Senior Director of Admissions

Position Title: Senior Director of Admissions
# of Openings: 1
Department/Program: Admissions 62100
Work Location: Hybrid
Campus Location: Arapahoe Campus
Reports to: Vice President of Enrollment Management & Marketing
FLSA Classification: Exempt/Salaried
FTE: 100% (40 hrs/week)
Compensation: $82,000-$106,000

Application deadline 10/23 or until filled

Job Summary

The Senior Director of Admissions provides strategic and operational leadership for Naropa University's admissions and recruitment functions across undergraduate and graduate programs. Reporting to the Vice President of Enrollment Management & Marketing, the Senior Director develops and executes recruitment, application, admission, and yield strategies that advance institutional enrollment goals and create a responsive, inclusive, and mission-aligned prospective student experience. The role leads and develops the Admissions team, establishes clear performance expectations, uses enrollment data to guide action, and builds strong partnerships across the University.

The Senior Director works in close partnership with the Director of Enrollment Operations, Analytics, and Innovation. The Senior Director owns admissions strategy, team performance, recruitment execution, applicant engagement, and enrollment outcomes; the Director of Enrollment Operations, Analytics, and Innovation leads the systems, data infrastructure, application-processing operations, workflow design, and innovation that enable that work. Together, the two leaders ensure strategy, people, processes, and technology remain aligned throughout the enrollment journey.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

Admissions Strategy and Enrollment Leadership
• Develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive admissions and recruitment strategies aligned with Naropa's mission, academic priorities, and institutional enrollment goals.
• Translate enrollment goals into annual and multi-year recruitment plans, priorities, performance expectations, and measurable outcomes for undergraduate and graduate admissions.
• Lead the prospective student journey from inquiry through enrollment, ensuring timely, personalized, accurate, and student-centered engagement at each stage of the funnel.
• Monitor inquiry, application, admission, deposit, melt, and enrollment trends; identify risks and opportunities and adjust recruitment and yield strategies accordingly.
• Provide enrollment forecasts, pipeline updates, and strategic recommendations to the Vice President of Enrollment Management & Marketing and other University leaders.
• Ensure admissions policies and practices support equitable access, holistic review, regulatory compliance, and consistent decision-making.

Team Leadership and Performance
• Provide direct leadership, supervision, coaching, and professional development for Admissions leaders and staff, including clear goals, accountability, and performance feedback.
• Build a collaborative, service-oriented team culture grounded in Naropa's contemplative values and focused on enrollment outcomes and the prospective student experience.
• Establish expectations for territory and student-pool management, outreach cadence, follow-up, documentation, conversion activity, and service standards.
• Assess staffing, workload, training, and resource needs; recommend and implement changes that strengthen team capacity and effectiveness.
• Ensure consistent onboarding and ongoing training related to programs, admissions practices, communication standards, systems use, compliance, and student support.
• Lead regular team meetings, performance reviews, pipeline discussions, and enrollment planning activities.

Recruitment Yield and Student Engagement
• Oversee recruitment and yield initiatives, including individual outreach, virtual and on-campus events, information sessions, campus visits, admitted-student engagement, and other conversion activities.
• Guide differentiated recruitment strategies by audience, program, modality, geographic market, and stage of the enrollment funnel.
• Partner with Marketing and Communications to align campaigns, messaging, content, lead generation, and nurture strategies with admissions priorities and applicant needs.
• Ensure prospective students receive accurate and coordinated information about academic programs, admissions requirements, cost, financial aid, student experience, and next steps.
• Develop strategies to reduce melt and strengthen the transition from admission and deposit through enrollment, in partnership with Financial Aid, the Registrar, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Advising, and other campus teams.
• Represent Naropa at selected recruitment events, community engagements, and institutional activities as needed.

Cross Functional Partnership and Enrollment Operations
• Work alongside the Director of Enrollment Operations, Analytics, and Innovation to align admissions strategy with CRM functionality, application processing, data standards, reporting, workflows, integrations, and continuous improvement priorities.
• Define Admissions business needs, service expectations, user requirements, and priorities for systems and process improvements; support adoption, testing, training, and change management within the Admissions team.
• Use dashboards, funnel reporting, market information, and team insights to evaluate performance and recommend action while supporting shared data definitions and governance.
• Partner with academic leaders to understand program goals, capacity, applicant expectations, and market conditions and to build appropriate recruitment and yield plans.
• Collaborate across Enrollment Management & Marketing and the broader University to remove barriers, improve handoffs, and create a coordinated student experience.
• Maintain effective relationships with external recruitment partners, vendors, and community organizations within the scope of Admissions.

Budget Compliance and Continuous Improvement
• Develop and manage the Admissions budget and allocate resources in support of institutional priorities and enrollment goals.
• Ensure Admissions practices and communications comply with applicable institutional policies, accreditation expectations, privacy requirements, and federal and state regulations.
• Maintain documented admissions procedures and promote consistent, accurate, and auditable practices across the team.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of recruitment programs, events, communications, and team practices and implement improvements based on results and feedback.
• Remain current on enrollment trends, student expectations, competitive conditions, and emerging practices in higher education admissions.
• Perform other duties that are similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position as institutional needs evolve.

Minimum Requirements
• Master's degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• At least eight years of progressively responsible experience in higher education admissions, recruitment, enrollment management, or a closely related field, including significant supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing recruitment and yield strategies that support enrollment goals.
• Experience leading, coaching, and evaluating teams and establishing clear performance expectations and accountability.
• Strong understanding of the admissions funnel, applicant engagement, territory or student-pool management, and enrollment forecasting.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret enrollment data, identify trends, communicate findings, and translate insights into action.
• Experience working with admissions CRM systems and collaborating with technical and operations partners to improve processes and outcomes.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, relationship-building, organizational, and change-management skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities, exercise sound judgment, and lead effectively in a dynamic environment.
• Demonstrated understanding of and appreciation for Naropa University's values, with the capacity to embody those values through leadership, communication, collaboration, and workplace behavior.

Preferred Qualifications
• Experience leading admissions across both undergraduate and graduate populations and multiple program modalities.
• Experience with holistic admissions practices, access-oriented recruitment, and mission-aligned applicant evaluation.
• Experience partnering with Marketing, Financial Aid, Registrar, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and enrollment operations teams in an integrated enrollment management model.
• Experience with CRM-based communication planning, funnel reporting, forecasting, and process improvement.
• Experience in a private, mission-driven, contemplative, or similarly distinctive higher education environment.

Naropa recognizes the following holidays throughout the year: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Fall Break, 4th Thursday and Friday in November, and Winter Break, the last two weeks in December encompassing the Christmas holiday as well as New Year’s.

Naropa’s health and welfare benefits include the following: medical, dental, vision, FSA, HSA, employer-paid short-term and long-term disability, employer-paid life insurance and accidental death and dismemberment, an employer-sponsored pre-tax retirement savings plan, and a variety of voluntary, employee-paid supplemental insurance plans.

A comprehensive benefits package is available to full-time employees who work a minimum of 30 hours each week. Employees who work 20 – 29 hours each week are eligible for only the employer-paid short-term & long-term disability, employer-paid life insurance & accidental death and dismemberment, and the retirement plan.

Employees who work fewer than 20 hours per week are eligible to participate in Naropa’s retirement plan only.

All regular full-time and part-time faculty and staff, including student workers, accrue sick leave benefits. Full-time and part-time staff positions accrue vacation and personal time. All leave accrual rates vary based on the position, hours worked, and years of service.

The University recognizes the importance of including its employees in its organizational mission and values and welcomes employees into the classroom to “touch the magic.” Specifically, regular employees are provided generous tuition remission opportunities for themselves and their family members.

Naropa University participates in the Council of Independent Colleges Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP). CIC-TEP is a network of CIC colleges and universities willing to accept, tuition-free, students from families of full-time employees of other CIC participating institutions (full-time as designated by the employer/institution). Additional information can be found here: https://www.cic.edu/member-services/tuition-exchange-program.

Naropa University is an equal opportunity, non-discriminatory employer and Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits gender discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual and relationship violence. This law applies to all students, faculty, and staff.