Director of Graduate Admissions and Recruitment

Concordia University Irvine; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Concordia University Irvine, located in Irvine, CA, seeks a Director of Graduate Admissions and Recruitment to lead strategy, staff, and operations for graduate, doctoral, and certificate programs.

The role focuses on building a data-driven, high-performance admissions team, driving inquiries, applications, and yields while collaborating with deans, faculty, and university partners. Some travel and evening/weekend work are required.

Qualifications

• Results-driven leader with accountability for enrollment outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to build a proactive recruiting culture with high standards for activity and conversion.
• Skilled people manager who can coach and develop staff to meet goals.
• Strong command of full-funnel metrics, forecasting, pipeline management, and analysis.
• Proficiency in consultative selling, needs discovery, and securing commitments.
• Ability to move between strategy and execution in a high-volume environment.
• Resilience, urgency, and sound judgment in a fast-paced setting.
• Builds trust with academic leaders, staff, and external partners.
• Excellent interpersonal, presentation, and written communication skills.
• CRM and reporting systems knowledge; Salesforce/TargetX preferred.
• Willingness to work on campus, travel, and support events.
• Commitment to Concordia University Irvine's mission.

Responsibilities

• Own achievement of enrollment goals by program and term, translating targets into team goals and action plans.
• Develop and execute full-funnel recruitment strategies for multiple programs from inquiry to start.
• Establish multichannel outreach standards across phone, text, email, and in-person/virtual appointments.
• Utilize CRM and reporting tools to monitor activity, conversion, yield, and forecast health.
• Conduct weekly pipeline and forecast reviews and mentor staff on priorities and actions.
• Coach staff in consultative recruiting and closing, reviewing actual calls and cases.
• Engage high-value prospects and ensure a strong student experience at critical points.
• Manage performance, recruiting, onboarding, and staff development.
• Maintain rolling forecasts and report results to leadership with urgency.
• Partner with Marketing and academic units on strategy, messaging, and lead quality.
• Collaborate with deans and directors to understand capacity and market opportunities.
• Oversee admissions operations and ensure timely reviews and compliance.
• Plan recruitment travel, conferences, and events with ROI in mind.
• Represent the university at events and deliver persuasive presentations; some travel and evenings/weekends required.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Leadership

People management

CRM analytics

Forecasting

Consultative selling

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Tools

Salesforce/TargetX

Job description

Office Profile:

The Office of Graduate Admissions and Recruitment advances Concordia University Irvine’s mission and strategic priorities by recruiting and enrolling graduate, doctoral, certificate, and adult students. The office operates as a proactive, consultative, and data-driven recruitment team. Through a high-performing, sales-driven admissions operation and close collaboration with academic and university partners, the office is accountable for achieving enrollment goals, strengthening each stage of the recruitment funnel, delivering a responsive, transparent prospective-student experience, and driving sustained enrollment growth.

Role:

The Director of Graduate Admissions and Recruitment is responsible for leading all graduate admissions and recruitment strategy, operations, and staff for Concordia University Irvine’s graduate, doctoral, and certificate programs. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President of Enrollment, the Director oversees graduate admissions staff, funnel management, forecasting, recruitment and sales strategy, travel and conference planning and execution, admissions operations, and prospective student outreach, with direct accountability for achieving aggressive enrollment goals and driving sustained enrollment growth.

Working closely with the Assistant Vice President of Enrollment, the Vice President of Marketing, Communication & Enrollment, deans, program directors, faculty, and other university partners, the Director will develop and execute data-informed strategies to generate inquiries, increase applications, maximize conversion and yield, and grow new student enrollment. As a sales-driven leadership position, the Director will champion a culture of high performance, accountability, urgency, and exceptional service, ensuring the team effectively moves prospective students through every stage of the enrollment funnel. The Director will build strong partnerships with academic leadership, understand the unique needs and growth opportunities of each program, and ensure recruitment efforts advance both program-level goals and the University’s broader enrollment priorities.

Staff Relations

• Reports to the Assistant Vice President of Enrollment for daily supervision and consultation.
• Supervises a team of Associate/Assistant Directors and admissions counselors, and provides broad oversight of the data and application processing team.
• Maintains strong relationships with deans and academic leadership, serving as a solutions-oriented partner in meeting enrollment goals and addressing challenges.
• Works closely with the Vice President of Marketing, Communications, and Enrollment and other senior leaders.
• Collaborates as needed with the Office of the President, Marketing and Communications, Financial Aid, the Registrar’s Office, and other university partners to support enrollment priorities and ensure effective coordination across the student enrollment process.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities Include The Following

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to accomplish each of the below duties satisfactorily:

• Own achievement of new-student enrollment goals by program and entry term; translate institutional targets into program, team, and counselor goals, activity standards, and action plans.
• Develop and execute full-funnel recruitment strategies for graduate, doctoral, certificate, post-baccalaureate and adult programs, from inquiry through application, admission, deposit (where applicable), registration, and start.
• Establish and enforce responsive, multichannel outreach standards across phone, text, email, and virtual or in-person appointments, including expectations for speed-to-lead, contact cadence, lead aging, and re-engagement.
• Use the CRM (Salesforce/TargetX) and reporting tools to monitor activity, stage conversion, yield, lead-source performance, pipeline aging, and forecast health; ensure complete and accurate prospect records.
• Conduct disciplined weekly pipeline and forecast reviews and regular individual meetings with staff; require staff to identify priorities, risks, and specific next actions for active prospects.
• Coach the team in consultative recruiting, needs discovery, program value communication, objection handling, application completion, and closing. Review actual calls, messages, appointments, and cases and model effective practices.
• Personally engage high-value, complex, or stalled prospects and support staff at critical conversion points; maintain hands‑on awareness of the prospective student experience.
• Manage performance through clear expectations, timely feedback, recognition, documented improvement plans, and corrective action. Recruit, onboard, train, and develop staff for sustained performance.
• Maintain rolling forecasts by program and entry term; communicate results, assumptions, risks, and corrective actions to enrollment and academic leaders with appropriate urgency.
• Partner with Marketing and Strategic Communications and other partners on campaign strategy, messaging, lead nurture, source quality, and conversion. Provide rapid feedback on lead volume and quality and recommend adjustments based on results.
• Partner with academic deans, program directors, and faculty to understand program capacity, differentiators, admission criteria, market opportunities, and barriers; translate that knowledge into effective and accurate recruiting.
• Oversee admissions operations and coordinate with data and applications coordinator(s) to remove friction, support timely review and decisions, and maintain compliance with university policies and applicable law.
• Develop and execute the annual recruitment travel, conference, and event calendar; manage assigned resources responsibly and evaluate activities based on enrollment contribution and return on investment.
• Represent the university at recruitment events and deliver persuasive university presentations to prospective students and external and internal audiences. Some travel and evening or weekend work is required.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Carry out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the university’s policies and applicable laws. The Director establishes measurable expectations; sets a consistent cadence for team and individual coaching; monitors workload, activity, and results; recognizes high performance; and responds promptly and constructively to underperformance. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, onboarding, training, assigning and directing work, evaluating performance, supporting professional development, taking corrective action when necessary, addressing complaints, and resolving problems.

Qualification Requirements:

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Results-driven leader who accepts personal and team accountability for ambitious enrollment outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to build a proactive recruiting culture with high standards for activity, responsiveness, follow-through, and conversion.
• Skilled people manager and coach who can encourage staff, recognize strong performance, and conduct direct, timely performance conversations.
• Strong command of full-funnel metrics, forecasting, goal pacing, pipeline management, and root-cause analysis.
• Proficiency in consultative selling, needs discovery, value communication, objection handling, and securing clear next-step commitments.
• Ability to move fluidly between strategy and execution and to prioritize effectively in a high-volume, time-sensitive environment.
• Resilience, urgency, sound judgment, and a bias toward action.
• Ability to build trust and productive working relationships with academic deans, faculty, staff, senior leaders, and external partners.
• Excellent interpersonal, presentation, and written communication skills
• Advanced working knowledge of CRM and reporting systems; Salesforce/TargetX experience is preferred.
• Working knowledge of enrollment marketing, lead generation, nurture, and source-performance analysis.
• Willingness to work primarily on campus, travel as needed, and support occasional evening and weekend events.
• Commitment to the vision, mission, and ministry of Concordia University Irvine.

Pay Range:

$85,000-$95,000 Per Year

Experience

Preferred

• Must demonstrate a record of meeting or exceeding enrollment or sales goals, improving conversion, using CRM data to manage a pipeline, and coaching staff to achieve stronger results.
• Sales experience, or experience in a comparable results-driven environment, is required, along with at least three years of experience managing teams, driving performance, and holding staff accountable to goals.
• A minimum of five years of progressive experience in higher education admissions, enrollment management, education recruitment, or a comparable consultative sales environment is required, with demonstrated success meeting enrollment or recruitment goals.

Education

Required

• Bachelors or better

Preferred

• Masters or better

Equal Opportunity Employer

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