Assistant Director of Recruitment and Admissions - Professional Graduate Programs, Smeal Colleg

Position

Assistant Director of Recruiting and Admissions

Office of Professional Graduate Programs - Smeal College of Business, Penn State University

Penn State's Smeal College of Business seeks a dynamic, results-oriented, and collaborative professional to serve as Assistant Director of Recruiting and Admissions for its residential one-year specialty master's programs. This is a highly visible, fast-paced role focused on strategic recruitment, frequent travel, event planning, and high-volume prospective student engagement.

For full consideration, applicants are asked to provide a resume/CV and Cover Letter describing their connection to, or interest in, specialized master’s programs and how that perspective would inform their approach to recruiting and admissions.

• Lead recruitment efforts for Smeal’s specialty master’s programs, with a heavy focus on domestic travel, Penn State campus recruitment (University Park and Commonwealth Campuses), classroom and club presentations, career fairs, and external university visits.
• Plan and execute engaging presentations, events, and information sessions virtually and in person, including frequent on-campus visits and periodic travel to major U.S. cities and international locations.
• Support digital recruitment initiatives by creating targeted recruitment content to be distributed across email, social media, digital advertising, and web-based channels; collaborate with marketing and program teams to increase program awareness, engagement, and lead generation.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for prospective students throughout the recruitment and admissions cycle, delivering personalized guidance via email, phone, Zoom, and in-person meetings.
• Build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders to expand recruitment pipelines, including faculty, staff, alumni, and key partners at Penn State campuses and surrounding colleges.
• Manage application follow-up and yield communications, ensuring timely, effective engagement with prospective students through Salesforce CRM, GRADS ATS, and other systems.
• Monitor and utilize recruitment data and CRM analytics to evaluate campaign effectiveness, identify engagement trends, and recommend strategies to improve inquiry conversion and enrollment outcomes.
• Provide operational and logistical support for admissions processing, onboarding, and international student documentation, ensuring alignment with University policies and timelines.
• Evaluate applications and credentials to determine admissions decisions, financial aid eligibility, visa documentation needs, and transfer credit approvals, as appropriate.
• Collaborate across departments and programs, including marketing and communications partners, to ensure consistent messaging and an excellent prospective student experience across both in-person and digital recruitment channels.
• Support and occasionally lead evening and weekend events, including open houses, webinars, and partner events.

• Familiarity with graduate business education environments—such as exposure to specialized master’s programs, cohort-based learning models, or student engagement within a business school setting (e.g., through academic experience, professional collaboration, or alumni connections to programs like the Smeal College of Business Residential Specialty Master’s Programs).
• Comparable experience engaging with prospective students or academic communities will also be considered.

• Experience, preferably in graduate admissions, higher education, recruiting, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success in public speaking, relationship building, event coordination, and student supervision.
• Comfort with frequent travel, including 25-40% domestic travel and occasional international travel; evening and weekend availability required.
• Familiarity with digital recruitment strategies, including CRM-driven communication campaigns, social media outreach, webinar promotion, email marketing, and basic recruitment analytics.
• Regular on-campus presence at the University Park campus to support student engagement, events, team collaboration, and…