Senior Manager, Student Engagement Center

Carnegie; Westford (MA); On-site; USD 95,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Carnegie is seeking a Senior Manager, Student Engagement Center, to lead a team of student advisors across our higher education client portfolio. You will run daily contact center operations, craft outreach strategies across phone, SMS, email, and virtual channels, and leverage data to maintain smooth enrollment pipelines with flexible service hours.

Ideal candidates will have experience leading high-performing contact center teams in higher education or related fields, and possess hands-on

Qualifications

• Experience leading high-performing contact center teams in higher education or related fields.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred, or equivalent professional experience.
• Hands-on expertise with admissions CRMs and telephony tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead and coach a team of student advisors to support prospective students across multiple channels.
• Run daily contact center operations with flexible service hours.
• Build outreach strategies across phone, SMS, email, and virtual channels.
• Use data to keep enrollment pipelines moving efficiently.

Skills

Team Leadership

Contact Center

Admissions/Enrollment

Data-driven Operations

Cross-functional Collaboration

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree preferred

Tools

Slate

Five9

Zoom

Google Workspace

Job description

About The Job

As the Senior Manager, Student Engagement Center, you will lead and coach a team of student advisors who support prospective students across our higher education client portfolio using a consultative approach. You will run daily contact center operations, build smart outreach strategies across phone, SMS, email, and virtual channels, and use data to keep enrollment pipelines moving efficiently across flexible service hours.

Search

Solutions

• Enrollment
• Student Success
• Branding
• Institutional Strategy
• Digital Advertising

Case Studies

• Rice University
• Ohio Wesleyan University
• The University of Mississippi
• Kettering University
• Florida Southern College
• University of Texas at Tyler
• See All

About The Job

As the Senior Manager, Student Engagement Center, you will lead and coach a team of student advisors who support prospective students across our higher education client portfolio using a consultative approach. You will run daily contact center operations, build smart outreach strategies across phone, SMS, email, and virtual channels, and use data to keep enrollment pipelines moving efficiently across flexible service hours.

What You’ll Own

Team Leadership & Call Center Operations

• Provide oversight of a consultative, trusted advisor approach to guide prospective students/learners and current students/learners through complex cycles of admission, student service, and the application process. This includes leading discovery conversations to diagnose specific needs.
• Recruit, coach, model, and evaluate advisors in a fast-paced contact center environment, using a consultative approach.
• Foster expertise in consultative selling
• Set clear metrics for service quality, conversion targets, and regulatory compliance, partnering with Quality Assurance to track representative performance.
• Work with workforce management to match staffing models with real-time inquiry and application volume.

Outreach & Recruitment Strategy

• Build and execute strategic outreach plans across phone, email, SMS, and virtual channels to maximize application volume, yield, and start rates.
• Lead recruitment initiatives, including call campaigns, virtual open houses, and online info sessions to build trust and boost conversion rates.
• Partner with marketing and academic leadership to align daily engagement strategies with overall institutional recruitment goals.

Admissions Operations & Client Relations

• Oversee full-lifecycle admissions workflows, including inquiry management, document collection, interview coordination, and admissions decisions.
• Build and sustain strong relationships with client schools through consistent communication and meeting enrollment pipeline targets.
• Maintain complete compliance with FERPA, institutional policies, accreditation standards, and federal and state regulations, keeping documentation audit-ready.

CRMs, Data & Reporting

• Track leads, applications, and key enrollment milestones using CRMs and contact center software like Slate and Five9.
• Analyze conversion funnels, channel effectiveness, and representative productivity to fix operational bottlenecks and optimize staffing.
• Deliver concise performance and enrollment analytics to executive leadership.

What You Bring

• Experience leading high-performing contact center teams in higher education, admissions, enrollment services, career education, or adult learning.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred, or equivalent professional experience in a related field.
• Hands-on expertise with admissions CRMs (e.g., Slate), SIS platforms, productivity suites (Google Workspace), and telephony tools (e.g., Five9, Zoom).
• Experience with modern contact center tech stacks and AI workflows, including Five9 analytics, Workforce Management (WFM) tools, and Quality Assurance platforms (Virtual Observer).
• Advanced process design skills to build, refine, and scale admissions and workflow operations in high-volume, logistically complex settings.
• Proven ability to balance strict, metrics-driven performance with a warm, student-centered service philosophy.
• Excellent communication skills with strong cross-functional influence to drive operational results, align internal teams, and manage client expectations.
• Superior prioritization, time management habits, and meticulous attention to detail.

Why This Role

This role places you directly at the center of how prospective students experience higher education. By combining team leadership with data-driven operations, you will directly help partner institutions meet their enrollment goals while guiding students through every stage of their application journey.

About Carnegie

For more than 30 years, Carnegie has been a leader and innovator in higher education marketing and enrollment strategy, offering groundbreaking services in the areas of Research, Strategy, Digital Marketing, Lead Generation, Slate Optimization, Student Search, Website Development, and Creative that generate authentic connections.

Learn more about who we are, what we do, and what we care about.

No phone calls or unscheduled visits to the office, please. Carnegie is an equal-opportunity employer.