Director Of Admissions

Job Summary

Are you goal-oriented and enthusiastic about developing, implementing, and assessing strategies to meet admissions and recruitment goals? Are you excited about leading a team that is passionate about developing student friendly processes, delivering a high-level student service experience and making an impact and empowering individuals to pursue an education that fits their career goals?

Student Affairs is looking for a full-time Director of Admissions to join their team. In this role, you would be a leader within the Enrollment Management Team and a vital member of the Student Affairs Leadership Team within the Division of Student Affairs. Our division offers a broad range of support services to help students achieve success as a college student and beyond. We work collaboratively with faculty, staff, students and the community to support student engagement, diversity and inclusion, and learning and success. We promote the continuous improvement of the college experience by helping students to connect, collaborate and commit to engage in activities, programs, and opportunities as they achieve their goals.

As the Director of Admissions, you would be responsible for the overall admissions and recruitment strategy for all incoming students. Additionally, you would partner with Financial Aid, Records and Registration, Orientation, Student Services and Advising, Academic Affairs, Public Relations & Marketing, and other enrollment-related functions to assure alignment of vision and coordinated initiatives. Furthermore, as the Director of Admissions, you would supervise staff, including associate directors, admissions counselors, and office staff, as well as managing the departmental budget.

If you possess strong leadership, communication and organizational skills that can be best utilized as a highly visible representative of Hawkeye Community College in making a difference on behalf of students, then this will be ideal for you!

Hawkeye Community College is a comprehensive community college focused on meeting the needs of the community by providing quality, affordable learning experiences for a diverse student body through our Adult Learning Center, Business and Community Education Department as well as through more than 50 career and technical programs and liberal arts transfer programs. Hawkeye Community College’s mission is about empowering students, strengthening businesses and enriching communities with a vision to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve.

Essential Job Functions

Important responsibilities and duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Oversees the daily functions and operations of the Admissions office. Develops, assesses and modifies standard operating procedures relative to the recruitment, admission, onboarding and enrollment of new students.

• Provides leadership campus-wide for recruitment and enrollment initiatives and serves in a senior leadership role in the Division of Student Affairs.

• Supervises and develops department personnel, facilitating professional opportunities to improve individual capability; manage performance against job accountabilities, department goals, and established policies and procedures.

• Provides a data-informed vision, leadership, and direction for all aspects of the recruitment process, including marketing, admissions, and application processes as a collaborative, transparent, strategic, forward-thinking leader.

• Identifies enrollment trends, goals, and issues facing community colleges in conjunction with other departments while utilizing the data to provide enrollment and revenue projections in addition to supporting Academic Affairs in program offerings and decisions while supporting Guided Pathways institutional efforts.

• Maintains and analyzes enrollment data to assess the success of recruitment strategies aimed at increasing enrollment and improving yield; utilizes enrollment data to develop and modify operating processes at all stages of the enrollment funnel. Interprets admissions data for internal and external stakeholders.

• Develops and maintains positive relationships with all stakeholders including, but not limited to: high schools, Adult Learning Center, Waterloo Career Center, Iowa Workforce Development, employers, and community and outreach organizations.

• Ensures that objectives, goals, plans, budgets, policies, practices, and actions produce positive results.

• Responsible for overall management of the departmental budget.

• Manages admission staff that oversees application processing, student recruitment, CRM systems, and admissions marketing.

• Reviews student recruitment best practices and evaluates current admissions practices to attract more students to Hawkeye Community College.

• Coordinates and partners with Financial Aid, Registrar, Academic Affairs and Student Services to provide clear communication to prospective students to enhance the onboarding process.

• Conducts and implements training for the admissions team to ensure students are provided the best customer service experience.

• Participates in campus committees as assigned.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

• Unless otherwise approved under Hawkeye’s remote work policy, regular on campus and/or onsite attendance is considered an essential function of the position.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in College Student Personnel, Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, Education, Human Services, or other related fields.

• Five (5) years of experience in higher education.

• Knowledge of the financial aid process and scholarship leveraging.

• Knowledge of best practices in student recruitment.

• Must possess supervisory skills.

• Experience in using data in analyzing trends and forecasting enrollment to create and implement strategic plans.

• Knowledge of budget administration and fiscal monitoring.

• Demonstrated ability to supervise and motivate multiple teams and lead projects.

• Demonstrated ability to work a flexible schedule to include some evenings and weekends.

• Demonstrated ability to work with a culturally diverse student population, faculty, staff, and the general public.

• Ability to demonstrate strong interpersonal communication.

• Skilled in Microsoft Office Suite, Google applications, video conferencing technology, and enrollment related technologies.

• Demonstrated ability to execute organization and department policies and procedures.

• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential/sensitive information with discretion.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Higher Education, Business Administration, Education or other related field.

• Knowledge of student financing, enrollment marketing techniques, and recruiting concepts and best practices, recruiting technologies, and vendor/contract/consultant services.

• Ability to develop and maintain a systematic marketing research program to support recruiting decisions.

• Proven record of increasing student recruitment and retention rates at a comparable institution and/or a high performing environment.

• Ability to think innovatively and analytically while also collaborating well with others.

Employment Status

Full time, exempt position with comprehensive or competitive benefits program including health, dental, vision, life, and LTD insurance, a Section 125 plan for medical and dependent care expenses; holiday, personal, sick, and vacation leave; tuition reimbursement; and a choice of retirement programs—IPERS (defined benefit) or TIAA (defined contribution).

Salary will be commensurate with the candidate’s education and experience.

Working Conditions

Anticipated Schedule will be Monday – Friday with occasional evenings and weekends.

Requires skills for succeeding in an office environment, using technology. Requires good hand-eye coordination including visual acuity to use a keyboard and read technical information; arm, hand and finger dexterity, including ability to grasp. Work is performed in an office setting. Sit, stand, bend, lift and move intermittently during working hours. During the course of the day, interact with student, faculty and staff in person, by telephone and computers.

Application Procedure

• Complete an online application at www.hawkeyecollege.edu/employment

  • Submit/upload a cover letter addressing the following:

    • Why you are interested in the Director of Admissions position.

    • How your education and experiences meet the qualifications of this position.

    • How your education and experiences will enable your success in this role.

  • Submit/upload a resume.

  • Submit/upload 3 professional references with a minimum of 1 being from a current/past supervisor.

• Candidates invited as finalists in the process will be asked to send official transcripts and undergo a reference check.

• Employment is contingent on successful completion of a criminal background check.

• Submit the online application and all required materials by Sunday, November 20, 2022.

All application materials must be submitted by Sunday, November 20, 2022 by 11:59 PM CST.

Hawkeye Community College is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, committed to equity and diversity in its educational services and employment practices: hawkeyecollege.edu/about/diversity-inclusion/equal-opportunity. The College does not discriminate on the basis of sex; race; age; color; creed; national origin; religion; disability; sexual orientation; gender identity; genetic information; or actual or potential parental, family, or marital status in its programs, activities, or employment practices. Veteran status is also included to the extent covered by law. Any person alleging a violation of equity regulations shall have the right to file a formal complaint. Inquiries concerning application of this statement should be addressed to: Equity Coordinator and Title IX Coordinator for employees, 319-296-4405; or Title IX Coordinator for students, 319-296-4448; Hawkeye Community College, 1501 East Orange Road, P.O. Box 8015, Waterloo, Iowa 50704-8015; or email equity-titleIX@hawkeyecollege.edu, or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Citigroup Center, 500 W. Madison, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661, phone number 312-730-1560, fax 312-730-1576, email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov.

If any applicant is in need of a reasonable accommodation in completing the application process, please notify a member of Human Resource Services.