Assistant Director (Communications Generalist) Student Central

The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Inc.; Bloomington (IN); Hybrid; USD 30,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Tuition subsidy for IU courses

Paid holidays and generous leave

Employee assistance program

Job summary

Indiana University Bloomington, Office of Enrollment Management, seeks a Senior Student Central leader to oversee integrated student services. You will supervise staff, ensure compliant operations, and collaborate with Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar, Scholarships, and Bursar to enhance the student experience.

You will drive efforts in recruitment, enrollment, persistence, and degree completion while maintaining policy interpretation and service quality.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, English, public relations, or related field.
• 4 years of progressive experience in student services or higher education administration.
• Experience interpreting complex policies and regulations.
• Leadership and supervisory experience.
• Experience in a one-stop student service environment.
• Knowledge of federal financial aid regulations and student records.
• Experience using student information systems and enrollment tech.
• Experience leading process improvement initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership and strategic support for Student Central's integrated services.
• Supervise staff and manage daily operations with compliance to policies.
• Collaborate with Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar, Bursar, and partners to deliver services.
• Support recruitment, enrollment, persistence, and degree completion efforts.
• Develop and maintain procedures for consistent service delivery.
• Analyze service metrics and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Participate in strategic planning and university committees.

Skills

Written and verbal communication

Professionalism

Time management

Quality mindset

Flexibility

Continuous learning

Education

Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, English, public relations, or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office

Student Information Systems

Job description

Department

STUDENT CENTRAL (BL-SCTR-IUBLA)

Department Information

The Office of Enrollment Management (OEM) at Indiana UniversityBloomington is dedicated to attracting, enrolling, and supporting a community of talented students from Indiana, across the nation, andaround the world. OEM integrates strategic planning, data-informed decision-making, and collaborative partnerships across campus to create a seamless student experience from first contact throughgraduation. Through its units Admissions, Scholarships, theRegistrar, Student Financial Assistance, Student Central, Orientation and Enrollment Programs, Retention, Planning and Research, Enrollment Marketing and Communications, Administration and Fiscal Affairs, and Development OEM advances the university's mission by fostering access, belonging, and student success whileupholding IU Bloomington's tradition of academic excellence and public service.

Student Central serves as Indiana University Bloomington's integrated one-stop student services center, providing comprehensive support to current and prospective students, families, faculty, staff, and external stakeholders. Student Central delivers high-quality service across admissions, financial aid, scholarships, billing and payment services, financial literacy, enrollment, registration, and student records. Through a student-centered approach, Student Central helps students navigate complex administrative processes, access critical resources, and achieve their educational goals.

Job Summary

Department Specific Responsibilities

• Provides leadership, operational oversight, and strategic support for Student Central's integrated student service functions.
• Responsible for supervising staff, managing daily operations, ensuring compliance with university, state, and federal regulations, and advancing initiatives that improve service quality, operational efficiency, and the overall student experience.
• Serves as a key leader within Student Central and collaborates closely with the Office of Admissions, Office of Student Financial Assistance, Office of the Registrar, Office of Scholarships, and Office of the Bursar, and other campus partners to ensure the effective delivery of student services.
• Plays a critical role in supporting student recruitment, enrollment, persistence, retention, and degree completion by helping reduce administrative barriers and providing accurate, timely, and student-centered support.
• Supervises, coaches, develops, and evaluates professional and support staff
• Establishes performance expectations and promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Assists with recruitment, hiring, onboarding, and training of staff.
• Fosters a welcoming and student-centered service environment.
• Serve as a resource and escalation point for complex student and family concerns
• Oversees daily service delivery across multiple communication channels, including in-person, phone, email, secure contact forms and virtual platforms.
• Monitors staffing levels, workload distribution, service standards, and operational performance.
• Ensures accurate interpretation and application of university policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Identifies operational challenges and implement solutions to improve efficiency and service quality.
• Develops and maintains procedures that support consistent and effective service delivery.
• Serves as a primary resource to all Student Central staff.
• Maintains expertise in admissions, financial aid, scholarships, billing and payment services, enrollment, registration, student records, and related student services.
• Ensures compliance with federal and state regulations, university policies, and audit requirements.
• Assists students and families with complex issues requiring advanced problem-solving and policy interpretation.
• Collaborates with campus partners to resolve service issues and improve the student experience.
• Supports initiatives that promote student success, retention, and access to university resources.
• Analyzes service metrics, student feedback, and operational data to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
• Participates in strategic planning and implementation of departmental and institutional initiatives.
• Leads or contributes to process improvement, workflow redesign, and technology enhancement projects.
• Develops recommendations that support operational effectiveness and student success goals.
• Participates in university committees, workgroups, and special projects as assigned.
• Represents Student Central in campus meetings, presentations, and outreach activities.
• Supports financial literacy, enrollment, and student success initiatives.
• Builds and maintains collaborative relationships with campus partners and external stakeholders.
• Promotes awareness of Student Central services and resources among students and families.

General Responsibilities

• Independently creates basic communications for print and e-distribution on behalf of department or functional area within department and in support of departmental goals and objectives; communications may be interdepartmental; staff, faculty, or student-focused; or external.
• Responds to inquiries and requests and explains policies, procedures, and context of communications.
• Manages relationships with various internal and external stakeholders and creates communications coverage for relevant initiatives, events, and programs.
• Prepares communications timelines and shares progress of communications toward relevant deadlines with manager, team members, and other relevant constituents.
• Regularly monitors relevant social media and news sites; researches relevant subject matter to increase knowledge in area(s) of specialty.
• Utilizes various communications software programs and delivers communications in multiple formats to a variety of audiences.

Qualifications

Combinations of related education and experience may be considered. Education beyond the minimum required may be substituted for work experience. Work experience beyond the minimum required may be substituted for education.

EDUCATION

Required

• Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, English, public relations, or related field.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Preferred

• 4 years of progressively responsible experience in student services, enrollment management, higher education administration, financial aid, registrar services, customer service operations, or related field.
• Experience interpreting and applying complex policies, procedures, and regulations.
• Demonstrated leadership, supervisory, or team lead experience.
• Some experience in relevant field.
• Experience in a one-stop student service environment.
• Experience supervising professional staff.
• Knowledge of federal financial aid regulations and student records policies
• Experience using student information systems and enrollment management technologies.
• Experience leading process improvement or operational effectiveness initiatives.

SKILLS

Required

• Proficient written and verbal communication skills.
• Maintains a high degree of professionalism.
• Demonstrates time management and priority setting skills.
• Demonstrates a high commitment to quality.
• Possesses flexibility to work in a fast paced, dynamic environment.
• Seeks to acquire knowledge in area of specialty.

Preferred

• Excellent leadership, interpersonal, and customer service skills.
• Strong written and verbal communications abilities.
• Ability to analyze complex situations and make sound decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong organizational, planning, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to use data to assess performance and drive continuous improvement.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and enterprise student information systems.

Working Conditions / Demands

This role requires the ability to effectively communicate and to operate a computer and other standard office productivity equipment. The position involves sedentary work as well as periods of time moving around an office environment and the campus. The person in this role must be able to perform the essential functions with or without an accommodation.

Work Location

Bloomington, Indiana

This position is eligible for a hybrid schedule (mix between remote and in-person work), subject to change in the future based on university policy and business needs.

Advertised Salary

Up to $50,000 based on experience

Work Hours

Position generally requires work during standard university business hours.

Occasional evening or weekend hours may be required to support university events, orientations, enrollment activities, or special projects.

Benefits Overview

For full-time staff employees, Indiana University offers a wide array of benefits including:

• Comprehensive medical and dental insurance
• Health savings account with generous IU contributions
• Healthcare and dependent care flexible spending accounts
• Basic group life insurance paid by IU
• Voluntary supplemental life, long-term disability, critical illness, and supplemental accidental death & dismemberment insurance
• Base retirement plan with generous IU contributions, subject to vesting
• Voluntary supplemental retirement plan options
• Tuition subsidy for employees and family members taking IU courses
• 10 paid holidays plus a paid winter break each year
• Generous paid time off plans
• Paid leave for new parents and IU-sponsored volunteer events
• Employee assistance program (EAP)

Learn more about our benefits by reviewing the IUBenefit Programs Brochure.

Job Classification

Career Level: Core

FLSA: Exempt

Job Function: Marketing & Communications

Job Family: Communications Generalist

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Equal Employment Opportunity

Indiana University is an equal opportunity employer and provider of ADA services and prohibits discrimination in hiring. See Indiana University Notice of Non-Discrimination here which includes contact information.

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