Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management

Howard University; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health & Wellness program

PTO and paid holidays

403(b) with company match

Tuition reimbursement and professional

Job summary

Howard University’s Talent Acquisition team seeks a Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management for the School of Social Work. You will lead graduate admissions and enrollment across on-campus and online programs, aligning strategies with university goals and external partners.

You will oversee recruitment, collaboration with an Online Program Manager, and data-driven decision making to optimize yield and diversity of the student body.

Qualifications

• MSW (preferred) or related Master’s degree from an accredited institution.
• Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in graduate admissions, enrollment management, recruitment, higher education administration, or a closely related area.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing enrollment or recruitment strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze enrollment data and translate findings into strategy and action.
• Experience working collaboratively with faculty in an academic environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for the School's graduate admissions processes from application through enrollment.
• Develop efficient, applicant-centered admissions processes consistent with School and University requirements and graduate admissions best practices.
• Serve as the primary liaison with faculty and staff responsible for application review and admissions decisions.
• Establish application review calendars, workflows, expectations, and timelines to facilitate timely faculty review and admissions decisions.
• Monitor application processing and faculty review timelines and intervene when delays may adversely affect enrollment or applicant experience.
• Ensure admissions criteria and processes are applied consistently and appropriately across programs and modalities.
• Provide faculty and program leadership with relevant applicant and enrollment data to support admissions decision-making.
• Coordinate with University enrollment offices regarding admissions policies, systems, procedures, and compliance requirements.

Skills

Strategic enrollment leadership

Data-informed decision-making

Relationship management

Graduate admissions expertise

Growth orientation

Operational excellence

Collaborative leadership

Education

MSW or related Master’s degree

Tools

CRM

Admissions systems

Student information systems

Job description

The Talent Acquisition department hires qualified candidates to fill positions which contribute to the overall strategic success of Howard University. Hiring staff “for fit” makes significant contributions to Howard University’s overall mission. At Howard University, we prioritize well-being and professional growth. Here is what we offer:

• Health & Wellness: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, plus mental health support
• Work-Life Balance: PTO, paid holidays, flexible work arrangements
• Financial Wellness: Competitive salary, 403(b) with company match
• Professional Development: Ongoing training, tuition reimbursement, and career advancement paths
• Additional Perks: Wellness programs, commuter benefits, and a vibrant company culture

Join Howard University and thrive with us!

The Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for graduate admissions, recruitment, enrollment management, and yield initiatives for the School of Social Work's on-campus and online academic programs.

Reporting to School leadership, the Director is responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive enrollment strategy designed to attract, enroll, and retain a highly qualified and diverse student body while achieving the School's enrollment and revenue goals.

The Director leads the School's admissions and recruitment operations and serves as the primary School-level expert on graduate admissions and enrollment management. The position uses enrollment data, market intelligence, recruitment trends, and national best practices to inform decision-making and continuously strengthen the School's competitive position.

For online programs supported by a third-party Online Program Manager (OPM), the Director serves as the School's principal admissions and enrollment liaison with the OPM. The Director monitors recruitment and enrollment performance, coordinates University and OPM activities, and ensures that outsourced recruitment functions align with the School's enrollment objectives, admissions standards, policies, values, and expectations for the prospective student experience.

The Director works closely with faculty, academic program leadership, student services, financial aid, communications/marketing, field education, University enrollment offices, and external partners to provide an integrated approach to enrollment management.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

1. Enrollment Strategy and Planning — 25%

• Develop and implement a comprehensive enrollment management strategy for the School's on-campus and partners with the OPM for the online program.
• Establish enrollment goals, recruitment priorities, yield strategies, and enrollment projections in collaboration with School leadership.
• Develop enrollment plans that account for program capacity, graduation patterns, retention, new student enrollment, and institutional revenue objectives.
• Analyze historical and current enrollment trends to identify opportunities, risks, and emerging challenges.
• Develop short- and long-term strategies for sustainable growth of the School's online programs.
• Monitor national and regional trends affecting graduate social work enrollment and recommend appropriate responses.
• Assess market demand, competitor activity, prospective student behavior, and changes in graduate education that may affect enrollment.
• Provide regular enrollment forecasts, dashboards, and reports to School leadership.
• Develop strategies for balancing enrollment across on-campus, online, full-time, part-time, traditional, and advanced-standing pathways.

2. Recruitment, Marketing and Prospective Student Engagement — 20%

• Develop and oversee a comprehensive recruitment strategy for prospective social work students.
• Establish annual recruitment plans, goals, calendars, target populations, and performance measures.
• Direct recruitment activities for on-campus programs and coordinate recruitment strategy for the online program with the OPM.
• Identify opportunities to expand recruitment pipelines through colleges and universities, community organizations, employers, social service agencies, professional associations, and other partners.
• Oversee recruitment events, information sessions, graduate fairs, admitted-student programming, webinars, and other prospective student engagement activities.
• Collaborate with communications and marketing partners to ensure recruitment messaging accurately represents the School's programs, outcomes, values, and distinctive strengths.
• Evaluate the effectiveness and return on investment of recruitment strategies and recommend changes based on results.
• Ensure consistent and high-quality prospective student experiences across recruitment channels and program modalities.

3. Admissions Leadership and Faculty Coordination — 20%

• Provide leadership for the School's graduate admissions processes from application through enrollment.
• Develop efficient, applicant-centered admissions processes consistent with School and University requirements and graduate admissions best practices.
• Serve as the primary liaison with faculty and staff responsible for application review and admissions decisions.
• Establish application review calendars, workflows, expectations, and timelines to facilitate timely faculty review and admissions decisions.
• Monitor application processing and faculty review timelines and intervene when delays may adversely affect enrollment or applicant experience.
• Ensure admissions criteria and processes are applied consistently and appropriately across programs and modalities.
• Provide faculty and program leadership with relevant applicant and enrollment data to support admissions decision-making.
• Coordinate with University enrollment offices regarding admissions policies, systems, procedures, and compliance requirements.
• Regularly evaluate admissions processes and recommend improvements to increase efficiency, responsiveness, and applicant conversion.

4. OPM Partnership and Enrollment Management — 15%

• Serve with the Director of the Online Program as the School's primary enrollment management liaisons with the third-party Online Program Manager.
• Establish clear enrollment expectations, goals, performance indicators, reporting requirements, deadlines, and communication protocols with the OPM.
• Monitor the online recruitment funnel, including inquiries, leads, applications, completed applications, admissions decisions, deposits/intent to enroll, registrations, and matriculation.
• Hold regular enrollment performance meetings with appropriate School stakeholders and the OPM.
• Evaluate OPM recruitment strategies and performance relative to agreed-upon enrollment goals.
• Ensure OPM recruitment practices and communications accurately reflect University and School policies, capacity, admissions requirements, academic expectations, and program offerings.
• Identify and address operational barriers that contribute to applicant attrition or enrollment melt.
• Develop recommendations to School leadership for improving online enrollment and market position.

5. Yield, Conversion and Enrollment Management — 10%

• Develop systematic strategies for converting admitted students to enrolled students.
• Monitor application-to-admission, admission-to-enrollment, and enrollment-to-matriculation conversion rates.
• Develop targeted communication and engagement strategies for admitted students.
• Identify causes of applicant attrition and admitted-student melt and implement strategies to address them.
• Collaborate with Financial Aid and School leadership to understand financial barriers affecting enrollment and inform scholarship and financial-support strategies.
• Conduct analyses of students who decline admission, withdraw applications, or fail to matriculate to identify actionable enrollment trends.
• Develop re-engagement strategies for qualified applicants who do not initially enroll.
• Partner with student services and academic leadership to ensure appropriate handoff of newly enrolled students from recruitment/admissions to orientation and student support.

6. Data, Technology and Continuous Improvement — 10%

• Establish and monitor key performance indicators for admissions, recruitment, yield, and enrollment.
• Maintain accurate and timely admissions and enrollment data.
• Develop enrollment dashboards and routine reports for School leadership.
• Monitor metrics including inquiry-to-application conversion, application completion, admission rate, decision turnaround time, yield, melt, enrollment by program and modality, and recruitment source.
• Use CRM, admissions, and student information systems effectively to manage prospective student relationships and enrollment pipelines.
• Stay current with national best practices, technologies, and emerging approaches in graduate enrollment management.
• Use data and assessment findings to continuously improve recruitment, admissions, and enrollment processes.

Leadership and Supervisory Responsibilities

The Director provides leadership and supervision to admissions and recruitment activities within the School and establishes clear performance expectations, service standards, recruitment goals, and accountability measures. The Director works through a matrixed organizational structure and therefore must be highly effective at influencing and coordinating individuals and units that may not report directly to the position, including faculty admissions reviewers, academic program leaders, University enrollment offices, and third-party OPM personnel.

Key Performance Indicators

• New student enrollment by program modality
• On-campus enrollment growth
• Online program stability and strategic growth
• Application volume and quality
• Inquiry-to-application conversion
• Application completion rate
• Admissions decision turnaround time
• Admit-to-enroll yield
• Enrollment melt
• Enrollment against established targets
• Recruitment source effectiveness
• Prospective and admitted student engagement
• Enrollment forecasting accuracy

Minimum Qualifications

• MSW (preferred) or related Master's degree from an accredited institution.
• Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in graduate admissions, enrollment management, recruitment, higher education administration, or a closely related area.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing enrollment or recruitment strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze enrollment data and translate findings into strategy and action.
• Experience working collaboratively with faculty in an academic environment.
• Experience with CRM, admissions, enrollment management, or student information systems.
• Demonstrated supervisory and team leadership experience.
• Excellent written, oral, interpersonal, organizational, and project-management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in a complex and fast-paced academic environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Seven or more years of progressively responsible experience in graduate enrollment management or admissions.
• Experience leading admissions or enrollment management for graduate or professional programs.
• Experience with online graduate education
• Experience managing or working closely with an Online Program Manager or other third-party enrollment/recruitment partner.
• Experience developing enrollment forecasts and managing enrollment targets.
• Knowledge of graduate admissions and enrollment management best practices.
• Experience recruiting for professional programs such as social work or other health/human service disciplines.
• Experience in a complex research university environment.
• Familiarity with CSWE accreditation and regulatory considerations affecting graduate professional education.

Core Competencies

• Strategic Enrollment Leadership: Ability to move beyond application processing to develop comprehensive strategies for recruitment, conversion, yield, and sustainable enrollment growth.
• Data-Informed Decision-Making: Ability to interpret enrollment data, identify trends, diagnose problems, forecast outcomes, and recommend appropriate interventions.
• Relationship Management: Ability to work effectively with faculty, senior administrators, University offices, prospective students, external partners, and third-party vendors.
• Graduate Admissions Expertise: Strong understanding of contemporary graduate admissions, recruitment, enrollment management, and applicant engagement practices.
• Growth Orientation: Demonstrated ability to identify opportunities for enrollment growth while maintaining academic quality and student success.
• Operational Excellence: Ability to establish efficient systems, timelines, accountability structures, and service standards across complex admissions processes.
• Collaborative Leadership: Ability to achieve results across organizational boundaries and lead effectively in an environment where responsibility is distributed among multiple units and partners.

Compliance Salary Range Disclosure

Compensation Range: $90,000 - $110,000