachelor’s degree holders and visiting students enrolled at other institutions, High School Programs, and the American Language Programs.

The Associate Director will play an active role in designing and implementing comprehensive communication plans for communicating with admitted and prospective students. In partnership with the Marketing, Admissions, and program teams, this position will manage and create multi-channel communication plans within Slate CRM system to facilitate ongoing contact with applicants throughout the admissions process, develop and execute strategies to enhance the applicant experience, and conduct follow-up success rate analyses as needed. This position is a key decision-maker for the Office of Admissions and will involve long-term strategic thinking and planning as well as key oversight of the Slate CRM system.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for creation and management of email communication plans for portfolio of MS, CPA, and all Continuing Education programs
• Develops a robust value-added communications strategy across the SPS portfolio of programs
• Oversees building, testing, and sending of all emails in communication plans
• Drafts email communications for students throughout the admissions life cycle in collaboration with Admissions, Advising, and program teams
• Creates and documents recipient list parameters for accurate mailings
• Conducts A/B testing to evaluate effectiveness of email messaging
• Evaluates email effectiveness through review of bounce rates and click-throughs
• Partners with Marketing and Advising teams to ensure smooth transitions between the communications coming from each team
• Maintains Admissions websites, conducting regular audits to ensure requirements, and deadlines, and program information are correct and up-to-date
• Leads individual and group meetings to coordinate information between team members and across other teams    
• Partners across Student Affairs to assist with school wide events such as orientation and graduation
• Performs related duties & responsibilities as assigned/requested

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree and/or equivalent related experience required
• 4-6  years related experience
• A resume and cover letter with salary requirements must be submitted to be considered for the position

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree desirable
• Experience in higher education, specifically in an admissions or recruitment marketing team
• Experience with Technolutions Slate CRM strongly preferred
• Master’s degree
• Familiarity with SPS program offerings

Other Requirements

• Demonstrated experience using a relational database, online application system and/or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool, ideally in a higher education setting
• Familiarity with or willingness to learn SIS, Slate, and other systems, applications and software used by the University and the School
• Proven track record of identifying and implementing improvements to streamline and/or automate communication plans
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with key stakeholders and capture value propositions
• Demonstrated project management experience
• Excellent interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills
• Exceptional attention to detail, strong organization and time management skills, and the ability to perform routine and non-routine work with changing priorities and aggressive deadlines
• Sound problem-solving and decision-making abilities, both as an independent entity and as part of a team
• Ability to handle confidential information in a mature, professional manner
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications including Word and Excel
• Experience working in a fast-paced environment
• Some evening work may be required

Equal Opportunity Employer / Disability / Veteran

Columbia University is committed to the hiring of qualified local residents.

Commitment to Diversity  Columbia University is dedicated to increasing diversity in its workforce, its student body, and its educational programs. Achieving continued academic excellence and creating a vibrant university community require nothing less. In fulfilling its mission to advance diversity at the University, Columbia seeks to hire, retain, and promote exceptionally talented individuals from diverse backgrounds.