Notice: If you are seeing this position posted on a job board other than the official Meredith College career posting page, please know that any pay range included is not authorized or approved by Meredith College and may not reflect the actual pay rate for the position.

Meredith College, a private, residential women’s college and coeducational graduate school in Raleigh, North Carolina, is seeking a dynamic and visionary Director of Admission. This professional will provide direction and oversight of a customer service oriented admissions model as the chief admission officer. They will develop strategies to attract and enroll a highly qualified and diverse student body in a manner that supports the College’s undergraduate recruitment, admission, and retention goals. Reporting to the Vice President for Marketing and Communications, the director will lead a motivated team of 15 professionals and have a solid grounding in admission practices, coupled with a passion for assisting students to succeed. The Director of Admission will work innovatively and collaboratively with the many constituents of the College community and as part of the enrollment leadership team. They should have experience in leading a dynamic recruitment program and its operations, with a dedication to providing continued quality improvement.

Responsibilities and Priorities:
As the leader of the College’s efforts to recruit talented and best suited undergraduate students, the director will focus on the following responsibilities and priorities.

Strategic Leadership
● Serve as an integral member of the Enrollment Leadership Council to strategically guide Meredith College’s student enrollment efforts.
● Exhibit a commitment to the institutional mission, a genuine passion for women’s educational experiences, and the ability to enthusiastically share the transformational power of a Meredith education with interested and well-qualified students.
● Foster a culture of excellence while appropriately leveraging data and sharing information within the Office of Admission and beyond.
● Collect and analyze data to inform and refine efforts that identify, recruit, enroll, and retain a diverse domestic student body representing a variety of backgrounds, as well as a diverse mix of international students who bring a global perspective to campus.
● Strengthen efforts to meet enrollment goals for both first-year and transfer students.
● Educate the Meredith community regarding best practices, changing demographics, and the competitive landscape of recruiting and enrolling students.
● Evaluate and select third party partners and seek out new vendors as needed; manage relationships with vendors identifying needs, leveraging resources and evaluating outcomes.

Partnership and Collaboration
● Cultivate a strong sense of community by building bridges and fostering relationships of trust; serve on committees, including the Admissions Committee and Academic Council, and as a liaison with varying campus constituencies across the College to support the enrollment and retention of students.
● Maintain and manage strong relationships externally with school counselors and community-based organizations and nurture connections internally across the college in order to meet enrollment goals.
● Prioritize the strong working relationship with the director of financial assistance to execute financial aid leveraging strategies, to increase communication and efficiency, and share information regarding costs, aid, and processes with prospective students and their families.
● Partner with the director of recruitment marketing and the college’s in-house marketing team on marketing communications strategy that will reach, influence, and compel prospective students and their families to consider Meredith College.
● Enhance the relationship between admissions and athletics to ensure the continued success of this critical partnership.
● Partner with the director of the Student Success Center on collaborative enrollment efforts including Meredith’s StartStrong pre-orientation events for deposited students.

Supervision
● Provide training and professional development to the admission staff; evaluate the team’s performance and serve as an advocate, resource, and mentor.
● Grow, develop, and inspire a talented admissions team; work to optimize the skills of each individual team member and foster a culture of individual growth and professional development.
● Lead the admissions team in efforts to evaluate, implement, and leverage technology to innovate, increase operational efficiency, and meet the expectations of students and families on behalf of Meredith.

Qualifications, Skills, Abilities, and Characteristics:
The successful candidate must have outstanding interpersonal skills and experience, expertise in the administration and management of recruitment programs, demonstrated proficiencies in information technology appropriate to admissions offices, and a commitment to the core values of a private women’s college.

Successful candidates will have a minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in post-secondary admissions or enrollment, including management and supervisory roles, and preference will be given to candidates with relevant advanced degrees.

The Director should demonstrate the following skills, abilities, and characteristics:
● Experience supervising, managing, developing, and motivating a diverse team of admission officers and administrative support staff.
● Appreciation and support of the mission of a women’s private college, along with the ability to speak vibrantly and persuasively about the value of this type of education in today’s context.
● A proven ability to develop rapport and work collaboratively with the leadership and faculty to bring forward the best of Meredith in the shared effort of recruiting and retaining students.
● Ability to create, maintain and operate within a well-defined fiscal budget that adheres to division-wide goals and policies.
● Strong verbal, written, interpersonal, and collaborative skills; excellent communication skills with a wide range of audiences including students, parents, and counselors and the ability to adeptly manage both external and internal relationships.
● Knowledge of current trends and issues in the state, regional and national landscape of admission and financial aid.
● Utilization of technology in admission work, including a knowledge of and experience maximizing a CRM (familiarity with Slate is preferred); ability to analyze and use data to inform and implement recruitment and admissions strategies and tactics that meet targeted enrollment goals and attract a talented and diverse student body.
● Willingness to foster a culture of best practices within the admission office, especially in appropriately leveraging data and transparently sharing information within the campus community.
● Familiar and comfortable serving students with a highly personalized approach.

To Apply:
Meredith College is partnering with NES to identify a well-qualified professional to fill the position of Director of Admission. To arrange for a confidential conversation or to nominate someone for this position, please contact Laura Robinson, Suzi Nam, or Mary Napier. To apply, candidates are asked to provide: 1) a resume, 2) a detailed letter of interest regarding their interest in Meredith College, and 3) contact information for five professional references by email to: Meredith@nessearches.com. For assurance of full consideration, interested individuals should submit application materials no later than April 25, 2024. Materials will be reviewed until the position is filled. All applications and nominations will be considered confidential, and notice will be given before references are contacted. Anticipated start date is Summer 2024. Inquire with the NES search team regarding questions about the position requirements and compensation.