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 Final date to receive applications 10/23 or until filled

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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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…